The Dragon Stone

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Location:
Klagenfurt, Austria

Description:
The Klagenfurt lindworm (or lindwurm) lived in the area that is now Klagenfurt in Austria.

Slaying the Lindworm
Before the town there was a swamp. In these marshes and moors lived a lindworm. The local people avoided going into the swamp, knowing that the lindworm would attack them. People and livestock that strayed into the area were lost to the dragon.

The duke, Herzog Karast, came up with a plan to get rid of the lindworm. A tower was built near to the dragon's home with soldiers to defend it. Next, a bullock was chained up with spike-covered chains. The lindworm was lured out of its lair by the promise of a free meal, and on trying to attack became impaled on the spikes. Herzog and his men then killed it using spiked clubs.

Once the dragon was dead, the swamps were safe again, and Klagenfurt could be built.

Commemorating the Lindworm
The crest of Klagenfurt shows a lindworm in front of a tower. The lindworm is green with a pair of wings and two legs.

The skull of the lindworm was discovered in 1335. It was later identified as being the skull of an extinct woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) and not a lindworm after all. The skull was used as a basis for the design of the Lindwurmbrunnen (Lindworm or Dragon Fountain), a fountain built in Neuen Platz in about 1590 to commemorate the story. The artist who made the lindworm was Ulrich Vogelsang. The fountain lindworm has four feet and a pair of wings.

Selected References: Pennick, Nigel (1997)

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