Graz with a population of around 290,000 as of 2008 is the second-largest city in Austria after Vienna and the capital of the federal state of Styria. In the last few years some groundbreakingly modern new public buildings have been erected in the city. The most famous of these include the Kunsthaus (house of modern art) designed by Peter Cook and Colin Fournier, a museum constructed right next to the river Mur, and the "Murinsel" (island in the Mur), an island made of steel, situated in the river. It was designed by the American architect Vito Acconci and contains a café, an open-air theatre and a playground. The old town was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999 due to the harmonious co-existence of typical buildings from different epochs and in different architectural styles. Being situated in a cultural borderland between Central Europe, Italy and the Balkan States, Graz absorbed various influences from the neighbouring regions and thus received its exceptional townscape. Today the old town consists of over 1000 buildings, their age ranging from Gothic to Contemporary. The most important sights in the old town are: Mausoleum of Emperor Ferdinand II next to the cathedral, the most important building of Mannerism in Graz. It includes both the grave, where Ferdinand II and his wife are buried, and a church dedicated to St Catherine of Alexandria.
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