The
carefully restored old town with its southern flair and more than fifty
arcaded courtyards built in the 16th century has a historical centre that
is alive. In the arcaded courtyards there are cafés, shops and
boutiques, musical events, theatre performances, jazz concerts and flea
markets as well as Christmas and Easter markets, providing entertainment
throughout the year. The old town has repeatedly received international
rewards, including the Europa Nostra diploma for restoration and
revitalisation on three separate occasions. It’s a lively town, which is
well worth living in for its rich cultural heritage and modern
infrastructure. With its technology park, the European Design Depot, the
University and an Academy for Telematics and Network Technology -
Klagenfurt is prepared for the future. More than one million schillings
have been spent on refurbishing schools and the town is one of Austria's
top provincial capitals.
 Good
economic structures and a large supply of well-educated, highly trained
workers have attracted well-known companies to Klagenfurt. Philips
produces the Ladyshave and Haloplates here, which are exported all over
the world. Siemens, too, has an office in Klagenfurt. And long-established
Carinthian companies have got to the top worldwide: Stroh rum, Pago fruit
juices and Hirsch, as an international manufacturer of watch bracelets.
Culture
is very important. In the centre, a "culture mile" has been set
up which is unique in its concentration throughout Austria, comprising the
Künstlerhaus, Europahaus and Stadthaus with its three galleries, an
Art Nouveau Theatre with a modern extension, a large music school and the
Modern Town Gallery, which is very well integrated into the European
exhibition scene. Apart from that, there's a centre of literature in the
birth house of the Austrian novelist Robert Musil ("The man without
qualities"). Once a year Klagenfurt becomes the centre of German
literature: in June the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize is awarded after three
days of reading and adjudication in public.
In
a town like Klagenfurt, sports are the leisure-time activity number one.
Swimming, horse-riding, biking, hiking and tennis in
the summer, ice skating, ice hockey, skiing, snowboarding, cross-country
skiing in the winter - and many more. There are 216 active sports clubs in
the capital. More than 20 clubs compete in the highest Austrian divisions
in various sports, with the KAC at the top: the team has already won the
Austrian ice hockey championships more than twenty times. The
infrastructure is very well developed with numerous sports halls, stadiums
and ice stadiums. Klagenfurt tries to get people interested in sports at a
very early age: on the city's initiative, thousands of children get to
know various sports every year for free at "sports sampler courses
The
old city reflects 800 years of history. Thanks to the work of Italian
architects throughout the 16th and 17th centuries the city centre has an
almost southern atmosphere. Over 50 romantic courtyards were built and
most of them have been renovated with great effort and are open to the
public. Nevertheless the city is not a museum, but a living town.
Courtyards and shopping arcades house cafes, shops and restaurants, which
make a stroll a pleasant way to pass your time. Klagenfurt is also well
worth a visit because of its many parks and the lake
Klagenfurt
is the native town of Robert Musil and Ingeborg Bachmann. There’s so
much to see and experience! A four-field-theatre, numerous alternative
theatre groups, nearly 100 culture societies and choirs and 20 galleries
keep the cultural and art scene alive. Culture is happening everywhere. In
the picturesque inner courtyards you can enjoy open-air-theatre
performances, satirical revues, concerts, jazz played by famous
 artists.
Theatre, dance-theatre and music you can experience in old factory
workshops and in the rock-hall, Austrias only event-hall in the
underground.
Every
year from July to August musical life breezes through the ancient
monastery. World-famous musicians give master classes in new music, jazz,
improvisation and many more. Students come from all over the world to
perfect their skills. At the same time there are numerous concerts from
new music to jazz.
 These
are perfect conditions for holding the Olympic games at the heart of
Europe. "Klagenfurt 2006" stands for cross-border cooperation
between three regions. The concept, which links different peoples in the
Olympic games, would be symbolized in a special way.
The
candidate city Klagenfurt is situated at the intersection of three regions
- Carinthia, Slovenia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia - and
three cultures - Germanic, Slav, Romance. The infrastructure in these
independent regions is already in place. It is not necessary to invest
billions of schillings in building new sports facilities, accommodation or
press centres. What is more, modern traffic connections already exist.
That’s why everything speaks for "Klagenfurt 2006", with the
most ecologically sound concept in the history of the Olympic Games.
The mentality and arguments outlined
above paved the way to a big disappointment when Klagenfurt was not
elected on June 19th 1999 in Seoul, Korea, by the 109th IOC Session. The
IOC elected Turin, Italy, as the Host City for the XX Olympic Winter Games
in 2006 from a total of six Candidate Cities. Six cities put forward bids
for the 2006 Winter Games. They were (in alphabetical order): Helsinki
(FIN), Klagenfurt (AUT), Poprad-Tatry (SVK), Sion (SUI), Turin (ITA), and
Zakopane (POL).
We hope that Klagenfurt will be the
host for one of the very next Winter Olympics
|
