History
Established in 1811 by Archduke Johann, the Landesmuseum Joanneum was Austria’s first museum as well as a center for continuing education and scientific research. Notably, the Coin Cabinet and the mineralogical collection were extensive, private collections belonging to the archduke himself and form the spiritual heart of the museum's departments in disciplines from both the humanities and the natural sciences. Around this core of collections, some of the best scientists of the era taught and conducted research; Friedrich Mohs developed the Mohs scale of mineral hardness here and also, a pioneer in paleobotany, plant physiology, phytotomy and soil science, Franz Unger, taught here. In 1864 the Joanneum entered the ranks of the “k.k. technical colleges”. Following the decision to raise the institution into the ranks of imperial colleges as well as for organizational reasons and the need for more space, the institution was split in 1887. The college went on to become what is today the Graz University of Technology and the various collections of the Joanneum, both scientific and cultural-historical, were combined into the Landesmuseum Joanneum.
During the subsequent years, the new installation of the Joanneum show collections occurred in the “Lesliehof” along the Raubergasse in Graz just off the main square. However, the spatial requirements of the collections soon outgrew the confines of even this palatial residence. A new museum building was erected between 1890 and 1895 along the Neutorgasse in Graz directly behind the “Lesliehof”. This new building, designed in the neobaroque style by August Gunold, became the “New Joanneum”. Beginning in 2009, both buildings as well as the open ground between them began undergoing extensive renovation and construction. A new, central, underground entrance and three-storey, underground depot adjoining both buildings and the Styrian Provincial Library, which was also part of the original 1811 Joanneum, is being constructed creating an impressive new quarter for the Graz city center, the Joanneum Quarter, “Joanneumsviertel”. On the occasion of the Joanneum’s bicentennial in 2011 in the completely renovated Neutorgasse building, the Neue Galerie art museum and the Multimedia Collection will be opened to the public in their new home and by 2013 the newly redesigned Museum of Nature and Science in its original albeit renovated location in the “Lesliehof” will be re-opened marking the completion of the newly designed city quarter.
Until 2003, the Joanneum was governed by the Styrian regional government. In 2003, coinciding with the designation of Graz as the sole European Capital of Culture for that year, the Joanneum was spun off into a GmbH (Limited Liability Company). While the Joanneum gained some autonomy in business, marketing and budgetary decision-making with this move, the Province of Styria remains the successor of Archduke Johann and retains all ownership and property rights to the buildings and collections.
Today, the Universalmuseum Joanneum is the largest museum of its kind in central Europe and second only to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna in size for Austrian museums in general. The Joanneum employs an international team of some 500 people across various fields from visitor services to acquisitions, conservation and preservation to scientific research. The more than 4.5 million objects counted among the various collections as well as a number of historical buildings and locations form the basis of a multifaceted exhibition program. Steeped in tradition, the Joanneum collects, preserves, conserves, researches and conveys a broad spectrum of information dealing with the nature, history, culture and art of Styria in an international context with an eye towards the future.
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