100 years of radio

From a pioneering achievement in Graz to a mass phenomenon

Radio inspired young and old

(Bild: Foto Blaschka/Multimediale Sammlungen)

Radio has been with the people of Styria for 100 years. The history of the medium is also a reflection of the times - from a pioneering achievement in Graz to the "Volksempfänger" and streaming. The Museum of History goes on a nostalgic journey in a new show - the "Krone" traveled with us to the Styrian airwaves. 

Styrian radio history begins with the "Dachsteinlied" - actually 120 years ago: The year was 1904 and the physicist Otto Nußbaumer succeeded in transmitting the human voice wirelessly for the first time at the Graz University of Technology: he himself warbled the song into the microphone and it came out of the loudspeaker 30 meters away (reasonably audible).

At first, however, nobody really knew how to capitalize on this pioneering achievement. It was not until after the First World War that radio took off: the first radio broadcast in Austria was aired in 1924: "There were just 467 radio stations in Styria at the time," explain Thomas Felfer and Maria Froihofer, who curated an exhibition at the Graz Museum of History to mark the 100th anniversary of radio.

First "radio transmission" at the Graz University of Technology, 1904

(Bild: UMJ/Multimediale Sammlung)

On March 29, 1925, the first radio station outside of Vienna was opened in Graz: "Rooms in the Graz police headquarters on Parkring served as the studio." This was quite fitting, as there were so many "black listeners" that they were cracked down on: even batteries were confiscated.

Radio becomes a mass phenomenon
However, none of this could prevent the success of radio: As early as 1925, 77 radio dealers were counted in Styria. In January 1931, when the first wish concert was announced, there were 50,000 (!) entries with wishes. "Within just a few years, radio had become a mass phenomenon."

Politicians also reacted to this - but initially with little success: when Kurt Schuschnigg announced in 1933 that "radio was to be used to a greater extent by the state for its own purposes", this led to a listener protest: "Around 16 percent of listeners then switched off their receivers. They didn't want politics on the radio," say the curator duo.

Just a few years later, the people of Styria had no other choice. On March 11, 1939, the Nazi "Reichsrundfunksgesellschaft" took control: "In the run-up to the referendum, the Reich propaganda leadership gave away 20,000 radios," according to Froihofer and Felfer. The radio became the "people's receiver" and thus a propaganda supplier.

After the end of the war, a new chapter in Styrian radio history began with the "Sendergruppe Alpenland". The crime show "Wer ist der Täter?" (Who is the culprit?), first broadcast in 1952, became one of the first post-war street sweepers. And even with the advent of television, radio remained popular.

Production also in Styria
So popular that there were also Styrian radio manufacturers. "The Kristallwerk in Graz, for example, built the Kristallette, which enjoyed great popularity," say the curators. In general, radios, which were initially still large cabinet systems, became smaller and mobile. As car radios, and later also as Walkmans, they were always with you wherever you went. No wonder that "Car Drivers on the Road" became one of the most popular programs.

Curators Maria Froihofer and Thomas Felfer in the exhibition at the Museum of History in Graz

(Bild: UMJ/J.J.Kucek)

In addition to the regional and national broadcasts of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, which has existed in this form since 1953, there are also an increasing number of private stations: the first pirate stations began broadcasting as early as 1979 - in Graz, for example, "Ö-frei", which was confiscated after four broadcasts. In 1995, Austria's first private radio station, Antenne Steiermark, went on air - from the transmitter in Dobl, one of the oldest in the country.

And even today, on its 100th birthday, radio has not yet gone out of fashion. Despite streaming providers such as Spotify, a good third of Styrians over the age of 35 still listen to the radio every day.

The exhibition "Hört!Hört! - 100 Years of Radio" 
at the Graz Museum of History runs until January 6, 2025.