Klagenfurt (since 2008 renamed Klagenfurt am Wörthersee or Celovec ob Vrbskem jezeru) is a city in southern Austria and the capital of the Austrian province of Carinthia. With 102,138 inhabitants (2021), it is the largest city in Austrian Carinthia and the sixth largest city in Austria. The urban area is located in the center of the Klagenfurt Basin and covers 120 km².
Klagenfurt was first mentioned in a document in 1192/1199 and was largely an insignificant market town until 1518, when Maximilian I donated it to the Carinthian estates. This donation and the later Protestant Reformation movement in the 16th century marked a steep rise of the city: Klagenfurt became the capital of Carinthia and many buildings were erected that are still important today, such as a country house and a cathedral.
Klagenfurt is the historical, cultural and political center of Slovenes in Carinthia and was an all-Slovene religious and cultural center in the middle of the 19th century. Even today, all Slovene central organizations of Carinthian Slovenes have their headquarters in Klagenfurt. Of special importance are the Slovenian publishing houses Drava, Mohorjeva založba and Wieser, which offer a wide range of books in various languages and are focused on intercultural dialogue.
Etymologically, the name Klagenfurt is of Roman origin and came into German with a translation from the Slovene name Celovec. The initial Romanesque form was adopted into Slovene and first documented in 1615 as V Zelovzi.
The Klagenfurt legend of the founding tells of a dragon living in a swamp and feeding on people. The monster was killed with a trick involving an ox as bait on a chain with a hook. This legend finds its heraldic expression in the city coat of arms and its artistic expression in the Lindwurmbrunnen sculpture placed on the Neue Platz in the city center.