Gratz

Title

Gratz

Bird's-eye view of the city of Graz an der Mur with the Schloßberg and figural staffages in the foreground.

ca. 1660

Artist

Bouttats (1640-1695-96)

Gaspar Bouttats (c. 1650–1696), Antwerp, was a Flemish engraver and etcher. He specialized in: Book engravings (title pages, illustrations), City views (e.g. Amsterdam, Bergen op Zoom, Deventer, Leiden), Topographical scenes (cities, fortifications, landscapes), Historical scenes (e.g. the assassination of Henry IV), Portraits, and Maps (e.g. Polonia Regnum). Many of his engravings were based on drawings by Jan Peeters I, a well-known draughtsman of topographical views. At the time, Antwerp was a major European center for book printing, map production, and copper engraving. There was a high demand for printed city views, war reports, fortification plans, and maps—driven by wars, trade, and growing scientific interest. His works are now held in museums such as the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Historical Description

The name Austria is first handed down in its Old High German form Ostarrichi from the year 996. The Latin form Austria was also used. In 1156 Austria became an independent duchy in the Holy Roman Empire. After the Babenbergs died out in 1246, the House of Habsburg prevailed in the struggle for rule in Austria. The area designated as Austria later included the entire Habsburg Monarchy and later the Austrian Empire, which was constituted in 1804, and the Austrian half of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy established in 1867. The present republic came into being in 1918.