 the university of graz (german, karl-franzens-universitÃ¤t graz), a university located in graz, austria, is the largest and oldest university in styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in austria. karl-franzens-universitÃ¤t, also referred to as the university of graz, is the city's oldest university, founded in 1585 by archduke charles ii of austria. for most of its existence it was controlled by the catholic church, and was closed in 1782 by emperor joseph ii in an attempt to gain state control over educational institutions. joseph ii transformed it into a lyceum where civil servants and medical personnel were trained. in 1827 it was re-instituted as a university by emperor francis i, thus gaining the name karl-franzens-universitÃ¤t, meaning charles francis university. over 30,000 students are currently enrolled at this university. the university is sub-divided into six different faculties, the two largest ones being the faculty of arts and humanities and faculty of natural sciences. the other faculties are the faculties of law; social and economic sciences; environmental, regional sciences and education; and catholic theology. the faculty of medicine has been separated from the university by state legislation in 2004 and has since become an independent university in the form of the medical university of graz. these six distinct faculties offer a wide range of undergraduate (ba, bsc), graduate (ma, msc), and doctoral degree (phd) programmes, as well as special teaching degrees in their specific areas of expertise. [[file:graz university main-front.jpg|thumb|left|historic central buildi
1585_establishments Buildings_and_structures_in_Graz Education_in_Styria Educational_institutions_established_in_1827 Educational_institutions_established_in_the_1580s Public_universities Universities_and_colleges_in_Austria