For this #WahrzeichenWednesday we're headed back to Carinthia #Kärnten for the second round of our series. Today we are highlighting Burg Hochosterwitz, a castle in Launsdorf, Austria.

The first documented mention of the castle is from 860, but it is almost certainly older than that. After falling to the Carinthian nobleman Georg Khevenhüller in 1571, the castle was expanded and renovated by Italian Renaissance architect Domenico dell'Allio, bringing it to its current form. The castle has remained in the Khevenhüller family ever since and represents a major tourist attraction and #Wahrzeichen in Carinthia.

Local legend tells of the mythical founding of the city in a marshy area plagued by a dragon, which made crossing the river Glan a "crossing of wailing" (Klage=lamenting/wailing, Furt=crossing/ford). Allegedly, the local duke built a tower for safety and hired knights to kill it by “fishing” for it with a chain and hook that connected the tower to a bull for bait. After it took the bait, the knights surrounded and killed the creature. The dragon and tower came to symbolize the city of Klagenfurt.