Schlossberg, Graz

This wooded hill rises steeply above the old town of Graz and was once crowned by a formidable fortress that resisted Napoleon's armies. When the citadel was demolished under the peace terms, the townspeople paid ransoms to spare the clock tower and the bell tower, which survive as the city's emblems. Paths and a funicular climb through the gardens to viewpoints over the red roofs and the river Mur. A lift bored through the rock and a cave system used in wartime add to the ways of exploring the hill.