Köflach

Köflach
Köflach
	Coat of arms
	Köflach Location within Austria
	Coordinates: 47°04′N 15°05′E
Country	Austria
State	Styria
District	Voitsberg
Government
• Mayor	Mag. Helmut Linhart (ÖVP)
Area [1]
• Total	43.07 km2 (16.63 sq mi)
Elevation	449 m (1,473 ft)
Population (2018-01-01)[2]
• Total	9,888
• Density	230/km2 (590/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	A-8580
Area code	61609
Website	www.koeflach.at

Köflach is a small city in the district of Voitsberg in the Austrian state of Styria, at the foot of the Stubalpe mountain. The town has a federal stud in the village of Piber that supplies the Lipizzaner horses to the famous Spanish Riding School in Vienna. Traditionally known for its coal mining, Köflach is slowly changing from an industrial town to a center of the service sector. It is connected by rail to Voitsberg.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1869	3,474	—
1880	5,507	+58.5%
1890	6,900	+25.3%
1900	7,131	+3.3%
1910	6,564	−8.0%
1923	7,288	+11.0%
1934	7,742	+6.2%
1939	8,044	+3.9%
1951	11,321	+40.7%
1961	12,658	+11.8%
1971	12,629	−0.2%
1981	12,055	−4.5%
1991	11,276	−6.5%
2001	10,671	−5.4%
2011	9,757	−8.6%
2014	9,567	−1.9%

Sights

The main attractions are "Bundesgestüt Piber" (Piber Federal Stud) with its famous white Lipizzaner horses and the thermal bath "Therme Nova" which is supplied from mineral spring in Piber.

Also a point of interest is the House of Art and Culture which holds exhibitions, mostly of local artists.

Infrastructure

Köflach has a railway terminal, it is the first station of the railroad between Köflach and Graz.

The nearest Autobahn (Freeway) is the "A2 Südautobahn", the nearest connections are "Modriach" and "Mooskirchen". The most important Roads are the "B70 Packerbundesstraße" connecting Köflach with Graz and Villach and the "B77 Gaberl Straße".

Economy

The important industrial sites are Stölzle Oberglas, producer of glass, and LEAR, producer of car seats (especially for Magna Steyr).

Twin towns

Giengen an der Brenz, Germany, since 1962

Sons and daughters

Ferdinand Pamberger (1873-1956), painter and graphic artist
Stefanie Werger (born 1951), musician, author and actress
Leo Lukas (born 1959), cabaret artist and writer

Other members of the community history

Viktor Elser (1893-1979), national politician, national councilor of the council (mayor of 1924-1934)
Anton Lukesch (1912-2003) and Karl Lukesch (1917-1991), missionaries and South American researchers

gollark: I expect the only way climate change will ever end up solved is if someone comes up with geoengineering solutions which don't require much lifestyle change.

gollark: "government weather control satellites operated by lizard people living on Mars"

gollark: People generally seem to just completely ignore Google's extensive tracking and also Facebook's. It's odd.

gollark: something something communism doesn't work.

gollark: Yes, not everyone is there.

References

"Dauersiedlungsraum der Gemeinden Politischen Bezirke und Bundesländer - Gebietsstand 1.1.2018". Statistics Austria. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
"Einwohnerzahl 1.1.2018 nach Gemeinden mit Status, Gebietsstand 1.1.2018". Statistics Austria. Retrieved 9 March 2019.