In the centre of the southern Austrian City of Graz stands a rocky promontory, atop which stand the remains of the Schloßberg, a mediaeval fortress. The emblem of the city, the clock tower stands looking over the Inner Stadt and the River Mür. pTo see the tower at close hand, visitors can use a glass lift from the pedestrian precinct, may walk up the "Kriegssteig", a zigzag stairway which runs up from the Schloßbergplatz – or can use the Schloßbergbahn, a two-car funicular which has been running over 110 years.

From behind a frontage in one of the streets around the Inner Stadt, the line curves up the side of the hill at a steady 61%, with a passing place to allow the counterbalanced cars to pass each other, before heading up to the top station. The talstation, at the bottom of the line, resembles a retail shop, and is fairly easy to miss, but has been restored, internally to its' original 1894 condition.

The line, 222 metres in length, opened on 25 November 1894, and was initially steam worked, using a stationary engine and two counterbalanced vehicles, each taking 32 passengers. The steam working operated until 3 October 1960, when service was suspended whilst the drive was replaced by an electric motor, the rails and wire were replaced, and the two stations redeveloped. Two new coaches, painted red and white replaced the vehicles. The line reopened on 9 June 1961.

Thirty-three years later, the lobby of the base station was renovated, as part of the centenary celebrations. As far as possible, it was restored to its original condition – in some parts, this simply involved the removal of the fascias attached as part of the 1960 redevelopment, revealing the original still in perfect order.

29 February 2004 saw the last day of the Schloßbergbahn in that form. The line operated without charge and several thousand people travelled on the funicular – so many, that it stayed open until 20 o'clock at night. The following week, the Schloßbergbahnwaggen were lifted over the talstation, put on a low loader, and taken to the Steyrgasse remise. They were replaced, in a reverse operation, by two new cars, with room for 58 people, and running at a much higher speed of 3 metres per second. The cars themselves have glass roofs, allowing views up the hillside and across Graz. Again the cars are painted red – unusual for Graz which favours green. The work to upgrade the funicular was finished on 1 August 2004, and the line was officially reopened on 12 September 2004.

The line is owned by the City, and operated by Grazer Stadwerke AG, who also operate the city tramways, buses, tram museum, and provide many of the city's services, as well as having a well-known concert brass band.