Klagenfurt lies just off the eastern end of lake Wörthersee, in the southernmost part of Austria. Between 1900 and 1907, Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) spent two summer months here each year, in the house that he'd had built at Maiernigg on the southern shore of the lake, and until the tragic death of his elder daughter this was a very happy time for him. In the 'composing cottage' in the woods above the house he worked on the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th symphonies. The house is now in private hands, but the cottage – actually just a single room – is open to the public, and it was the main reason for my journey to Klagenfurt. |
Mahler's Composing House
I took the bus from the centre of Klagenfurt to Maiernigg, on the shore of the Wörthersee, and walked up the narrow 640m woodland path to Mahler's Komponierhäuschen, the 'little composing house'. It was good to be out in the country again after so long in cities and on trains. It's very peaceful and isolated up there – even today with traffic on the road below – and I can see why Mahler found it so perfect for composing. The building is only about five metres square inside. The structure itself and the window fittings are the only original items, and it now has a polished wood floor and modern light fittings.
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In the City
Klagenfurt has a huge main square (Neuer Platz) with a grotesque statue and fountain at its centre, and some nice old buildings on what are now mostly pedestrianised streets. Everything is impeccably clean, as I've come to expect in Austria. But there are very few people – apart from a number of rich young men in noisy flash cars. According to Mein Host in the hotel, Klagenfurt is only busy June-August, and at Christmas.
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Buses to Maiernigg are few and far between, and only the (very comfortable) Post buses run south of the lake. I knew I had to catch one at a stop called 'Bus Station'; however this is not in THE bus station – which is only used by the regional buses – but in a road nearby. Confused? So was I, and I nearly missed the only bus that could get me to Maiernigg before the 4:00pm Mahler house closing time. The bus to catch is the number 5310 PostBus towards Maria Worth, from Stauderplatz, immediately (about 30 metres) west of the bus station, getting off at Maiernigg Strandbad. Buses on that route are infrequent, so careful planning is necessary. Incidentally, the ÖBB national train website is so good that you can enter "From: Klagenfurt / To: Maiernigg" and immediately have the times of the very local 5310 PostBus. Integrated transport system anyone? |
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