Klagenfurt (Austria) is a city among the cleanest lakes, which is interesting to see in Klagenfurt. The city of Klagenfurt in Austria and its attractions Entertainment and events
Klagenfurt - general information
Klagenfurt is a city in southern Austria, the capital of the federal state of Carinthia. The city is located in an Alpine valley on the Glan River. The city is surrounded by several lakes, the most famous of which is Lake Wörthersee, the warmest of the Alpine lakes.
History of Klagenfurt
It is believed that Klagenfurt was founded by Duke Hermann Spanheim of Carinthia. For the first time in chronicles, a settlement called Forum-Klagenvoort was mentioned in 1199. Klagenfurt received city rights in the period from 1246 to 1252, after which it quickly became one of the largest cities in Carinthia. During a fire in 1514 the city was completely burned down. Emperor Maximilian I, who ruled at that time, decided to restore the city. In 1518, he granted Klagenfurt the status of capital and instructed local authorities to undertake restoration. The Italian architect Domenico Lalio laid out the city's layout in the form of a square with straight streets. At that time, this was unusual and new for Austria. The city has survived in this form to this day. In 1863, a railway was built through Klagenfurt, which contributed to the rapid economic development of the city and its establishment as the capital of Carinthia.
Facts, facts...
The city has the University of Klagenfurt, which opened in 1161, before Klagenfurt received city rights.
In May, the International Aeronautics Cup is held in Klagenfurt, and in mid-July people come here for the Carinthian Valleys country music festival.
Sights of Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt is famous for its architecture and is a source of inspiration for many modern architects. The old town of Klagenfurt is one of the most beautiful in Austria, for which it has already been awarded the European Nostra diploma three times. Most of the city's attractions are concentrated here - the Landhaus building (the Carinthian administration building), the Town Hall, the city cathedral and others. On the Old Square there is a fountain with a sculpture of the Lindwurm dragon. This is the symbol of Klagenfurt. One of the oldest buildings, the House of the Gilded Goose (1489), was built for Emperor Maximilian I, who donated the house to the city.
There are also several ancient castles in Klagenfurt, each of which is unique and has its own history: Maria Loretto Castle, Ziegguln Castle, Halleg Castle. Also worth visiting are the Planetarium of the Astronomical Union of Carinthia, the Carinthian Land Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art.
You can also enjoy simply walking around Klagenfurt, where you will find yourself in a world of charming Renaissance-style courtyards. Here you will find modern boutiques, trendy cafes and cute restaurants with gardens.
Not far from Klagenfurt there is the Hochosterwitz fortress, popular among tourists. A beautiful view of the fortress opens from the city. It stands proudly on a high limestone cliff. You can climb to the castle fortress by elevator, almost along a sheer wall, or climb on foot. In the latter case, you will have to go through 14 defensive towers with passage gates. The castle has a museum where weapons, knightly armor, household items, and jewelry are exhibited.
In the suburbs of Klagenfurt, on the territory of the park, there is “Minimundus” - the whole world in miniature. Here you can see landmarks from different countries of the world, made on a scale of 1:25 - St. Basil's Cathedral from Moscow, the Eiffel Tower from Paris, St. Peter's Cathedral from Rome, etc. Minimundus is very popular with children, as here miniature trains move along miniature railways, and small ships sail along the rivers.
Gurk Gnome Park is located 25-30 kilometers from Klagenfurt. This is a real city of gnomes, where there is a theater and a fortress where gnomes live, as well as a rose garden and a gnome parliament.
Be sure to visit the Pyramiden Kogel observation deck, which offers a magnificent panorama of the whole of Carinthia.
In the city center on New Square there is a fountain with a dragon (“Lindwurm”). The fountain is a symbol of Klagenfurt and recalls an ancient legend. According to one version of this legend, once upon a time, a dragon lived in Lake Wörthersee and ate the inhabitants of the city. But one day the Duke’s heroic servant killed the dragon and thereby saved the townspeople. Another version says: once upon a time there was a swamp on the site of the city and a dragon lived in it. The dragon plotted various intrigues for the residents of the surrounding area. But there were brave men who exterminated the dragon, and founded a city on the site of the swamp. The dragon is still present in the life of the Klagenfurt residents, but only as an image on the city’s coat of arms.
Transport Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt has its own international airport (Klagenfurt Airport). It is located 3 km from the city center. You can get there by bus. The bus runs every half hour from 06.00 to 23.00 from the main station and from Heiligengeistplatz.
You can get around the city by buses, the fare of which is paid at a special machine or from the driver. It is very profitable to buy the so-called Carinthian Card. It costs 34 euros for an adult and 15 euros for a child and, in addition to a 50 percent discount on public transport, provides free visits to museums, boat trips, use of railway transport to tourist destinations and cable car rides.
Klagenfurt (or more fully Klagenfurt am Wörthersee or Klagenfurt am Wörthersee - in general, in the original - Klagenfurt am Wörthersee), being the administrative center of the federal Austrian state of Carinthia (Kärnten), can be considered as a base for trips around the surrounding area attractions. At the same time, both the sights of Carinthia and many interesting places in other regions of Austria and beyond are accessible from Klagenfurt - from here it is not far from both Slovenia and Italy. In short, there are plenty of opportunities to develop routes to suit every taste. As a matter of fact, below are some sketches on the topic “Where to go from Klagenfurt?” and some ideas for independent travel itineraries in Carinthia, Austria and other nearby countries.
However, before we begin describing travel routes, let’s make a small digression and pay attention to the website of the Austrian railways www.oebb.at. This site is very convenient to use for planning travel routes in Austria, since it covers not only the railway network, but also bus lines. In many cases, it can even be used to calculate the approximate walking time from public transport stops to significant attractions. All information provided below regarding ground transport can be found at oebb.at.
Travel routes in Carinthia
Traveling around Carinthia from Klagenfurt is quite convenient, since Klagenfurt is not only the administrative center of the region, but also a major transport hub. In particular, Klagenfurt has an international airport. Of course, the city is not bypassed by railways, not to mention motor transport.
Where can you go from Klagenfurt? There are actually a lot of options. Let's start with the immediate surroundings. These, in particular, include the rather interesting (though, of course, not unique of its kind) Minimundus miniature park. It is actually located within the city limits, but at some distance from the historical center of Klagenfurt towards Lake Wörther (also known as Wörther See, Wörther See or Wörthersee), about which it is also impossible not to say a few words. On the shores of the lake (including the eastern one, which belongs to Klagenfurt) there are equipped beaches and walking areas. By the way, the beaches of Wörthersee are mainly wooden walkways leading from the shore into the water. In general, from the point of view of swimming, perhaps even more interesting than Klagenfurt are villages such as Velden am Wörthersee and Pörtschach am Wörthersee, located respectively on the western and northern banks of the Wörthersee. Therefore, in order to combine a resort holiday with an excursion program for trips around Carinthia, you can choose as a base point not Klagenfurt, but just Velden (for hotels, see) or Pörtschach (for hotels, see). To further diversify your stay on the shores of Lake Wörther, pleasure boats regularly ply between the picturesque villages scattered along the shores (see, for example, www.wörtherseeschifffahrt.at and www.schifffahrt-velden.at).
Since we touched on the water topic, it is worth noting that Carinthia is no less famous for its lakes than Salzkammergut (read more about travel routes around the lakes of Salzkammergut). In addition to Wörthersee, one can note Millstätter See, Weissensee, Klopeiner See, Ossiacher See and many, many others - the count here is not even in the tens, but in the hundreds. If you wish, more detailed information about the most interesting lakes of Carinthia can be found on the website www.kaernten.at/... (the information on this website is partially presented in Russian, but much more detail is described in German).
Where else can you go in the vicinity of Klagenfurt? For example, in Frisach (on the website oebb.at this place is designated as “FRISACH IN KRN”). It takes about 50 minutes to get there by S-Bahn train. Friesach is interesting for its numerous medieval buildings, as well as the ruins of the Petersberg fortress (Burgruine Petersberg).
Much better, unlike Petersberg, the Hochosterwitz Castle (or Burg Hochosterwitz) has been preserved. Many, not without reason, call it one of the most beautiful castles in Austria. The most convenient way to get to Hochosterwitz is by personal vehicle. However, the path to the castle is not closed to the “horseless”. So, from Klagenfurt you can first get to Launsdorf - it’s about half an hour by S-Bahn train. Then take no more than five minutes by bus to the Launsdorf Burg Hochosterwitz stop. True, these buses operate extremely rarely. However, this is not a problem. By and large, the distance from Launsdorf railway station to the castle can be covered on foot (the walk takes about 30-40 minutes).
It will also be interesting to go to Gurk, famous for its cathedral. In addition, it is worth paying attention to the Zwergenpark or the Gurkian Gnome Park (Zwergenpark Gurktal), especially if you are traveling with children. It is again more convenient to go to Gurk by car. If you travel by public transport, the route can be constructed as follows: take the train to the Treibach-Althofen station - this will take about 40 minutes, it will take about another 30 minutes to get from the train station to Gurka ( by bus). Along the way, by the way, you can get off in Strassburg, where you can see another castle.
In general, there are a lot of castles in Carinthia. In addition to the above-mentioned Hochosterwitz, in our opinion, it is worth visiting Landskron Castle. From Klagenfurt you can reach it via Villach. Villach is about half an hour away by rail. Next – about another 15 minutes by bus to the stop “St.Andrä b.Villach Abzw Ossiach”, and then about 20-30 minutes walk. On the website oebb.at you can search for public transport routes to Landskron by entering “Villach, Burgruine Landskron” as your destination.
It is logical to combine a trip to Landskron Castle with a visit to Villach. It’s quite possible to get it done in a day. However, you can stay in Villach longer (you can look at the hotels). The town itself and its immediate surroundings are of interest. In particular, here you can go on a river trip along the Drau River (see schifffahrt.at/...) or go to Lake Faaker See.
From Villach you can travel further to the north-west of Carinthia. For example, to the lakes Millstätter and Weißensee, which we mentioned above. Or even further, to the foot of Grossglockner, the highest mountain in the Austrian Alps. In this area, it is worth paying attention, at least, to the Raggaschlucht gorge and the mountain village of Heiligenblut, famous for the fact that according to legend, a bottle of Christ's blood is kept in its church. There is also a gold mining village nearby (Goldgräberdorf), where you can try on the role of a gold hunter. By public transport, it is more convenient to get to this area of Carinthia through the Tyrolean town of Lienz - not to be confused with Linz. At the same time, if you drive from Villach, you can turn around in a day, but this will probably be a rather tiring trip (it takes about three hours one way). Therefore, it makes sense to stay somewhere in the surrounding area, for example, in Heiligenblut (hotels). If you travel by car, it is worth taking a ride along the Alpine high road Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse. This road, however, is toll. But the views from it are simply stunning. In addition, it is convenient to travel along Großglockner Hohalpenstrasse to Salzburg (meaning the federal state of Salzburg - Land Salzburg - and, above all, places such as Kaprun, Zell am See, etc.). But that's another story (see travel routes from Salzburg).
Thus, several options for organizing a travel route in Carinthia emerge. Firstly, as suggested above, you can stop in Klagenfurt (or Velden and Pörtschach) in order to drive around the surrounding area. Secondly, you can loop the route, for example, like this: Klagenfurt - Villach - Heiligenblut - Klagenfurt. Moreover, many more interesting things can be included in the gap between Heiligenblut and Klagenfurt. Thirdly, you can not limit yourself to Carinthia, and include Klagenfurt and Villach and the surrounding area in a longer travel route around Austria.
From Klagenfurt in Austria
In general, from a transport point of view, Klagenfurt, in our opinion, is not the most convenient point to start a trip to Austria (although this option, of course, is not excluded). However, Klagenfurt and other remarkable places in Carinthia can be quite successfully combined with a visit to other Austrian regions. For example, you can start a trip around Austria in Vienna (Wien), then move to Graz (Graz, see additional travel routes from Graz), and then from Graz to Klagenfurt. You can then head northwest to Tyrol (see travel itineraries from Innsbruck), or north to Salzburg and Upper Austria (see travel itineraries from Salzburg and routes from Linz), then return to starting point - to Vienna. This is just one idea. The options may be different, since the transport infrastructure of Austria is very well developed.
Klagenfurt is a city located in the south of Austria, in the valley of the Glan River. Klagenfurt is surrounded by lakes. Klagenfurt - its beauty is somewhat reminiscent of Swiss cities on the shores of Lake Geneva. Only in Klagenfurt is Lake Wörthersee. The landscapes of Klagenfurt are stunning, green mountains bordering the calm surface of Wörthersee, cozy cottages and miniature houses, unlike one another, at the very edge of the water. The warmest and most popular among them is Lake Wörthersee. Over ninety-two thousand people live in Klagenfurt. The city has railways and highways. It is believed that the city was founded around one thousand one hundred and ninety-nine. Klagenfurt is growing and developing rapidly and already in 1250 it becomes one of the largest cities in the Duchy of Carinthia, and soon its capital.
Klagenfurt is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful cities in Austria. Klagenfurt is a very green city. If you visit the observation deck on the Pyramiden-Kogel tower, you will see a simply fabulous view of the city, Lake Wörthersee and the mountains Nockberg and Hochosterwitz. By the way, the water in Lake Wörthersee is warm and suitable for drinking. You can take a river cruise along the lake.
The ferry travels along the Lendkanal canal, capturing the historical center of Klagenfurt, sails through the Europapark and sails to the shores of Lake Wörthersee. The ferry runs from May to September. The walk lasts fifty minutes. Hochosterwitz Castle is located very close to Klagenfurt. This is one of the most beautiful Austrian castles. In the city itself, it is very interesting to visit the Minimundus park and the Europapark recreation park. Minimundus Park features miniature models of the most famous buildings from around the world.
And, of course, a walk through the center of Klagenfurt will bring you great pleasure. Walking here, you are immersed in the atmosphere of the Middle Ages. Most of the ancient buildings were built in the Baroque style.
The layout of the city is interesting. After the fire of one thousand five hundred and fourteen, during which the city was almost completely burned, the Italian architect Domenico Lalio designed the city in the form of a square with straight streets. For that time it was a bold and unusual architectural solution. And today, many modern architects are inspired by the layout and magnificent architecture of Klagenfurt for many projects.
Among the historical attractions of the city, the most interesting are the Town Hall, the city cathedral, the Landhaus building, and the House of the Gilded Goose. The symbol of Klagenfurt is the fountain with the Lindwurm dragon sculpture, which is located on the Old Square.
Klagenfurt is also famous for its ancient castles. Among them, the most famous are Halleg Castle, Maria Loretto Castle, Ziegguln Castle, and near Klagenfurt, the Hochosterwitz Fortress attracts the attention of tourists. It is also interesting to visit the Museum of Modern Art, the Planetarium of the Astronomical Union of Carinthia, and the Museum of the Carinthian Land. Just twenty-five kilometers from Klagenfurt is the Gurk Gnome Park. This is a whole fairy-tale country with its parliament, fortress, theater, rose garden, where gnomes live.
Numerous exhibitions and displays are held in the City Gallery. The building of the City Theater is amazingly beautiful, made in the Art Nouveau style. It will be a great pleasure to walk through the Kreuzbergl park, as well as through the small but very beautiful botanical garden.
There are diving and windsurfing schools on the shores of Lake Wörthersee. And the city beaches have sports grounds for playing volleyball, football, and golf courses. Klagenfurt has many three- and four-star hotels designed for family holidays, as well as apartments and guesthouses. It’s not for nothing that Klagenfurt is called the pearl of Austria. This city attracts the admiration of numerous tourists with its splendor.
The city of Klagenfurt is a cute, small European town with a rich historical past.
Situated near the unique natural, drinking alpine lake Wörthersee, Klagenfurt amazes the casual tourist with an abundance of beautiful ancient cultural monuments. Of course, in terms of the number of masterpieces of historical heritage, Klagenfurt is hardly comparable to the cities of Salzburg, Innsbruck or the beautiful Vienna, but there is still something to see. In addition, the presence of a beautiful lake within the city and beautiful beaches is exactly what gives the city a certain zest.
The Old Town is where, walking through the ancient streets, you can plunge headlong into the Middle Ages. Narrow, cobbled streets with perfectly preserved houses from past centuries are closely intertwined.
The old town in Klagenfurt is one of the most beautiful in all of Austria. In its beauty, the historical part of the city of Klagenfurt is almost comparable to the wonderful historical architectural masterpieces of the capital of the state - Vienna.
Not without reason, for its compactness, beauty and preservation of cultural heritage, the Old Town of Klagenfurt was awarded three times with the prestigious “Europa Nostra” diplomas.
The city is so compact that the few sights of the Old Town can be seen on your own, without resorting to the services of special tours and excursion bureaus. It is worth saying that the city of Klagenfurt experienced many disasters; in ancient times, the city completely burned down, almost to the ground, and only thanks to the reigning Emperor Maximilian at that time, the city was rebuilt according to ancient designs. So the city has, as it were, “two” histories - before and after the fire in the 15th - mid-16th centuries.
This is one of the main attractions of the 15th century, which has been perfectly preserved and has survived to this day in its original appearance, despite complete reconstruction at the end of the 16th century. The main asset of the city is located on New Square and attracts thousands of tourists every year. The internal staircase has a very interesting and unusual appearance; it is this that all experts and tour guides pay attention to.
And a real masterpiece of architecture and the true main attraction of the city is the Klagenfurt Landhaus. This wonderful two-story building combines most of the trends and movements in the art of architecture. The Landhaus is located in the very center of the Old Town. By the way, it is still used today; now it is the seat of the government of the federal state of Karantia.
While visiting this wonderful historical complex, I advise you to pay attention to the majestic interior design. The most beautiful part of this building is the armorial hall.
It was in this hall, in those distant times of the imperial courts and royal retinues, that the most significant ceremonies took place in the armorial hall. Royal guests were received here, balls and receptions were held.
The walls of the armorial hall are painted by the famous artist Fromiller in the form of more than 700 coats of arms of noble persons of Carantia, and the ceiling is crowned with paintings of historical scenes from the life of the rulers. The crown of the complex was the famous “Duke’s Stone” - installed as a symbol of the birth of democracy.
In addition to the Armorial Hall, there is also the so-called “small Armorial Hall”. I highly recommend not to leave this room without attention. Walls with perfectly preserved paintings on historical events from the life of royalty. Stunningly beautiful place.
The coat of arms of the city of Klagenfurt is a dragon as a symbol from distant legends. In the present, this symbol is embodied in the Lindwurmbrunnen fountain (which means “dragon fountain”).
A very popular and controversial architectural landmark of Klagenfurt. This is the most famous fountain among tourists and guests of the city. It's always full of people. In the center of the fountain (naturally) is a dragon with an open mouth (from which water flows) and the figure of a hero preparing to engage in “battle” with the monster.
The fountain, in addition to its odiousness, is also a kind of reminder of ancient tales and legends. According to one of them, on the site of the city of Klagenfurt there was a swamp and naturally a dragon lived there. The “insatiable monster” terrorized the local peoples with might and main until a local hero “sought out”, whom he entered into battle with the monster and (of course) defeated. In gratitude, a city was built on this spot.
This place is the most visited of all that the city can boast of. On the territory of the park area, unique miniature copies of attractions from all over the world have been collected and installed.
In total, there are about 171 models of miniature attractions installed throughout the park. There are exact copies of masterpieces of world and ancient architecture from approximately 53 countries.
Walking through the miniature park, you can take a free “world tour” of the sights of the globe. Here St. Basil's Cathedral is adjacent to the Eiffel Tower and the ruins of the Parthenon are located not far from the Sydney Opera House.
Children love to be in the park. In addition to architectural and historical miniatures, the park also contains working models. It’s like the world around us – only done in miniature. Trains run along the railway tracks on schedule,
Small ships and barges sail along the rivers.
Looking at such beauty, you feel like a kind of “Gulliver in the land of Lilliputians.”
To complete the experience, I advise you to climb to a height of 905 meters by visiting the Pyramidenkogel observation tower.
From such a height there are magnificent views of both the city itself and the valleys, beautiful lakes and the Alpine mountain ranges themselves.
There are two ways to climb the tower: on foot or by high-speed elevator. Tourists have three viewing platforms equipped with telescopes, thanks to which everyone can view the beautiful lake (in detail)
with its wonderful beaches and enjoy the views of the magnificent nature surrounding the city.
And, so that an independent visit does not have such a huge impact on your own budget, I recommend that you initially buy a special Kaernten Card subscription. This note (card) allows tourists to visit museums for free, go on some boats, use trains in tourist destinations, and get excellent 50% discounts on public transport. Such a subscription will cost 34 euros for adults and 15 euros for children.
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Klagenfurt is located in the southern region, being the center of the federal state of Carinthia. The city is located on the banks of the Glan River, just 4 km from the picturesque lake Wörthersee. At one time, such famous personalities lived here as the famous writer Robert Musil, famous for his book “The Man Without Qualities,” and the no less legendary composer Gustav Mahler. According to legend, Klagenfurt was founded by the Duke of Carinthia, Hermann von Spanheim, and the first historical mentions of it date back to 1193. In the middle of the 13th century, Klagenfurt received city status and began to rapidly expand, becoming one of the largest centers of the Duchy of Carinthia. The old district of the city, where the main attractions and valuable historical relics are concentrated, is of great cultural importance for Klagenfurt. During its existence, the city burned several times, each time literally recovering from the ashes. Its architecture follows the classic Western European style of architecture of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The surrounding area of Klagenfurt is also extremely beautiful, replete with green meadows and picturesque mountain ranges.
Thanks to good climatic conditions and excellent natural landscapes, the regional territory of the city annually attracts thousands of sports fans in all seasons. The tourist infrastructure is also developed here at the highest level, offering its guests comfortable hotels, convenient transport links and a lot of exciting excursion routes.
Since the Middle Ages, Klagenfurt has been famous for its fountains. The most famous of them is “ Dragon fountain", located on New Square. The fountain is an interesting composition, based on a dragon with water pouring from its mouth and a courageous hero with an impressive club peeking out from behind his back. This sculpture symbolizes the ancient legend of an eternally hungry dragon that lived in Lake Wörthersee many centuries ago and ate local residents for lunch. In the end, a hero was found in the duchy who managed to defeat the dragon and save the townspeople from the insatiable monster. Since then, the image of the winged creature has been emblazoned on the city seal. The role of one of the main architectural creations of Klagenfurt is played by the building of a modern Town Halls, which until 1918 was the property of the count family of Rosenberg. Now the building belongs to the city and delights local residents with its exquisite external and internal design. Of no less interest is the Old Square, where it rises Landhaus Palace, with the administration of the state of Carinthia located in it. The building was built at the end of the 16th century on the site of an ancient castle. The current image of the palace fits gracefully into the city ensemble, harmoniously combining with the surrounding landscapes. The status of the most ancient landmark of Klagenfurt is House of the Gilded Goose, built in 1489, the courtyard of which is decorated with luxurious bas-reliefs . Special grace and romanticism are characteristic of Minimundus Park, with its miniature models of the greatest buildings from around the world. The Europapark amusement park welcomes ride lovers every day. The city also features several interesting museums.
In the surrounding area, the lake attracts the attention of Klagenfurt residents and visitors Wörther See, which has a reputation for being the warmest in the Alps. At some distance from the local Strandbad beach, there is a port, at the pier of which there are ferries and yachts that regularly go on sea cruises along the waters of Wörther See. In the winter, the shores of the lake are covered with snow, and about once every 10 years its surface completely freezes, forming a huge skating rink, which is immediately attended by hundreds of people who want to skate. Along the coast, especially in its northern direction, there are several small villages and small towns. Wörther See is considered a popular tourist destination in Austria and there are always a lot of vacationers here. Another interesting attraction of the regional districts of Klagenfurt is the majestic Hochosterwitz Castle, built back in the first millennium. It rises on a dolomite rock, 160 meters above sea level and is clearly visible in clear weather even from a distance of 30 km. During its existence, the castle was repeatedly modified and partially rebuilt, but to this day it has remained in excellent condition, and now regularly receives guests as part of numerous excursion groups. For lovers of antiquities, the Archaeological Park Magdalensberg is also of great interest, where the ruins of a once important city for the Roman Empire - Noricum - have been preserved. Just an hour's drive from Klagenfurt, lies the small ski resort of Gerlitzen, recommended for family holidays.
The city has a traditional continental climate for this geographical region. Already in November, winter begins here and until March inclusive, the average air temperature is - 4 degrees. Severe frosts are also not uncommon, although winds periodically blowing from the Karavanke mountain range bring warm days even in cold winters. As a rule, there is a lot of snow, especially at higher elevations. Summer is almost never hot, and the thermometer is limited to +25, with an average temperature of +21.
Most tourists visit the city coming from other regions of Austria, although there are not many foreigners here either. It gets especially crowded during public holidays and during annual sports competitions, including the Wörther See beach volleyball tournament and the Ironman Austria triathlon. Klagenfurt is a small city and all its attractions can be explored in just a couple of days, but the abundance of entertainment in the surrounding areas and the beautiful nature of these places have allowed the city to remain the most important tourist center in the territory for many years.