Glockenspielplatz, Graz, Austria

Glockenspielplatz, Graz, Austria

The best way to find the Glockenspielplatz is to look for a bunch of befuddled tourists staring up into the air. They are waiting for the Glockenspiel to chime.

While you’re standing there, why not admire the Art Nouveau facade below the tower? Gottfried Maurer was a savvy wine & spirits entrepreneur who often traveled through the wilds of Europe. Entranced by carillons in Germany and Belgium, he decided to put one at the top of his house in Graz. It first rang out in 1905.

Of course, it did no harm to his business that the male dancer in the Glockenspiel is toasting observers. With Maurer’s wine shop, the new carillon, and a series of mosaics and reliefs showing happy inebriates, the Glockenspielplatz became a place of forgetful pleasure. Today, it’s part of the Bermuda Triangle of Graz.