Short info:
- What is the Coat of Arms Hall (Wappensaal)? One of the most beautiful halls in the country with 665 painted coats of arms
- Where is it? In Landhaus Klagenfurt, Landhaushof 1
- When can you visit it? Here you can find the opening times and admission prices for the Coat of Arms Hall. Incidentally, entry is with the Kärnten Card
- How much time should I plan for this? half an hour
History
The 4.5 km long Lend Canal, which supplies the city with water from Lake Wörthersee, was built as early as 1527.
The expansion of the city itself began in 1534. Within the newly erected city wall, buildings were built that still characterize the face of Klagenfurt today. The Evangelical Preacher Church (later Klagenfurt Cathedral) built from 1581, the Lindwurm fountain, which was erected on the Neuer Platz in 1593, and the country house built between 1574 and 1594, which was to serve as the seat of the estates. It is still the seat of the Carinthian state parliament.
The Great Hall of Coats of Arms (Der Große Wappensaal)
The Coat of Arms Hall is on the 1st floor of Landhaus Klagenfurt. When we enter, we are the only visitors for miles around.
The hall is 9.8 meters high. The floor area measures 23 × 13 meters, the dimensions of the hall have not changed since 1581. The hall originally had frescoes and a ceiling painting by Anton Blumenthal, but these were destroyed in a fire in 1723. The walls and the ceiling of the hall were then redesigned by Josef Ferdinand Fromiller, since then only individual coats of arms have been added.
In the hall, the wall frescoes with historical depictions, the ceiling fresco and over 665 coats of arms give impressive testimony to the power and influence of the Carinthian estates. On the north wall there is a fresco framed as a panel painting and dated 1740. It shows the installation of the Carinthian duke on the Fürstenstein near Karnburg. On the south wall there is a fresco of the same size, which shows the handing over of the gabbrief (= the deed of donation) by Maximilian I to the Carinthian estates (April 24, 1518), with which Klagenfurt became an estate town. These two frescoes symbolize the class and state awareness of the Carinthian estates.
The remaining wall surfaces are entirely covered with 650 coats of arms (including those on the ceiling there are 665 in total). The coats of arms of the rural nobility and the knights are painted on the long sides. In the top two rows in alphabetical order are the families that were part of the estate before 1591, including the newly admitted families in chronological order, ending with Count Hugo Henckel-Donnersmarck in 1847. 19 coat of arms fields are empty because the coats of arms of these families are Baroque period could no longer be determined. On the south side are the coats of arms of the ecclesiastical estates on the left and those of the provincial governors on the right, ending with Leopold von Aichelburg-Labia (1909–1918). On the north side are the coats of arms of the Landesvizedome (princely estate managers) on the left and those of the Landesverweser (deputy of the governor) on the right, both offices only existed until 1747.
The marble floor in white, red and black, the five door frames, the gateway to the coat of arms hall and the southern fireplace come from the Venetian Francesco Robba. The north chimney was reconstructed in 1908 by Pietro d’Aronco from Gemona. Since March 2006, the Fürstenstein has been in front of this fireplace again.
The small coat of arms hall
The wall paintings in the small coat of arms hall, formerly known as the council chamber, which is still used today as a consultation and meeting room for the Carinthian state parliament, are also by Fromiller.
Here the walls show 298 coats of arms of the burgraves, general contractors, provincial presidents, deputies and the last aristocratic provincial governors of Carinthia. The flat ceiling shows mock architecture and an allegorical fresco Veritas temporis filia (Truth as the Daughter of Time).
Boardroom
The meeting room, originally called the Landstube, was used as a meeting room from the start. Even today it is still used by the Carinthian state parliament, mostly on Thursdays.
The large and small coat of arms hall as well as the assembly hall and Koligsaal can be visited during the summer months. The Gasthaus im Landhaushof restaurant is located on the ground floor and parts of the basement.