Graz (German pronunciation: [ɡraːts]; Slovene: Gradec, Hungarian: Grác, Prekmurian: Gráca), with a population of 291,574 as of 2009, is the second-largest city in Austria after Vienna and the capital of the federal state of Styria.

Graz has a long tradition as a student city: its six universities have more than 44,000 students. Graz's "Old Town" is one of the best-preserved city centres in Central Europe. In 1999, it was added to the UNESCO list of World Cultural Heritage Sites. Graz was sole Cultural Capital of Europe for 2003.