Bischöfliches Palais, Graz, Episcopal palace in Innere Stadt district, Graz, Austria

The Bischöfliche Residenz is a multi-wing palace on Bischofplatz whose oldest section, the east wing with vaulted cellars and ground floor, dates from the second half of the 13th century. The north wing was added around 1500, the west wing in 1861, and the south wing in 1903. The festival hall on the second floor has 19th-century ceiling frescoes of Mary and St Benedict, attributed to Franz Anton Stecher.

The building's origins trace back to a house donation by nobleman Ottokar von Graz to Bishop Ulrich von Seckau in 1254. Over the following centuries, the residence was expanded and modified, until it suffered damage from bombing in World War II and required reconstruction between 1947 and 1950.

The palace has housed the bishop's seat and the diocesan ordinariate of Graz-Seckau since 1786, when the residence moved here from Schloss Seggau. The chapel in the south wing was consecrated to the Holy Trinity in 1927; the earlier house chapel, founded in 1287, was originally dedicated to John the Baptist. The festival hall on the second floor carries 19th-century ceiling frescoes of Mary and Saint Benedict, attributed to Franz Anton Stecher.

The building sits centrally at Bischofplatz 4 in downtown Graz and is easily accessible by foot. Keep in mind that this is an active administrative building and access may be limited to certain areas or times.

Bomb vibrations in 1944 shook loose plaster in the first upper floor, exposing wall paintings from around 1270 that had been hidden for centuries. They show figures from the Old and New Testament in the Romanesque zigzag style and are the oldest surviving wall paintings in Graz.