The Wyvern of Klagenfurt

Dragon of Klagenfurt
The standard issue stamp "Lindworm of Klagenfurt" of the series "Tales and Legends of Austria" deals with a legend from the provincial capital of Carinthia. The city's emblem.. Read more » dates back to this legend. The legend is one of the many dragon-slayer legends of European culture. In remembrance of a heroic victory which ended a terrible threat to the inhabitants of the region, the defeated Lindworm and the protective tower in which the fighters barricaded themselves were incorporated into the city's coat of arms. The gigantic sculpture of his body carved of slate stands resplendent on the New Square in the center of the Carinthian capital. The head of the Lindworm was modeled after a rhinoceros skull of hide which was discovered in 1353 in the so-called Lindworm Hollow in Zollfeld north of Klagenfurt. Today the head is located in Carinthia's Provincial Museum.

Country:	Austria
Type:	Postage stamps
Series:	Sages and Legends
Nominal:	6.50 öS
Year:	1997
Size:	28 x 33 mm
Perforation:	comb 13¾ x 14