Steiermark

Styria (Steiermark): Area: 16,388.14 km²; pop: 1,184,720; population density: 72 per km²; capital: Graz; buildings: 288,802; households: 426,607; 1 statutory town, 17 administrative districts, 33 judicial districts, 543 municipalities (of which 31 are towns and 102 market towns); Higher Provincial Court (Oberlandesgericht) in Graz, provincial courts in Graz and Leoben.

Location: Styria is the second largest province and has the third highest population (1991) of all Austrian provinces. In the west, it borders on the provinces of Salzburg and Upper Austria, in the south on Carinthia and Slovenia, in the east on Burgenland, in the northeast and north on Lower Austria and Upper Austria. Its name was derived from the ancestral castle of the Counts of Traungau in the town of Steyr, Upper Austria.

Landscape: Three quarters of Styria are richly wooded mountain area, also called "Grüne Mark" ("Green March"). The mountainous Upper Styrian region, formerly the home of forges, scythe works and iron mills ("Eherne Mark" - "Iron march"), comprises the headwater region of the River Traun, the Styrian Salzkammergut, Ausseer Land), the upper and middle reaches of the River Enns and the Salza as well as the valleys of the Mur and Mürz rivers. They are crossed by mountain ranges of the Northern Limestone Alps (Dachstein Massif, Totes Gebirge Mountains, Grimming Mountain, Enntaler Alpen Mountains, Hochschwab Mountains, Styrian-Lower Austrian Limestone Alps), parts of the central Alps (Schladminger, Wölzer, Rottenmanner, Triebener Tauern Mountains and Seckau Alps) and the Eisenerzer Alps (Styrian Erzberg Mountain). The Gurktal and Seetal Alps, the Stubalpe and Gleinalpe Mountains and the Fischbach Alps rise to the south of the Rivers Mur and Mürz. Central Styria, an area characterized by mountains and hills, comprises the central portion of the River Mur, the Graz Basin, the Grazer Feld Plain and the Leibnitzer Feld Plain. Main rivers include the Rivers Mur, Raab and Feistritz. Western Styria comprises the eastern foothills of the Glein-, Stub-, Pack- und Koralpe Mountains ("Weststeirisches Hügelland", hilly area of western Styria) and is divided into long-stretched ranges of hills by the Rivers Kainach, Laßnitz and Sulm. Eastern Styria consists of the "Oststeirisches Hügelland" (hilly area of eastern Styria), which is drained towards the Hungarian lowland plains in the east. It is bordered by the foothills of the Fischbach Alps and the Wechsel Mountain in the north. What used to be South Styria (situated between the Rivers Drau and Save) had to be ceded to Yugoslavia after World War I.

Climate: The climate of Styria belongs to the European transitional climate: The north and northwest of Styria are under the influence of an Alpine climate, the south and southwest under the influence of the Pannonian climate. Precipitation is heaviest in Upper Styria (Altaussee: 2,080 mm precipitation, 179 rainy days/year) and decreases towards the south (Bad Radkersburg: 113 rainy days/year). Spring and autumn are the main rainy seasons. The coldest areas are the upper Mur valley (average temperature during the vegetation period not below 17°C). The terraces around Aflenz, the Stolzalpe Mountain and Ramsau are the sunniest regions.

Population: 15,2 % of the Austrian population live in Styria, of which 21.1 % live in Graz (237,000, second largest municipality in Austria after Vienna). The second-largest district, Graz-Umgebung, has around 118,000 inhabitants (10 %); according to the census of 1991 9,500 people (8.9 %) have moved to Graz-Umgebung in recent years, whereas the districts of Judenburg and Leoben have registered a heavy decrease in population.

Styrians speak a dialect that is characterized by strong diphthongs. Slovenes live along the southern border. The majority of Styrians are of Roman Catholic denomination (84 %), 4.6 % are Protestants (larger communities in the Ennstal valley, the Salzkammergut district and Graz). In Upper Styria, farmhouse types include the Paarhof and the Innerösterreichischer Haufenhof (upper Ennstal valley, Mürztal valley); in Upper Styria the Vierseithof prevails alongside the Dreiseithof. Hakenhof and Streckhof types occur along the River Mur. The Erzherzog-Johann Haus type can be found in the suburbs of Graz (urban-bourgeois influence, classicist construction). In Western Styria, farmhouse types such as Streckhof and Hakenhof (in non-Alpine areas) merge with Paarhof and Haufenhof (in Alpine regions); towards the south, smaller and simpler farmhouse types are prevalent.

Economy: Traditionally, Styria is an industrial province. The past twenty years have been characterized by far-reaching structural transformation; both private and nationalised industries have altered their products and production methods. In the 1970s, several businesses merged and formed 2 large enterprises, VOEST ALPINE Montan AG and Vereinigte Edelstahlwerke AG. They were centrally managed by ÖIAG but split up in the 1980s. In the 1990s, these companies became legally independent entities, and some of their plants were privatised. At the same time, rationalisation and staff reductions took place. The share of the raw materials industry and basic industry in the total net product remained almost the same, whereas the share of machine building, steel construction, iron and metal, electrical and electronics industries and especially of the motor industry soared. Around 60 % of all industrial products manufactured in Styria are exported (especially steel, paper, machines, electrical and electronics products, motor vehicles, leather products and wood). The number of persons employed in industries has decreased by 30,000 in the past 20 years and currently amounts to little more than 80,000 (1995). At the same time, the number of employees in the service sector has risen considerably. The ancient industrial area of Upper Styria is especially affected by the structural problems of the stainless steel works; important production sites of the iron and steel industry include Leoben-Donawitz (production of rails and wire), Kapfenberg and Mürzzusschlag (high-quality stainless steel), Judenburg (spring and bright drawn steel), Bruck an der Mur (wire), Kindberg and Krieglach (tubes), Mitterndorf and Graz (electric steel works). Machine building can be found especially in the valleys of the Rivers Mur and Mürz (Zeltweg, Knittelfeld, Bruck an der Mur and Kapfenberg), the area around Graz and in Voitsberg. The electrical and electronics industry is mainly located in Graz, Deutschlandsberg, Unterpremstätten, Lebring, Leoben, Spielberg, Kindberg and Fehring. Paper, cellulose and cardboard are mainly produced in Gratkorn, Frohnleiten, Bruck an der Mur, Niklasdorf, Pöls and Rosegg. Glass production is concentrated in Köflach and Bärnbach, the stone and ceramics industries are represented in Retznei and Peggau (cement), in Gleinstätten (bricks), Frauental (porcelain catalytic converters), Gleisdorf, Weißenbach, Bad Aussee (gypsum works) and Graz. Styria also has a long tradition as a location for the food, beverage and tobacco industry, with production sites in Graz and its surrounding area, in Stainach, Leoben-Göß, Feldbach, Gleisdorf, Stainz and Hartberg.; Graz is also a traditional motor industry town. Paper is processed in Graz, Zeltweg, Kalsdorf, St. Ruprecht and other sites. Leather goods are manufactured in Feldbach, St. Ruprecht an der Raab and Leibnitz, chemical firms can be found in Werndorf and Graz as well as in Upper, Eastern and Western Styria. Sawmills and the wood processing industry are traditionally well-represented in Styria, being Austria´s most wooded province (51 % of the total area), esp. in Leoben, Anger, Frohnleiten, Übelbach, Gaishorn, the area around Obdach, the Mürztal valley, as well as in Upper and Western Styria. Textile industries can be found in Graz, Hartberg, Neudau, Feldbach, Weißkirchen, Bad Mitterndorf and Zeltweg. Textile factories are located at Graz and Hartberg and especially in Eastern and Upper Styria. Styria has a 51.7 % share in the entire Austrian mining industry and caters for the majority of all raw materials in the country. Around 1.2 million tons of mineral raw materials free for mining in the form of coal were obtained from the western Styrian lignite deposit, from the Oberndorf open-cast mining area and from the Köflach deposit in 1993. There are three gypsum and anhydrite mines and one production site of raw graphite in Kaiserberg bei Leoben. All Austrian talcum mining areas are situated in Styria (annual output 145,000 t), main deposits are located in the eastern Styrian Rabenwald heights. From the economic point of view, magnesite is the most important raw material. Magnesite is exploited in Breitenau, Oberdorf an der Laming and Wald am Schoberpaß (620,000 tons of raw magnesite in 1993). Production of magnesite, sintered magnesite and magnesite blocks is located at Breitenau, Veitsch, Trieben, Oberndorf an der Laming and Leoben. Salt production in Altaussee is still of importance.

Agriculture: Styria has the largest wooded area of all the provinces (840,000 hectares, 51 % of the entire Styrian territory, 26 % of the Austrian forest stand). Arable land makes up 11 %, meadows, pastures and Alpine pastures amount to around 25 % of the overall territory. In the north (Mur-Mürz valley), cereals, potatoes, vegetables and fodder plants are the main crops grown; maize, wheat and buckwheat (as second crop) are grown in the southeast (highest yield per hectare in Austria). In warmer regions and in eastern Styria, tobacco and hops (around Leutschach) are also grown. Wine (1992: 126,000 hectolitres, around 4.9 % of the total amount of wine produced in Austria) is grown to the south of the lower reaches of the River Kainach, on the eastern slopes of Sausal Hill and on the Windische Bühel Hills. Styria, especially eastern and southeastern Styria, is the most important province for fruit cultivation. In 1992, fruit was grown on plantations with a total area of 5,000 hectares (4,230 hectares of apples, 250 hectares of pears and 425 hectares of peaches). The yield of winter apples (1992: 106,000 tons, covering the entire domestic requirement) and peaches (6,061 tons) is the highest in Austria, the yield of plums is second highest. Animal husbandry prevails (accounts for more than 50% of famers´ income), esp. animals for slaughter and dairying. The number of cattle totalled 396,000 in 1993 (439,254 in 1959). The following types of cattle are those which are mainly bred in the Alpine regions: Pinzgauer- and Murbodner (Gelbvieh) breeds of cattle, Simmentaler Rasse (Fleckvieh) breed of cattle in western and eastern Styria and the Kärntner Blondvieh breed of cattle around Mariahof. Apart from cattle, horses (Haflinger Horses, Lipizzaner Horses), poultry ("Styrian table poultry"), carp (in the Waldschach lakes south of the River Preding), trout (in Kalwang) and sheep (wool is used for the production of the "Steirer Loden" fabric) are also kept.

Tourism: Important tourist areas include the Styrian Salzkammergut District with the Ausseer Land, the Loser-Sandling and Tauplitzalm skiing areas, the winter sports resorts of Aflenz, Mariazell, Mitterndorf, Schladming, Tauplitz, Turracher Höhe Pass etc., and spas (Bad Aussee, Bad Mitterndorf as well as the thermal spring areas of Loipersdorf, Bad Gleichenberg, Bad Radkersburg and Bad Waltersdorf). Climatic health resorts include Aflenz Kurort, Laßnitzhöhe, Mariazell, Neumarkt, St. Radegund bei Graz, the Stolzalpe Mountain and Ramsau; the "Styrian Castle Road" (Steirische Schlösserstraße), including Riegersburg Castle and Schloß Herberstein, the wine-growing region of the southern parts of Styria (Südsteirisches Weinland) and several caves accessible to the public (Drachenhöhle, Grasslhöhle, Katerloch Cave near Weiz, Lurgrotte Cave, Rettenwandhöhle Cave near Kapfenberg) are situated in the southeast of Styria. The province ranks fourth in terms of tourism after Tirol, Salzburg and Carinthia. Leading tourist centres (1992) include Ramsau, Graz, Rohrmoos-Untertal and Schladming.

Traffic and Transport: Graz is the junction of two important roads: the Südautobahn motorway (A2, Wien Inzersdorf-Thörl, national border) and the Pyrhrnautobahn motorway (A 9, Wels- St. Michael im Lungau, Donawitz- Spielfeld, Slovenian border). The A9 motorway and its extension, the Innkreisautobahn motorway in Upper Austria, will provide an important connection between the Balkan region and western Europe. The S6 rapid transit route connects Seebenstein junction (A2 motorway) with Leoben via the Semmering Pass. Ancient pass routes run parallel to the A9 and A2 motorways, which connect Styria with Upper Austria (Federal Road B 138 via the Pyhrn Pass) and Carinthia (Federal Road B 70 via the Packsattel Pass). The Southern Railway departing from Vienna gives access to Slovenia (via Graz) and Italy (from Bruck an der Mur via Leoben and Klagenfurt). The airport of Graz is connected to the international network of air routes.

Art and Culture: Styria possesses ancient archaeological finds (Drachenhöhle Cave near Mixnitz, Repolusthöhle Cave near Peggau, Strettweg, necropolises from the Hallstatt period in the Sulmtal valley etc.), finds from the Roman era (Flavia Solva, Frauenberg bei Leibnitz, Löffelbach bei Hartberg, St. Johann bei Herberstein etc.) and important mediaeval architectural monuments in Romanesque (basilica in Seckau, charnel house in Hartberg, chapel dedicated to St. John in Pürgg, parish church in Piber) and Gothic style (town parish church in Murau, Leechkirche church in Graz, pilgrimage churches of Maria Straßengel, Pöllauberg and Maria Rehkogel, the Cathedral of Graz, the collegiate church of Neuberg an der Mürz and Kornmesserhaus (secular building) in Bruck an der Mur. Styria also boasts outstanding examples of architectural monuments from other periods, which include buildings from the Renaissance (Landhaus and armoury in Graz, Hollenegg, Frondsberg, Thannhausen and Strechau castles), Mannerism (Eggenberg castle, Eggenberger-Mausoleum in Ehrenhausen), Baroque (St. Lambrecht, Pöllau, Stainz, Vorau, Rein Abbeys, Admont collegiate library), Classicism (Graz Corps Headquarters, Lambrechter Hof in Graz) and Historicism (Herz-Jesu Church in Graz, Admont collegiate church). The St. Michael Walpurgiskirche church, Maria Straßengel church, the Leechkirche church in Graz, St. Erhard in der Breitenau church and the Waasenkirche church in Leoben all have magnificent works of stained glass. St. John´s chapel in Pürgg has unique Romanesque frescoes; the Bischofskapelle chapel of Göß, the Seckau collegiate church, the Pürgg and Murau parish churches, the St. Erhard filial church in Göß, St. Georgen bei Judenburg church, the church of the Friars Minor and the St. Rupert church in Bruck an der Mur have Gothic frescoes. The collegiate churches in Pöllau, Vorau, Stainz, Rein, the Frauenberg bei Admont, Mariazell, and Weizburg pilgrimage churches as well as the Festenburg Castle church are decorated with Baroque frescoes. The Romanesque Gösser vestments and the Gothic lenten veil of St. Lambrecht are also important objects of art. Early modern Styrian artists include the sculptors J. T. Stammel, J. J. Schoy, M. Schokotnigg, P. J. Straub, V. Königer, the painters H. A. Weißenkirchner, M. v. Görz, J. C. Hackhofer and J. B. A. Raunacher. The architect J. B. Fischer von Erlach was born in Styria but created only few works (e.g. the interior decoration of the mausoleum in Graz, high altar in Mariazell). H. Boeckl´s frescoes in the Engelkapelle chapel at Seckau (1952-1960) constitute his most important monumental work and are a key masterpiece of Styrian religious art. The Forum Stadtpark in Graz has been a centre of avant-garde fine arts, photography, literature and modern theatre.

Important mediaeval authors were Ulrich von Liechtenstein, Herrand von Wildonie and Ottokar aus der Gaal. Important writers since the 19^th century have included A. Grün, P. Rosegger, W. Fischer, R. H. Bartsch, O. Kernstock, H. Kloepfer, P. Grogger and M. Mell, authors who chose to live in Styria were R. Hamerling, H. Leifhelm and F. Nabl. Modern Styrian literature includes writers such as W. Bauer, A. Kolleritsch, R. P. Gruber, G. Roth and B. Frischmuth. Styria is also the home of Nobel Prize winners, including V. F. Hess (physics), F. Pregl (chemistry), the turbine engineer V. Kaplan, linguists J. v. Hammer-Purgstall and F. Miklosich, the law scholar F. A. v. Zeiller, the criminologist H. Groß, the physicians L. v. Auenbrugger, R. Paltauf, L. v. Schrötter and E. Wertheim. Outstanding musicians were J. J. Fux, H. Wolf, J. Marx and W. Kienzl, who was not born in Styria, but spent his adult life there, and the conductor K. Böhm, who achieved worldwide fame. Graz (Karl Franz University, University of Technology, University of Music and the Performing Arts) and Leoben (University of Mining and Metallurgy) are centres of scholarship and art. The Vereinigte Bühnen Graz, which runs the opera house and the Schauspielhaus theatre, stages plays, operas, operettas and musicals. The Styrian section of the Urania adult education association, the adult education centres of the Chamber of Workers and Employees and the Obersteirische Kulturbund cultural associations are centres of cultural life and adult education. The Styrian Volksbildungswerk (adult education institution for Styria) is the parent organisation of many cultural association and contributes substantially to the preservation of cultural traditions. The tradition of Styrian folk music (Dulcimer), folk costumes (Steireranzug), folk dance and arts and crafts as well as regional specialities ("Kernöl" pumpkin oil, "Schilcher" wine) are kept alive by associations such as the Steirisches Heimatwerk or the Steirischer Kunstverein. Styria has presented itself in three large provincial exhibitions since 1959. The steirischer herbst festival, a supraregional avant-garde festival, began in 1968; the Styriarte is a festival of ancient music in Graz which has taken place annually since 1985.

History: The earliest traces of human life in Styria go back to the Old Stone Age (Alpine Palaeolithic Age). Several finds have been made from the Neolithic Age, the Bronze Age, the Urnfield Culture and the Hallstatt Culture (Strettweger Kultwagen; funerary objects from Sulmtal valley and Klein-Klein). The Celts arrived in the 4^th century B.C.; their kingdom of Noricum was occupied by the Romans in 15 B.C.; Styria formed part of the Roman province Noricum (Municipium Flavia Solva), eastern Styria belonged to the province of Pannonia. The main centre of that time was Noreia, which is only known by name and was for a long time erroneously located near Neumarkt. Christianity appeared for the first time in the 4^th century.

In the last quarter of the 6^th century, the Avars and the Alpine Slavs (Slavs) advanced towards the headwaters of the River Mur and established the territory of Carantania; several names of villages, mountains, rivers and clearings go back to that time. Around 740, the Bavarian Duke Ovilo supported the insurgent Slavs against the Avars and was in turn granted sovereignty over Carantania, which was also the starting point for the Christianisation of Styria. Styria and all the other Bavarian territories came under Frankish rule in 788, in 803, the Carolingian Marches were established as part of the Duchy of Bavaria. In terms of church administration, the Archdiocese of Salzburg was given supremacy over the territory. Eastern and central Styria were repeatedly attacked by the Magyars after 907. In 976, three marches of the Duchy of Carinthia were founded on the territory of what later was to become Styria: the March on the middle reaches of the River Mur ("Carinthian March" or "marchia Carentana", became the core part of today´s Styria), the march on the River Drau/Drava and the march on the River Sann. At first, the sovereign lived in Hengistburg Castle in the Wildon area. The first Margrave was the Bavarian Margrave Markwart (d. around 995), whose successors called themselves Eppensteiner after their Upper Styrian possessions. His successor Adalbero owned many estates and was also Duke of Carinthia from 1012-1035. After his deposition he was succeeded by Count Arnold of the dynasty of Wels-Lambach, whose son Gottfried defeated the Magyars in 1042. It was around this time, but certainly not later, that the wooded areas between Semmering, the Wechsel region, the Bucklige Welt and the Lower Austrian River Piesting were united with the Styrian territories, the border was extended to the River Lafnitz, and thus the remaining part of eastern Styria was connected with the Carinthian March. After the murder of Gottfried, Count Otakar (Margrave 1056-1064) was given the Carinthian March. The Otakare called themselves "Traungauer" or "Counts of Steyr" according to the name of their ancestral castle after which "Styria" was finally named. "Styria" was first documented in written language as "Marchia Styriae"; orally, it continued to be called "Steier" or "Steirerland" for a long time. According to H. Pirchegger, the year 1122 can be classified as the "year of birth of Styria", since the rich inheritance in the Mur and Mürz valley fell to Leopold der Starke (1122-1129) of the Traungau dynasty. Margrave Otakar III. (1129-64) is said to have been the founder of the principality of Styria; about that time, Graz became the preferred residence of the Margraves. In 1180, Styria was separated from Bavaria and raised to the status of an independent Duchy. Otakar IV was appointed Duke by Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa. Since Otakar IV was not able to marry because he suffered from leprosy, he concluded - already incurably ill - a treaty of inheritance (Georgenberger Handfeste) with the Babenberg Leopold V on the Georgenberg Hill near Enns in 1186. Leopold was made his heir, and after the Duke´s death in 1192, Styria devolved on the Babenberg, but kept its independence in terms of its legal status. In 1254, Otakar II of Bohemia received the territory to the north of the Wechsel Mountain and the Semmering Pass as well as the Traungau region. In 1259, the Styrian nobles invited him to rule the country and as a result, Otakar II occupied Styria after the victory of Groissenbrunn. However, the nobles very soon became discontented with his reign and rebelled against him, and in 1276, Otakar had to cede Styria to Rudolf von Habsburg, who enfeoffed his sons Albrecht I and Rudolf II. In 1283, Albrecht became the sole Prince of Styria. In 1292, the Styrian nobility also revolted against him, but Albrecht defeated them yet recognised the privileges of the nobility. After the Counts von Cilli had died out in 1456, their territory was handed over to the Habsburgs. The division of the Habsburg possessions in 1379 (Neuberger Teilungsvertrag) and the (Ferdinandeische Hausordnung) increased the importance of Styria considerably, because it became a core possession within the inner group of Austrian lands. Graz was the seat of the court, administration and defence of Innerösterreich. from 1564-1619. In the course of the exact definition of Styria´s borders after 1521, part of the Lungau area and Murau were integrated into Styria in 1526. In 1535, territorial sovereignty was extended to the possessions of Salzburg lying within the borders of Styria. The Magyars invaded Styria in 1418, 1440 and 1478-1490, and during the Turkish Wars of 1480 and 1532 Styria proved a frontier stronghold and the "border of the Holy Roman Empire". Graz was Innerösterreich´s centre and main border fortress in the south east and also the most important strategic point of the military frontier against the Turks. In 1578, the Court Council of War was set up. During the Reformation, the secular Estates, their peasant vassals and the inhabitants of the majority of the towns were Protestants. The astronomer and mathematician J. Kepler taught at the Protestant collegiate school of Graz. The Styrian Duke Karl II had to grant religious freedom to the Protestants in the "Brucker Libell"; the Counter-Reformation began under the reign of his son Ferdinand (later Emperor Ferdinand II) and was substantially supported by the Jesuits. In 1598, the Protestant preachers were driven out of Graz and the rest of Styria was re-Catholicised, partly by the use of force. In 1797, 1805 and 1809, Styria was occupied by the French (Preliminary Peace of Leoben, 1797); major military events of 1809 included the battle of St. Michael and the siege of the Schloßberg Hill in Graz.

The negotiations of the princes with the Estates resulted in the foundation of the Styrian Landtag or diet (first documented mention 1422). After the revolution of 1848, a provisional Landtag with three Estates (landed proprietors, citizens, peasants) was elected. In the statutes of organisation of the Landtag, Styria was unanimously (including the votes of the Slovenian speaking Lower Styrian delegates) laid down as a "united indivisible duchy". As a result of the Treaty of Saint Germain, southern Styria 946 km², pop. 490,000, of whom 75,000 spoke German, esp. residents of towns) including the towns Maribor (then: Marburg an der Drau), which used to be the province´s second largest town, Ptuj (then: Pettau) and Celje (then: Cilli), had to be ceded to the kingdom of Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia (the SHS states, which were to become Yugoslavia, now Slovenia). The loss of the railway connection between Graz and Klagenfurt via Marburg proved a particular disadvantage. During the Third Reich, southern Burgenland formed part of the Reichsgau Steiermark, the Salzkammergut region was part of Upper Austria. From 1941-1945, what had been Lower Styria was once again integrated into Styria. During the Second World War, esp. industrial areas (Zeltweg, Knittelfeld) and residential and cultural zones (Graz) were particularly heavily hit by allied bombing from 1943. The northern and southeastern parts of Eastern Styria became a battle area for the German Wehrmacht and the Red Army during the last months of the war. Originally part of the Russian sector, the entire province of Styria was turned over to the British occupational forces in July 1945.

Styria's Provincial Constitution is based upon the "Provincial Constitutional Law of 1960" passed on November 23, 1959 and on the reinstatement of the Provincial Constitutional Law, which entered into force retroactively on December 1, 1945 (Original version - Landesgesetzblatt No. 1/1960; 18 amendments 1960-1993). Styria sends 27 delegates (1995) to the Nationalrat and 10 to the Bundesrat; the Styrian Landtag comprises 56 members, the provincial government 9 (1996: 4 ÖVP, 4 SPÖ, 1 FPÖ). Styria has had an ÖVP provincial governor since 1945; for the first time in Austria, a woman was elected head of the provincial government in 1996. Styria forms part of the diocese of Graz-Seckau. The Protestant provincial superintendency, the religious community of the Old Catholic Church and the Jewish community are based in Graz.

Literature: R. Baravalle, Burgen und Schlösser der Steiermark, 1961; W. Suppan, Steirisches Musiklexikon, 1962-1966; F. Tremel, Land an der Grenze, 1966; K. Woisetschläger and P. Krenn, Alte steirische Herrlichkeiten. 800 Jahre Kunst in der Steiermark, 1968; B. Sutter (ed.), Die Steiermark Land, Leute, Leistung, ²1971; Austrian Academy of Sciences (ed.), Theatergeschichte Österreichs, Steiermark, vol. 5, 1974; Regionalstatistik Steiermark, edited by the Styrian Chamber of Labour, 1982ff.; K. Woisetschläger and P. Krenn, Steiermark (ohne Graz), Dehio-Handbook, 1982; F. Achleitner, Österreichische Architektur im 20. Jahrhundert, vol. 2, Kärnten, Steiermark, Burgenland, 1983; Amt der Steiermärkischen Landesregierung, Steiermark-Information, 1984; M. Gossler, Steiermark-Informationen. Ausgewählte Bibliographie, Nachschlagwerke und wissenschaftliche Zeitschriften über die Steiermark aus dem Bestand der Universitäts-Bibliothek Graz, 1986; S. Karner, Die Steiermark im Dritten Reich 1938-45, ³1994; Steiermark: Umweltschutzbericht des Landes Steiermark, ed. by the Amt der Steiermärkischen Landesregierung, 1986ff.; Mitteilungen der Archäologischen Gesellschaft Graz, 1987ff.; H. Strobl et al., Der Weg in die neue Heimat. Die Volksdeutschen in der Steiermark, 1988; F. Attems, Kirchen und Stifte der Steiermark, 1988; W. Zitzenbacher (ed.), Landeschronik Steiermark, 1988; M. Jasser, Hoch vom Dachstein an. Das Steiermark-Brevier, 1990; P. Wilding, "... Für Arbeit und Brot". Arbeitslose in Bewegung, 1990; H. J. Mezler-Andelberg et al., Kirche in der Steiermark, 1994. - Catalogues of the Styrian provincial exhibitions: Erzherzog Johann, 1959 and 1982; Graz als Residenz. Innerösterreich 1564-1619, 1964; Der steirische Bauer, 1966; Der Bergmann - Der Hüttenmann, 1968; Steirisches Handwerk, 1970; Literatur in der Steiermark, 1976; Gotik in der Steiermark, 1978; Musik in der Steiermark, 1980; Erz und Eisen, 1984; Brücke und Bollwerk, 1986; Hexen und Zauberer, 1987; Glas und Kohle, 1988; Weinkultur, 1989; Menschen, Münzen, Märkte, 1990; Sport, 1991; Lust und Leid. Barock in der Steiermark, 1992; P. Rosegger, 1993; Wege zur Kraft - Wallfahrt, 1994; Holzzeit, 1995; Schatz und Schicksal, 1996.