Klagenfurt
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General Information
Other Name: Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, District: Klagenfurt, State: Carinthia, Austria
Area: 0 -
Languages Spoken: German
Long Distance Code: 0463
Importance: Klagenfurt is a popular vacation spot with mountains both to the south and north, numerous parks and a series of 23 stately homes and castles on its outskirts.
Best Time to Visit: January to March and April
International Access: Connected to all the major cities of Austria.Description
Klagenfurt is the capital of the federal state of Carinthia in Austria. With a population of over 90,000 it is the sixth-largest city in the country. The city is the bishop''s seat of the Roman-Catholic diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt and home to the Alpen-Adria University.Location
Klagenfurt is located 446 meters above sea level and covers an area of 120.11 square km. It is on the lake Wörthersee and on the Glan River. The city is surrounded by several forest-covered hills and mountains with heights of up to 1,000 meters, for example, Ulrichsberg. To the south is the Karawanken mountain range, which separates Carinthia from Slovenia and Italy.Climate
Klagenfurt has a typical Continental climate, with quite some fog throughout the autumn and winter. The rather cold winters are, however, broken by occasional warmer periods due to foehn wind from the Karawanken mountains to the south. The average temperature from 1961 and 1990 is 7.1 °C, while the average temperature in 2005 was 9.3 °C.
Northwest of Klagenfurt is located the Ossiacher Lake. This lake is about eleven kilometers long and is the province’s third-largest lake. Its water temperature during the summer is the comfortable 26 degrees C. The lake is surrounded by little villages that became resorts by attracting summer visitors to come to enjoy the sun and the water.
Ossiach is a tiny resort on the south side of the lake, but it is still the biggest settlement on the Ossiacher See. Ossiach has an eleventh century Benedictine abbey that was reconstructed in the 1500s. However, the abbey was dissolved about a century ago and now the events of the Carinthian Summer Festival take place here. Other lovely resorts include Sattendorf and Treffen, which are situated on the lake’s north side and are open all year-round. Here one can enjoy the pure mountain air and wander along alpine meadows and deep into the forest. Except the fresh and crystal waters of the Ossiacher Lake, visitors can enjoy and various indoor pools.
Ossiach is a tiny resort on the south side of the lake, but it is still the biggest settlement on the Ossiacher See. Ossiach has an eleventh century Benedictine abbey that was reconstructed in the 1500s. However, the abbey was dissolved about a century ago and now the events of the Carinthian Summer Festival take place here. Other lovely resorts include Sattendorf and Treffen, which are situated on the lake’s north side and are open all year-round. Here one can enjoy the pure mountain air and wander along alpine meadows and deep into the forest. Except the fresh and crystal waters of the Ossiacher Lake, visitors can enjoy and various indoor pools.
The lake with elongated shape is about twenty kilometers long and 1-2 kilometers wide, stretching from the Carinthian capital Klagenfurt, at its Eastern end to Velden at its Western end. To the north and south it is covered with dense forests, beyond which snowy alpine summits are visible. The lake’s water is very fresh and crystal transparent. In the beginning of the 19th century the shores were home only to a handful of peasants and later the construction of the southern railway line, the Sudbahn, in the middle of the same century quickly turned the Worthersee into an exceptional summer retreat for Vienna''s nobility. The beautiful Mediterranean climate and pure water made it a preferred tourist resort in summer.
At this museum one can see various Roman artifacts, featuring some votive stones, gleaned from excavations in Carinthia. Exhibits display art and artifacts from prehistoric times to the present. The most notable feature is an exhibition of ecclesiastical art. Here one can behold the skull of a rhinoceros, said to have been a model for the famous Dragon Fountain in Neuer Platz.
Initialy an arsenal and later Carinthian state headquarters, this edifice now houses the offices of the provincial government. The building of the structure was started in 1574 and finished in 1590. The courtyard of the current structure has two story arcades and a set of staircase towers. The Grosser Wappensaal (Great Blazon Hall), dating from 1739, was lavishly decorated by Josef Ferdinand Fromiller and the painting on the hall''s ceiling depicts six hundred sixty-five heraldic shields.
Other interesting attractions worth visiting and not far away include: The Rathaus (Town Hall), Hochosterwitz Castle, The Excavations at Magdalensberg, The Cathedral of Gurk, Friesach, Maria Saal, The Vellach Valley, Lake Klopeiner, Trögerner Gorge, The nearby resorts of Sattendorf, Annenheim and Treffen, Kanzelhöhe, and more.
Other interesting attractions worth visiting and not far away include: The Rathaus (Town Hall), Hochosterwitz Castle, The Excavations at Magdalensberg, The Cathedral of Gurk, Friesach, Maria Saal, The Vellach Valley, Lake Klopeiner, Trögerner Gorge, The nearby resorts of Sattendorf, Annenheim and Treffen, Kanzelhöhe, and more.