Take part and win

Oh, how beautiful are Klagenfurt’s talking houses

Alter Platz is home to all kinds of interesting things.

(Bild: Michael Stabentheiner)

"Oh, how beautiful" - this is the motto of the provincial capital's guided tours of the "talking houses". Those who take part have the chance to win prizes!

Every child knows the three-legged lion that once guarded a city gate and now guards the entrance to the City Arkaden. Or those mighty kings of the beasts that carry the Spanheimer Fountain on Dr. Arthur Lemisch Square.

But did you know that completely different, smaller "Löwalan" also live in Klagenfurt? For example, on a well-known house on the corner of Neuer Platz and Paradeisergasse: this house has been known as a pharmacy since the 16th century, and in between it housed Klagenfurt's first coffee house (1705-1728). A lion ring (see photo) still adorns the wooden portal to the building known as "La Casa Re".

Franziska Lemisch, née Rainer, watches passers-by from the façade of the Rainerhof.

(Bild: Stadtkommunikation/Johannes Puch)

This lion guards the pharmacy on Neuer Platz.

(Bild: Stadtkommunikation/Johannes Puch)

Just a few meters further on, on the north side of Neuer Platz, stands the Rainerhof between Dr.-Arthur-Lemisch-Platz and Kramergasse. Its façade is adorned with the pretty face of Franziska Lemisch, née Rainer.

She was ahead of her time as a real estate developer and knew how to invest her inherited fortune wisely: Based on plans by Viennese architect Friedrich Schachner, she not only had the Rainerhof built at the end of the 19th century, but also planned several villas in the up-and-coming summer resort of Pörtschach. Incidentally, her second eldest son was Dr. Arthur Lemisch.

Take part and win!
Anyone interested can find out more about the "talking houses" on free themed tours of the town until the end of April (see info box below).

Participants can win prizes - such as non-cash prizes from Klagenfurt's city center stores or shopping vouchers. Find out how you can take part below.

Free city tours: Oh, how beautiful Klagenfurt is...

...classic:

• April 20, 2 p.m.
• April 27, 11 a.m.
• Meeting point: Goldene Gans, Alter Platz 31

...female:

• every Friday, 4 p.m.

• Meeting point: Kiki Kogelnik fountain, Landhauspark Wiesbadener Straße

...amazing:

• April 19, 3 p.m.

• Meeting point: Klagenfurt School Museum, Lidmanskygasse 22

...staged:

• April 19, 2 p.m.

• April 20, 11 a.m.

• Meeting point: Spanheimerbrunnen, Dr.-Arthur-Lemisch-Platz

With the help of the "Talking Houses" city map - available in the city center stores, at the Klagenfurt Tourist Office and at the Citizens' Service Office in City Hall - you can find the 17 portals presented in the city center. Enter the correct numbers in the city map and upload a photo of it - or take part directly online. The competition runs until April 30.