The Carinthian linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as 'ford of lament' or 'ford of complaints', had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters or swamps.

The latest interpretation, on the other hand, is that Old Slovene cviljovec itself goes back to Italic l'aquiliu 'place at or in the water', which would make the wailing-hag theory obsolete.

In the 14th century, the abbot and historiographer John of Viktring translated Klagenfurt's name in his Liber certarum historiarum as Queremoniae Vadus 'ford of complaint', Hieronymus Megiser, master of the university college of the Carinthian Estates in Klagenfurt and editor of the earliest printed history of the duchy in 1612, believed the name to mean 'ford across the Glan River',[10]: 83  which, however, is impossible for linguistic reasons.

Legend has it that Klagenfurt was founded after a group of brave men slayed an abominable winged "lindwurm" from the moors adjoining the lake,[when?]

[citation needed] In the following centuries, Klagenfurt suffered fires, earthquakes, invasions of locusts, and attacks from Ottomans, and was ravaged by the Peasants' Wars.

In 1514, a fire almost completely destroyed the city, and in 1518 Emperor Maximilian I, unable to rebuild it, despite the loud protests of the citizens, ceded Klagenfurt to the Estates, the nobility of the Duchy.

In 1809, however, the French troops (under Napoleon) destroyed the city walls, leaving, against a large sum collected by the citizens, only one eastern gate (which was pulled down to make way for traffic some decades later), and the small stretch in the west which is now all that is left of the once grand fortifications.

By the late 19th century, however, the Slovene cultural and political influence in Klagenfurt had declined sharply, and by the end of World War I, the city showed an overwhelmingly Austrian German character.

In 1938, Klagenfurt's population suddenly grew by more than 50% through the incorporation of the town of St. Ruprecht and the municipalities of St. Peter, Annabichl, and St. Martin but during World War II, the city was bombed 41 times.

[citation needed] A volume of 110,000 cubic metres (3,884,613 cu ft) of rubble had to be removed before the citizens could set about rebuilding their city.

[citation needed] From the beginning of 1945, when the end of the war was rather obvious, numerous talks among representatives of democratic pre-1934 organisations had taken place, which later extended to high-ranking officers of the Wehrmacht and officials of the administration.

[14] To avoid further destruction and a major bloodshed, on 3 May 1945 General Löhr of Army Group E (Heeresgruppe E) agreed to declare Klagenfurt an "open city" "in case Anglo-American forces should attack the city", a declaration that was broadcast several times and two days later also published in the Kärntner Nachrichten.

[15] On 7 May 1945, a committee convened in the historic Landhaus building of the Gau authorities to form a Provisional State government, and one of the numerous decisions taken was a proclamation to the "People of Carinthia".

This proclamation included the reporting of the resignation of the Gauleiter and Reichsstatthalter Friedrich Rainer, the transfer of power to the new authorities, and an appeal to the people to decorate their homes with Austrian or Carinthian colours.

[citation needed] On 8 May 1945, 9:30 am, British troops of the Eighth Army under General McCreery entered Klagenfurt and were met in front of Stauderhaus by the new democratic city and state authorities.

[17] Both of these forces made their way through the city's streets which were jammed with tens of thousands of Volksdeutsche refugees, and masses of soldiers of all the nationalities that had been fighting under German command and were now fleeing the Russians.

[18] On Neuer Platz—renamed Adolf Hitler Platz in 1938—British armoured vehicles[19] are said to have faced allied Yugoslav ones in a hostile way, which would have been a curious spectacle for the liberated citizens, but this is unlikely.

Several days passed before, under British pressure and American diplomatic backing, the Yugoslav troops withdrew from the city proper,[20] but not before establishing a parallel Carinthian-Slovene civil administration (the Carinthian National Council) presided over by Franc Petek.

This posed a problem, because one of the first actions of the British had been to confiscate all the property of the Nazi Party, as well as to freeze their bank accounts and to block their financial transfers.

In 1973, Klagenfurt absorbed four more adjacent municipalities: Viktring, with its grand Cistercian monastery; Wölfnitz; Hörtendorf; and St. Peter am Bichl.

Klagenfurt is elevated 446 metres (1,463 feet) above sea level and covers an area of 120.03 square kilometres (46+3⁄8 sq mi).

Klagenfurt has a typical humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb, Trewartha Dcbo), with a fair amount of fog throughout the autumn and winter, which occurs in 106 days annually.

[22] The rather cold winters are broken up by occasional warmer periods due to foehn wind from the Karawanken mountains to the south.

The Old City, with its central Alter Platz (Old Square) and the Renaissance buildings with their charming arcaded courtyards are a major attraction.

Klagenfurt is a popular vacation spot, with mountains both to the south and north, numerous parks and a series of 23 stately homes and castles on its outskirts.

A number of general high schools such as and senior high schools offering general-cum-professional education: The ice hockey team EC KAC (Eishockey Club Klagenfurter Athletiksport Club) has won the top level Austrian Championship 30 times since its founding in 1909.