The forerunners of the present day Klagenfurt trade fairs go back as far as 1838. However, these were only oneoff events, until in 1931 the Klagenfurt and district committee for the improvement of local amenities put on a commercial goods exhibition in conjunction with the traditional autumn festival. This was highly successful, with the result that the committee remained the event organiser until 1966. In 1967, a separate company was formed, the Klagenfurter Messe Betriebsgesellschaft mbH.

... and developed

The trade fair had a somewhat varied history. After the gap during the war years, the trade fair was started up again, with a considerable degree of commitment from all concerned, in 1946, during the reconstruction period. After several different exhibition locations had been tried, the trade fair finally returned to its original site on the St. Ruprechterstrasse. Always with a finger on the pulse of the times, and frequently adopting a pioneering role, the Klagenfurt trade fair has produced many positive developments and ideas. For example, the "Holzmesse" (trade fair for wood and wood products) was set up in 1952 at a time when no previous attempts had been made in Austria to stage a specialist trade fair.