SysMus08 - Travel

The conference will take place on the campus of the University of Graz in lecture halls HS 11.01 and HS 11.02 at Heinrichstrasse 36. The opening address will be held in the Meerscheinschlössl, Mozartgasse 3, a Baroque garden palace dating from the early 18th century, which houses the Department of Musicology of the University of Graz at the left-hand end and the Department of South-East European History at the right-hand end. In the middle of the Meerscheinschlössl is an ornate ballroom (Festsaal) that we will use for the Opening Address. On Friday, the Wine & Cheese Reception and the Jazz Concert will take place at the University of Music and Dramatic Arts, Brandhofgasse 21. The Murinsel (Island in the river Mur) will be a great location for our SysMus08 Party. This island was designed by Vito Acconci on the occasion of Graz becoming the 2003 European Cultural Capital of Europe.

Thursday, November 12: The Pre-Conference Workshops will take place on the campus of the University of Graz, in seminar room 15.03 in the RESOWI building, ground floor, Universitätsstrasse 15B (Bauteil B). The workshop on English pronunciation will take place in the speech lab of the English Department, Heinrichstrasse 36, SL11K2 (basement). Please check the campus map! The Pre-conference Dinner will be held in the Glöckl Bräu, Glockenspielplatz 2-3, a traditional restaurant in the inner city.

The registration desk will be loctated near SR 15.03, Universitätsstrasse 15B, on Thursday. On Friday and Saturday, the registration desk will be located in front of HS 11.01 and HS 11.02 at Heinrichstrasse 36.

Pictures from left to right: Uni Graz main building | Heinrichstrasse 36 (Universitaet Graz) | Meerscheinschlössl (cp-pictures)

Graz is Austria's second-largest city and the capital of the Austrian province of Styria (Steiermark), whose borders are shared with Hungary in the East and Slovenia in the South. Direct flights to Graz airport include the following:

from Vienna with Austrian Airlines (AUA)
from Frankfurt with Lufthansa
from other German destinations with Lufthansa, WelcomeAir, & InterSky
from Zürich with Robin Hood
from London Stansted with Ryanair

From Vienna, Graz is less than one hour away by air, two hours by car, or three hours by train. For information on local, national and international trains, call the Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB), tel. +43 5 1717.

Public transport in Graz is coordinated by the Grazer Verkehrsbetriebe (GVB). Municipal buses and trams have an easy and relatively inexpensive single fare system (1.80 Euro per trip; you can buy a ticket from the driver, who will usually be able to give you change). For general information on public transport - not only in Graz but also in and between neighboring towns - consult the Steirischer Verkehrsverbund, tel. +43 316 812138-0.

From Graz airport (Flughafen Graz, tel. +43 316 2902-0), you can either take a taxi into town (about 13 km, 15 to 20 Euro) or take the airport bus (no. 630/631) to Jakominiplatz (about 20 minutes' trip, the fare is 1.80 Euro, runs every 30-60 minutes). Keep your ticket as it is still valid (max. 1h) when you change to another bus or tram.

To travel from Jakominiplatz to Mozartgasse 3 and Heinrichstrasse 36 take bus no. 30 through the old town and get off at Mozartgasse.

If you arrive by train, there are direct connections between Graz's main railway station (Hauptbahnhof) and the conference venues. To travel from the station to Mozartgasse 3 and Heinrichstrasse 36 catch bus no. 58 and get off at Mozartgasse.

To get yourself oriented on foot in Graz, the best place to start is the main square (Hauptplatz), which can easily be reached by tram from the main railway station. The river Mur is nearby and a nice spot for a stroll, in which you can check out the new Kunsthaus and (if it's still there) the artificial island in the river, the Murinsel. These belong to the architectural legacy of the year 2003, when Graz was Cultural Capital of Europe. You can walk from Hauptplatz to the conference venues (Heinrichstrasse/Mozartgasse) in about half an hour.