The Landhaus Klagenfurt () located between Heiligengeistplatz and Alter Platz on the edge of the oldest part of downtown Klagenfurt, Austria, is a historically significant secular building in the Carinthian capital of Klagenfurt. It was built between 1574 and 1594 as part of the city's expansion and fortification efforts, commissioned by the Carinthian Landstand. Today, the Landhaus remains a symbol of Carinthian history and tradition and serves as the seat of the Carinthian state parliament.
Historical background
During the late 15th and early 16th centuries, Carinthia found itself largely left to its own devices. The Habsburg princes, who resided as emperors in Vienna or Prague, were largely absent from the region. Instead, the burden of dealing with Ottoman incursions and uprisings fell upon the Landstände, which represented the nobility and high clergy. In 1478, the Carinthian peasant uprising arose in opposition to new taxes. Further rebellions emerged from Carniola and southern Styria in 1515, eventually leading to the occupation of Althofen and St. Vitus, which served as the capital of Carinthia at that time.
Despite the initial suppression of the uprisings through military intervention, these events bolstered the determination of the "honorable landscape" to establish a seat of power under their own control, rather than being subject to foreign rulers. They selected the city of Klagenfurt, which had suffered extensive damage from a fire in 1514, and petitioned Emperor Maximilian I to relinquish control of the city to them. Given that the imperial court and the city lacked the necessary funds for reconstruction, Maximilian granted ownership to the affluent local nobility in 1518. Over the course of the 16th century, the Landstände oversaw the reconstruction and fortification of the city, ultimately designating Klagenfurt as the new capital of Carinthia.
As early as 1527, the 4.5-kilometer-long Lend Canal was laid, which supplied the city with water from Lake Wörthersee, fed the city moat that had been dug from 1534, and served as a transport route for building materials for the new buildings. The expansion of the city itself began in 1534. Within the newly erected city wall, buildings were built south of the old city center that still characterizes Klagenfurt's face today. The Evangelical Preacher Church (later the Klagenfurt Cathedral) was built in 1581, the Lindwurm fountain was erected on the Neuer Platz in 1593, and the country house was built between 1574 and 1594, which was to serve as the seat of the Landstände.
History
Preceding buildings in the late Middle Ages
Klagenfurt, which was established at its current location in 1246, was granted city rights in 1252. However, during the late Middle Ages, the towns of St. Veit and Völkermarkt held greater importance as sovereign residences in Carinthia. Despite this, records indicate that a castle was built in Klagenfurt during the town's reconstruction period. Castellans of Klagenfurt were mentioned in the year 1258, and a document by Duke Ulrich III's from 1268 refers to a castle. However, little is known about the size and location of this castle, although it is believed to have been situated at the western end of the Alter Platz. Neither the Spanheimer dukes in the 13th century nor the Habsburg sovereigns, who gained possession of the Duchy of Carinthia in 1335, used the castle complex as a seat of power. While the former resided in St. Veit, none of the latter took up permanent residence in Klagenfurt.
In 1489, the citizens of Klagenfurt received the first castle as a gift from the emperor. At that time, a second sovereign castle already existed, which was built during the 15th century. The precise location of this second building is not documented, but it was situated near the older castle, and at least part of it occupied the area where the Landhaus now stands.
Construction of the Landhaus (1574–1594)
The landhaus was to replace the old sovereign castle, which was destroyed in a city fire in 1535 but had already become dilapidated beforehand. To prepare for the construction of a new building, the Landstände began building an armory in 1518, the foundations of which can still be seen in the northeastern corner of the cellar. It was ultimately decided to build a new castle in 1574 to replace the old one.