Klagenfurt

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Klagenfurt
Image:Wappen at klagenfurt (gaertner).png	Image:Map at klagenfurt.png

Country	Austria
State	Carinthia
District	Klagenfurt
Population	92,404 (2006)
Area	120.11 km²
Population density	750 /km²
Elevation	446 m
Coordinates	46°37′ N 14°18′ E
Postal code	9020
Area code	0463
Licence plate code	L
Mayor	Harald Scheucher (ÖVP)
Website	www.klagenfurt.at

Klagenfurt, (Slovenian Celovec) is the capital of the federal state of Carinthia, in Austria, on the Glan river.

It has a population of approximately 90,000. Around 1700 of Carinthian Slovenes, which is about one tenth of the total Slovenian minority in Carinthia, reside in Klagenfurt.

Image:Lindwurm Brunnen.jpg

1 History
2 Main sights
3 Culture
4 Famous people
5 Twinnings

[edit] History

Founded by the Count of Carinthia as a stronghold across the commercial routes in the area, it is mentioned for the first time in the late 12th century as Forum Chlagenvurth. That settlement occupied an area who was subject to frequent floods, so in 1246 duke Bernhard von Spanheim founded it again in a more secure position. It received city rights in 1252.

In the following centuries it suffered fires, earthquakes, grasshoppers invasions and ravages brought by the Peasants Wars. In 1514 a fire destroyed almost completely the city, and Emperor Maximilian I, unable to rebuild it, ceded it to the Regional Parliament. This brought a revival and an economical Renaissance for Klagenfurt, with, in particular, the construction of the Neuer Platz (new city centre) by the Italian architect Domenico de Lalio, and a new line of walls.

In 1809 the French troops under Napoleon destroyed the city walls, leaving only a small stretch now visible. In 1863 the railway connection boosted the city economy, turning it into the most important centre of the region. Image:Regionalparlament Kaernten.jpg

[edit] Main sights

The Old City with its central Alter Platz (Old Square) is also worth seeing. Notable landmarks include

Wörthersee, the warmest European Alpine lake
the Lindwurm Brunnen (a lindworm fountain)
Hochosterwitz Castle, an impressively fortified castle on a high hill that can only be reached by an ascending spiral path which is fortified with a series of gates.
Papace of the Regional Parliament.
The Cathedral.

[edit] Culture

It is a popular vacation spot with mountains to both the south and north, numerous parks and a series of 23 castles on its outskirts. In summertime the city is home to the Altstadtzauber (The Magic of the Old City) festival, the Ironman Contest and the Ingeborg Bachmann Preis, a prize for German literature.

Also located here are the University of Klagenfurt and Klagenfurt Airport. Among other Austrian educational institutions, there is also the Slovenian non-classical Gymnasium.