The Museum im Palais is located in the townhouse of the powerful Herberstein family. During the 17th and 18th century, these Counts controlled 20% of Styria. The Herbersteins still have a mighty Schloss (“Castle”) outside of the city.
In 1754, Johann Leopold von Herberstein, Governor of Styria, asked the architect Joseph Hueber to build him a staircase worthy of the gods. Bedecked with delicate fretwork, lanterns, and bemused puttis, it provides a grand entrance to the Cultural Heritage Collection of the Universalmuseum Joanneum.