Klagenfurt am Wörthersee

Klagenfurt am Wörthersee: storia e carattere

Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, capital of Carinthia since 1518, was founded around 1199 by Duke Hermann II and rebuilt after the 1514 fire on a Renaissance grid plan that still survives today. The city organises around the Neuer Platz with the Lindwurmbrunnen, a 1593 fountain carved from a single block of chlorite slate representing the mythical dragon said to have infested the marshes of the Glan. As Habsburg Carinthian capital, it hosted the 1574 Renaissance Landhaus, still the seat of the regional parliament with its arcaded courtyard. Today a city of around 104,000, Klagenfurt lives largely from its connection to the Wörthersee, the warmest lake in the Alps (up to 26 degrees in July), at the western end of the Altstadt. For travellers with a dog, it is a relaxed base: compact pedestrian Altstadt, dog-tolerant Carinthian Gasthaus culture, signed Hundebadeplätze on the lake and direct access to the Kreuzbergl forest above the city. Direct ÖBB Railjet to Vienna in 4h, Salzburg 2h45.