Klagenfurt, capital of the province of Carinthia (approx. 90,000 inhabitants), is host city of three group matches of the European Football Championship 2008. A brand-new, ultra-modern stadium has been built especially for EURO 2008. Since its official opening in September 2007, the stadium has quickly become the new landmark of the city.

Klagenfurt is a city where history and modernity blend delightfully. In addition to modern architecture (such as the stadium building), the well preserved buildings of the old city centre make for the unique charm of this city.
Located in the eastern bay of Lake Wörthersee and surrounded by mountains, Klagenfurt is a popular destination!

A city of over 800 years old, a city with a past and a rich tradition, located at a point where three cultures meet and overlap, in the centre of the Alpine-Adriatic area that has shaped the city's character over the centuries. A city at the centre of the new Europe.

One of the greatest attractions in Klagenfurt is the historic Renaissance quarter of the city. The unique and special atmosphere is appreciated by both the people of Klagenfurt and visitors. More than eighty arcade courtyards dating back to the 16th century have been restored and made accessible to the public. The large project of old city restoration has also been appreciated at an international scale. Klagenfurt is the only city that has been awarded the "Europa-Nostrum" certificate for exemplary town preservation three times so far.
The old city centre with its southern character that it owes to Italian architects vibrates with life. The city is no museum, but a popular shopping centre. In the carefully restored historic passages and arcade courtyards, there are boutiques, shops, cafés, restaurants and bars. By the way: Klagenfurt realised very early how important it is to ensure good shopping opportunities in the city centre and established Austria's first pedestrian zone in 1971.

The market square in the middle of city definitely adds to this special shopping experience. There is scarcely a single market that can compare with it anywhere in Austria. At Benediktinerplatz farmers from the region offer their produce, and fishmongers come in from the Italian area to sell their fish. And Friday is reserved for Carinthia's organic farmers.

Carinthia's capital is the native town of two writers of international modern classic status, Robert Musil and Ingeborg Bachmann, of painter Herbert Boeckl and of composer Thomas Koschat, who was also a member of the Court Opera. Gustav Mahler spent some summers in this city composing. It goes without saying that culture is high on Klagenfurt's agenda and that the city offers powerful financial backing to activities in the arts.
A special mile of culture was created with the Art Nouveau "Künstlerhaus", the "Europahaus" event centre, the Alpen-Adria Gallery "Stadthaus", the Art Nouveau Municipal Theatre, music school and modern Municipal Gallery.

The house where Austrian novelist Robert Musil ("The Man without Qualities") was born has been turned into a museum, internationally renowned literature archive and seat of the literature department of Klagenfurt University. The estate of Carinthian writer Christine Lavant is managed here, and the house also hosts a commemorative exhibition on writer Ingeborg Bachmann.

The name of this outstanding writer is also the name of the major literature prize that turns Klagenfurt into the meeting place for every one of name and rank in German language literature every year: the "Days of German-Language Literature" and the Ingeborg-Bachmann Award are organised every year and offer a venue for authors, publishers and critics.
In the run-up to the reading competition, the annual Klagenfurt literature course for young authors is held at the Musilhaus, the first address of literature in our city.

Klagenfurt is well positioned in the European arts world with the events around the Ingeborg-Bachmann Literature Award and the international Gustav-Mahler Composition Award. And with the Wörthersee stage, presenting a new musical highlight every year, Klagenfurt complements the unique Austrian cycle of lake-side stages with Bregenz (opera) and Mörbisch (operetta).

 

For decades, Klagenfurt am Wörthersee has been a popular tourist destination. Its unspoilt nature, Lake Wörthersee with water of drinking quality and the exciting opportunities offered by the city attract hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. Tourism is one of the most important lines of business in the Carinthian capital.

Klagenfurt's policy-makers interpreted the signs of the time correctly: interesting large events attract additional, mainly young, visitors. The decision to organise large events pays off, not only in visitor numbers: Klagenfurt always secures top rankings when the annual Austrian Event Awards are presented.

The two top examples of large events are the Grand Slam Beach Volleyball tournament, supported by both the municipality and the regional government. The best beach volleyball players and the world and 100,000 spectators pour into the city to watch these sports event.
The other example is the Carinthian Ironman Austria competition, where 2000 athletes swim, run and cycle, cheered on by 100,000 spectators.

Professional and leisure time sports play an important role in Klagenfurt. The offer even extends to the very young ones to get them interested in sports and make them enjoy the fun of physical exercise.
The "Sports Sampler", as it is called, is unique in Austria. In the summer and winter holidays, children up to the age of 15 can try out various sorts of sports free of charge, coached by experienced trainers. Be it football, ice hockey, fencing or dog-sled steering - all sports associations of the city take part in this sampler weeks and many of the young athletes who checked it out have turned out to be promising and successful young talents.

Major sport events, such as the Ironman Austria and the Beach Volleyball Grand Slam attract thousands of top athletes and their followers every year. The climatic conditions here are excellent for athletes, and the fans who pour in for these top events fill the city with their enthusiasm. Klagenfurt is a very sporting city: There are far more than 300 sports associations in Klagenfurt, which means that every third inhabitant has a direct link of some kind or other to sports. More than 50 associations are represented in the top leagues of their sport.
Klagenfurt is the right place to go if you want to exercise: with the lake, it is perfect for water sports in summer, there are 160 kilometres of well groomed walking and hiking trails, a dense network of cycle lanes, a skater park, the half-marathon route for joggers, and in winter, Klagenfurt boasts Austria's only inner-city skiing resort, where snowboarders and freestylers show off their moves and styles - Klagenfurt, the city of sports, is perfectly equipped.

Klagenfurt also has a very special position in the field of sports medicine: The Department of Sports Medicine at Klagenfurt Hospital is chaired by a former Olympic champion - Dr. Karl Schnabl, Olympic medallist in ski jumping 1976 in Innsbruck.
The city itself gained experience in a "near-Olympic" contest. Klagenfurt was one of the Austrian venues that applied for the Olympic Winter Games 2006 together with Italy and Slovenia under the title "Ohne Grenzen - Senza confini - brez meja". The applicants only barely missed the opportunity to host the Games and became second to Torino/Italy. This was the first time that three regions and three language areas had applied together to host the Olympic Games.

Klagenfurt's state schools, with specialised offers from foreign languages to music and sports, comprehensive schools, higher schools of comprehensive education and vocational training, offer the best conditions for sound, future-oriented education and training. Klagenfurt is the number 1 city of education in Carinthia and high investment in schools is intended to make our young people fit for a successful future.

Once they have left school, the pupils of Klagenfurt can make their choice among a wide range of further education and career offers. Leading institutions of higher education include the "Technikum Kärnten", the University of Applied Science for Telematics and Network Technology and Medical Information Technology, and Klagenfurt University.

Klagenfurt has approximately 92,000 inhabitants, and with pupils, students and commuters pouring into the city every day, the population figures climb to 150,000 people. Infrastructure has to cope with this figure. With the approx. 70,000 jobs it offers, Klagenfurt is also the economic centre of Carinthia. All the important official authorities have their seats here. Internationally renowned companies export their goods from Klagenfurt into the whole world. Philips, for example, has one of the important centres of competence in Klagenfurt, the "Centre of Competence of Household Equipment and Body Care Devices".  

The focus of business is on light industry, trade, tourism, small and medium-sized companies. Over the last few years, the city has become a centre of competence of information technology. Klagenfurt invested in future-oriented high-tech skills and is proud of the renowned Department of Information Science at Klagenfurt University, various study courses at the University of Applied Science, the many outstanding companies that work in the IT industry, and the Lakeside-Softwarepark. There is hardly another city in the Alpine-Adriatic region that can match Klagenfurt top track record in this industry.

For many decades, Klagenfurt has lived the motto "Friendship without frontiers". The capital of Carinthia has 16 twin cities and with Wiesbaden in Germany it enjoys the longest standing twinning partnership in the world (since 1930). In 1986, the city was awarded the Europe Prize of the Council of Europe for this long-standing partnership. In 1996, it received the Golden Stars of Town Twinning from the European Commission. Klagenfurt was one of the first European cities to break through the barriers of the Iron Curtain when it twinned with cities in the former GDR (Dessau), Soviet Union (Duschanbe) and Yugoslavia (Nova Gorica).

Klagenfurt's twin cities are
Wiesbaden (Germany)
Venlo (the Netherlands)
Gorizia (Italy)
Nova Gorica (Slovenia)
Gladsaxe (Denmark)
Dessau (Germany)
Duschanbe (Tadzhikistan)
Dachau (Germany)
Rzeszow (Poland)
Zalaegerszeg (Hungary)
Sibiu (Romania)
Nazareth-Illit (Jerusalem)
Czernowitz (Ukraine)
Tarragona (Spain)
Nanning (China)
Laval (Canada)