Köflach is a small city in the district of

Voitsberg Voitsberg () is a small city in the district of Voitsberg in Styria, Austria, with a population of c. 9,700 . It grew upon the St. Margaret church at the Tregistbach river and was first mentioned in 1220 as Civitas. Remains of the Greisenegg ...

in the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n state of

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...

, at the foot of the Stubalpe mountain. The town has a federal stud in the village of

Piber The Piber Federal Stud (''Bundesgestüt Piber'') is a stud farm dedicated to the breeding of Lipizzan horses, located at the village of Piber, near the town of Köflach in western Styria, Austria. It was founded in 1798, began breeding Lipizza ...

that supplies the

Lipizzaner The Lipizzan or Lipizzaner ( hr, Lipicanac, cz, Lipicán, hu, Lipicai, it, Lipizzano, sr, Lipicaner, sl, Lipicanec), is a European breed of riding horse developed in the Habsburg Empire in the sixteenth century. It is of Baroque type, and i ...

horses to the famous

Spanish Riding School The Spanish Riding School (german: Spanische Hofreitschule) is an Austrian institution dedicated to the preservation of classical dressage and the training of Lipizzaner horses, based in Vienna, Austria, whose performances in the Hofburg are also ...

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

Population

Sights

The main attractions are " Bundesgestüt Piber" (Piber Federal Stud) with its famous white

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 Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

. The nearest Autobahn (

Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

) is the " A2 Südautobahn", the nearest connections are "Modriach" and "Mooskirchen". The most important Roads are the "B70 Packerbundesstraße" connecting Köflach with

and

Villach Villach (; sl, Beljak; it, Villaco; fur, Vilac) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the po ...

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 Giengen (; full name: Giengen an der Brenz; Swabian: ''Gẽänge'') is a former Free Imperial City in eastern Baden-Württemberg near the border with Bavaria in southern Germany. The town is located in the district of Heidenheim at the eastern e ...

, Germany, since 1962

Sons and daughters

* Ferdinand Pamberger (1873-1956), painter and graphic artist *

Hannah Perschel Hannah Perschel (born 1940 in Köflach, Styria) is an Austrian born and raised artist of Swiss nationality. With her basic art education in painting and typography at the Zurich School of Art and Design Perschel continued her learning at the inte ...

(born 1940), artist * Stefanie Werger (born 1951), musician, author and actress * Leo Lukas (born 1959), cabaret artist and writer * Hannah Scheucher (born 1993), graphic designer * Edmund Dittmer (born 1956), wine friend *

Hubert Eisner Hubert Eisner (born 7 August 1897 in Köflach, Austria; date and place of death unknown) was an Austrian Nazi and became Kreisleiter of Voitsberg. Biography Eisner attended primary (volksschule) and secondary (hauptschule) schools, and completed ...

(born 1897-?), Austrian Nazi

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