The Napoleonic Wars gave the province of Tyrol a national epic and, in Andreas Hofer, a hero whose splendour still shines today. The reason for this was once again a conflict with its northern neighbour and its allies. During the Napoleonic Wars, the Kingdom of Bavaria was, as it had been during the War of the Spanish Successionallied with France and was able to conquer Tyrol between 1796 and 1805. The Habsburg Empire had to hand over Tyrol after several defeats. Innsbruck was no longer the capital of a crown land, but only one of many district capitals of the administrative unit Innkreis.

Inspired by the spirit of the Enlightenment, reason and the French Revolution, the new rulers set about overturning the traditional order. The breath of fresh air was not inconvenient for many citizens. Modern laws such as the Alley cleaning order or compulsory smallpox immunisation were intended to promote cleanliness and health in the city. It should not be forgotten that at the beginning of the 19th century, a considerable number of people still suffered and died from diseases caused by a lack of hygiene and contaminated drinking water. The liberal minority in Innsbruck also liked the fact that the church was pushed out of the education system. A new tax system was introduced and the powers of the nobility were further reduced. Catholic processions and religious festivals fell victim to the Enlightenment programme of the new rulers.

This did not sit well with a large part of the Tyrolean population. There was great dissatisfaction among large sections of the Tyrolean population. The spark that set off the powder keg was the conscription of young men for service in the Bavarian-Napoleonic army, although Tyroleans had not been conscripted since the LandlibellThe law of Emperor Maximilian stipulated that soldiers could only be called up for the defence of their own borders. On 10 April, there was a riot during a conscription in Axams near Innsbruck, which ultimately led to an uprising.

For God, Emperor and Fatherland Tyrolean defence units came together to drive the small army and the Bavarian administrative officials out of Innsbruck. The riflemen were led by Andreas Hofer (1767 - 1810), an innkeeper, wine and horse trader from the South Tyrolean Passeier Valley near Meran. He was supported not only by other Tyroleans such as Father Haspinger, Peter Mayr and Josef Speckbacher, but also by the Habsburg Archduke Johann in the background.

Once in Innsbruck, the marksmen not only plundered official facilities. As with the peasants' revolt under Michael Gaismair, their heroism was fuelled not only by adrenaline but also by alcohol. The wild mob was probably more damaging to the city than the Bavarian administrators had been since 1805, and the "liberators" rioted violently, particularly against middle-class ladies and the small Jewish population of Innsbruck.

One month later, the Bavarians and French had regained control of Innsbruck. What followed was what was known as the Tyrolean survey under Andreas Hofer, who had meanwhile assumed supreme command of the Tyrolean defence forces, was to go down in the history books. The Tyrolean insurgents were able to carry victory from the battlefield a total of three times. The 3rd battle in August 1809 on Mount Isel is particularly well known. "Innsbruck sees and hears what it has never heard or seen before: a battle of 40,000 combatants...“

For a short time, Andreas Hofer was commander-in-chief of Tyrol in the absence of regular facts, also for civil matters. The costs of board and lodging for this peasant regiment had to be borne by the city of Innsbruck. The city's liberal and wealthy circles in particular were not happy with the new city rulers. The decrees issued by him as provincial commander were more reminiscent of a theocracy than a 19th century body of laws. Women were only allowed to go out on the streets wearing a chaste veil, dance events were banned and revealing monuments such as the one on the Leopoldsbrunnen nymphs on display were banned from public spaces. Educational agendas were to return to the clergy. Liberals and intellectuals were arrested, but the Praying the rosary to the bid.

In the end, the fourth and final battle on Mount Isel in autumn 1809 resulted in a heavy defeat against the French superiority. The government in Vienna had used the Tyrolean rebels primarily as a tactical bruiser in the war against Napoleon. The Emperor had already had to officially cede the province of Tyrol in the peace treaty of Schönbrunn. Innsbruck was again under Bavarian administration between 1810 and 1814. By this time, Hofer himself was already a man marked by the effects of alcohol. He was captured and executed in Mantua on 20 January 1810.

Der „Fight for freedom" symbolises the Tyrolean self-image to this day. For a long time, Andreas Hofer, the innkeeper from the South Tyrolean Passeier Valley, was regarded as an undisputed hero and the prototype of the Tyrolean who was brave, loyal to his fatherland and steadfast. The underdog who fought back against foreign superiority and unholy customs. In fact, Hofer was probably a charismatic leader, but politically untalented and conservative-clerical, simple-minded. His tactics at the 3rd Battle of Mount Isel "Do not abandon them" (Ann.: You just mustn't let them come up) probably summarises his nature quite well.

In conservative Tyrolean circles such as the Schützen, Hofer is uncritically and cultishly worshipped. Tyrolean marksmanship is a living tradition that has modernised, but is still reactionary in many dark corners. Wiltener, Amraser, Pradler and Höttinger marksmen still march in unison alongside the clergy, traditional costume societies and marching bands in church processions and shoot into the air to keep all evil away from Tyrol and the Catholic Church.

In Tyrol, Andreas Hofer is still used today for all kinds of initiatives and plans. The glorified hero Andreas Hofer was repeatedly invoked, especially during the nationalist period of the 19th century. Hofer was stylised into an icon through paintings, pamphlets and plays. But even today, you can still see the likeness of the head marksman when Tyroleans defend themselves against unwelcome measures by the federal government, the transit regulations of the EU or FC Wacker against foreign football clubs. The motto is then "Man, it's time!". The legend of the Tyrolean farmer who is fit for military service, who tills the fields during the day and trains as a marksman and defender of his homeland at the shooting range in the evening, is often brought out of the drawer to strengthen the "real" Tyrolean identity.

It was only in the last few decades that the arch-conservative and probably overburdened with his task as Tyrolean provincial commander began to be criticised. Spurred on by parts of the Habsburgs and the Catholic Church, he not only wanted to keep the French and Bavarians out of Tyrol, but also the liberal ideas of the Enlightenment.

Über die Stadt verteilt erinnern viele Denkmäler an das Jahr 1809. Der Berg Isel wurde der Stadt für die Heldenverehrung der Freiheitskämpfer vom Stift Wilten, der katholischen Instanz Innsbrucks, zur Verfügung gestellt. Andreas Hofer und seinen Mitstreitern Josef Speckbacher, Peter Mayer, Pater Haspinger und Kajetan Sweth wurden im Stadtteil Wilten, das in der Zeit des großdeutsch-liberal dominierten Gemeinderats 1904 zu Innsbruck kam und lange unter der Verwaltung des Stiftes gestanden hatte, Straßennamen gewidmet. Die Feiern zum Todestag Andreas Hofers am 20. Februar locken bis heute regelmäßig Menschenmassen aus allen Landesteilen Tirols in die Stadt. 

It was almost not Gavrilo Princip, but a student from Innsbruck who changed the fate of the world. It was thanks to chance that the 20-year-old Serb was stopped in 1913 because he bragged to a waitress that he was planning to assassinate the heir to the throne. It was only when the world-changing shooting in Sarajevo actually took place that an article about it appeared in the media. After the actual assassination of Franz Ferdinand on 28 June, it was impossible to foresee what impact the First World War that broke out as a result would have on the world and people's everyday lives. However, two days after the assassination of the Habsburg in Sarajevo, the Innsbrucker Nachrichten already prophetic: "We have reached a turning point - perhaps the "turning point" - in the fortunes of this empire".

Enthusiasm for the war in 1914 was also high in Innsbruck. From the "Gott, Kaiser und VaterlandDriven by the "spirit of the times", most people unanimously welcomed the attack on Serbia. Politicians, the clergy and the press joined in the general rejoicing. In addition to the imperial appeal "To my peoples", which appeared in all the media of the empire, the Innsbrucker Nachrichten On 29 July, the day after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, the media published an article about the capture of Belgrade by Prince Eugene in 1717. The tone in the media was celebratory, although not entirely without foreboding of what was to come.

"The Emperor's appeal to his people will be deeply felt. The internal strife has been silenced and the speculations of our enemies about unrest and similar things have been miserably put to shame. Above all, the Germans stand by the Emperor and the Empire in their old and well-tried loyalty: this time, too, they are ready to stand up for dynasty and fatherland with their blood. We are facing difficult days; no one can even guess what fate will bring us, what it will bring to Europe, what it will bring to the world. We can only trust with our old Emperor in our strength and in God and cherish the confidence that, if we find unity and stick together, we must be granted victory, for we did not want war and our cause is that of justice!"

Theologians such as Joseph Seeber (1856 - 1919) and Anton Müllner alias Bruder Willram (1870 - 1919) who, with her sermons and writings such as "Das blutige Jahr" elevated the war to a crusade against France and Italy.

Many Innsbruckers volunteered for the campaign against Serbia, which was thought to be a matter of a few weeks or months. Such a large number of volunteers came from outside the city to join the military commissions that Innsbruck was almost bursting at the seams. Nobody could have guessed how different things would turn out. Even after the first battles in distant Galicia, it was clear that it would not be a matter of months.

In 1915, the Kingdom of Italy entered the war on the side of France and England. This meant that the front went right through what was then Tyrol. From the Ortler in the west across northern Lake Garda to the Sextener Dolomiten the battles of the mountain war took place. Innsbruck was not directly affected by the fighting. However, the war could at least be heard as far as the provincial capital, as was reported in the newspaper of 7 July 1915:

„Bald nach Beginn der Feindseligkeiten der Italiener konnte man in der Gegend der Serlesspitze deutlich Kanonendonner wahrnehmen, der von einem der Kampfplätze im Süden Tirols kam, wahrscheinlich von der Vielgereuter Hochebene. In den letzten Tagen ist nun in Innsbruck selbst und im Nordosten der Stadt unzweifelhaft der Schall von Geschützdonner festgestellt worden, einzelne starke Schläge, die dumpf, nicht rollend und tönend über den Brenner herüberklangen. Eine Täuschung ist ausgeschlossen. In Innsbruck selbst ist der Donner der Kanonen schwerer festzustellen, weil hier der Lärm zu groß ist, es wurde aber doch einmal abends ungefähr um 9 Uhr, als einigermaßen Ruhe herrschte, dieser unzweifelhafte von unseren Mörsern herrührender Donner gehört.“

Until the transfer of regular troops from the eastern front to the Tyrolean borders, the defence of the province depended on the Standschützen, a troop made up of men under 21, over 42 or unfit for regular military service. The front was relatively far away from Innsbruck, but the war also penetrated civilian life. This experience of the total involvement of society as a whole was new to the people. Barracks were erected in the Höttinger Au to house prisoners of war. Transports of wounded brought such a large number of horribly injured soldiers that many civilian buildings such as the university library, which was currently under construction, or Ambras Castle were converted into military hospitals. The Pradl military cemetery was established to cope with the large number of fallen soldiers. A predecessor to tram line 3 was set up to transport the wounded from the railway station to the new garrison hospital, today's Conrad barracks in Pradl.

The population in Innsbruck suffered from shortages, especially in the last winter, which was known as the Hunger winter went down in European history. In the final years of the war, food was supplied via ration coupons. 500 g of meat, 60 g of butter and 2 kg of potatoes were the basic diet per person - per week, mind you. Archive photos show the long queues of desperate and hungry people outside the food shops. There were repeated protests and strikes. Politicians, trade unionists, workers and war returnees saw their chance for change. A wide variety of parties united in resistance to the war under the slogan of peace, bread and the right to vote.

In autumn 1918, the front came closer. Although no damage was done during an air raid, the impression must have been terrible. At this time, most people were already aware that the war was lost and what fate awaited Tyrol, as this article from 6 October 1918 shows:

 „Aeußere und innere Feinde würfeln heute um das Land Andreas Hofers. Der letzte Wurf ist noch grausamer; schändlicher ist noch nie ein freies Land geschachert worden. Das Blut unserer Väter, Söhne und Brüder ist umsonst geflossen, wenn dieser schändliche Plan Wirklichkeit werden soll. Der letzte Wurf ist noch nicht getan. Darum auf Tiroler, zum Tiroler Volkstag in Brixen am 13. Oktober 1918 (nächsten Sonntag). Deutscher Boden muß deutsch bleiben, Tiroler Boden muß tirolisch bleiben. Tiroler entscheidet selbst über Eure Zukunft!“

On 4 November, Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Italy finally agreed an armistice. This gave the Allies the right to occupy areas of the monarchy. The very next day, Bavarian troops entered Innsbruck. Austria's ally Germany was still at war with Italy and was afraid that the front could be moved closer to the German Reich in North Tyrol. Fortunately for Innsbruck and the surrounding area, however, Germany also surrendered a week later on 11 November. This meant that the major battles between regular armies did not take place.

Nevertheless, Innsbruck was in danger. Huge columns of military vehicles, trains full of soldiers and thousands of emaciated soldiers making their way home from the front on foot passed through the city. The city not only had to keep its own citizens in check and guarantee rations, but also protect itself from looting. In order to maintain public order, on 5 November the Tyrolean National Council formed a People's Army made up of schoolchildren, students, workers and citizens. On 23 November 1918, Italian troops occupied the city and the surrounding area. Mayor Greil's appeals to the people of Innsbruck to surrender the city without rioting were successful. Although there were isolated riots, hunger riots and looting, there were no armed clashes with the occupying troops or even a Bolshevik revolution as in Munich.

In Innsbruck, memorials to the First World War and the fallen are mainly found at churches and cemeteries. The Kaiserjägermuseum on Mount Isel displays uniforms, weapons and pictures of the battle. Streets in Innsbruck are dedicated to the two theologians Anton Müllner and Josef Seeber. A street was also named after the commander-in-chief of the Imperial and Royal Army on the Southern Front, Archduke Eugene. There is a memorial to the unsuccessful commander in front of the Hofgarten. The eastern part of the Amras military cemetery commemorates the Italian occupation.

Wer den Beweis benötigt, dass die Innsbrucker stets ein aktives Völkchen waren, könnte das Bild „Winterlandschaft“ des niederländischen Malers Pieter Bruegel (circa 1525 – 1569) aus dem 16. Jahrhundert bemühen. Auf seiner Rückreise von Italien gen Norden hielt der Meister wohl auch in Innsbruck und beobachtete dabei die Bevölkerung beim Eislaufen auf dem zugefrorenen Amraser See. Beda Weber beschrieb in seinem Handbuch für Reisende in Tirol 1851 the leisure habits of the people of Innsbruck, including ice skating on Lake Amras. "The lake not far away (note: Amras), a pool in the mossy area, is used by ice skaters in winter." To this day, sporty clothing in every situation is the most normal thing in the world for Innsbruckers. While in other cities people turn up their noses at functional clothing or hiking and sports shoes in restaurants or offices, at the foot of the Nordkette you don't stand out.

It wasn't always like that. The path from ice-skating peasant to active citizen was a long one. In the Middle Ages and early modern times, leisure and free time for sports such as hunting or riding was primarily a privilege of the nobility. It was not until the changed living conditions of the 19th century that a large proportion of the population, especially in the cities, had something like leisure time for the first time. More and more people no longer worked in agriculture, but as labourers and employees in offices, workshops and factories according to regulated schedules.

The pioneer was the early industrialised England, where workers and employees slowly began to free themselves from the turbo capitalism of early industrialisation. 16-hour days were not only detrimental to workers' health, entrepreneurs also realised that overworking was unprofitable. Healthy and happy workers were better for productivity. Efforts to introduce an 8-hour day had been underway since the 1860s. In 1873, the Austrian book printers pushed through a working day of ten hours. In 1918, Austria switched to a 48-hour week. From 1930, 40 hours per week became the standard working time in industrial companies. People of all classes, no longer just the aristocracy, now had time and energy for hobbies, club life and sporting activities.

In many cases, it was also English tourists who brought sporting trends, disciplines and equipment with them. The financial outlay for the required equipment determined whether the discipline remained the preserve of the middle classes or whether workers could also afford the pleasure. For example, luge was already widespread around the turn of the century, while bobsleigh and skeleton remained elitist sports.

Sport was not only a leisure activity, but also a demarcation between the individual social classes. The working classes, bourgeoisie and aristocracy also nurtured their identity through the sports they practised. Aristocrats rode and hunted with the dignity of old, the middle classes showed their individuality, wealth and independence through expensive sports equipment such as modern bicycles, and the working classes chased balls or wrestled in teams of eleven. The separation may no longer be conscious, but you can still see people identifying with "their" sport today.

In the middle of the 19th century, sportsmen and women joined singers, museum and theatre enthusiasts, scientists and literature fans. The beginning of organised club sport in Innsbruck was marked by the ITV, the Innsbrucker Turnvereinwhich was founded in 1849. Gymnastics was the epitome of sport in German-speaking countries. The idea of competition was not in the foreground. Most clubs had a political background. There were Christian, socialist and Greater German sports clubs. They served as a preliminary organisation for political parties and bodies. More or less all clubs had Aryan clauses in their statutes. Jews therefore founded their own sports clubs. The national movement emerged from the German gymnastics clubs, similar to the student fraternities. The members were supposed to train themselves physically in order to fulfil the national body to serve in the best possible way in the event of war. Sedentary occupations, especially academic ones, became more common, and gymnastics served as a means of compensation. If you see the gymnasts performing their exercises and demonstrations in old pictures, the strictly military character of these events is striking. The Greater German agitator Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (1778 - 1852), commonly known as Gymnastics father Jahnwas not only the nation's gymnast, but also the spiritual father of the Lützow Free Corps which went into action against Napoleon as a kind of all-German volunteer army. One of the most famous bon mots attributed to this passionate anti-Semite is "Hatred of everything foreign is a German's duty". In Saggen, Jahnstraße and a small park with a monument commemorate Friedrich Ludwig Jahn.

1883 gründeten die Radfahrer den Verein Bicycle Club. The first bicycle races in France and Great Britain took place in 1869. The English city of Coventry was also a pioneer in the production of the elegant steel steeds, which cost a fortune. In the same year, the Innsbruck press had already reported on the modern means of individual transport when "some gentlemen ventured onto the road with several velocipedes ordered by the Peterlongo company". In 1876, cycling was briefly banned in Innsbruck as accidents had repeatedly occurred. Cycling was also quickly recognised by the state as a form of exercise that could be used for military purposes. A Reich war ministerial decree on this can be found in the press:

„Es ist beabsichtigt, wie in den Vorjahren, auch heuer bei den Uebungen mit vereinigten Waffen Radfahrer zu verwenden… Die Commanden der Infanterie- und Tiroler Jägerregimenter sowie der Feldjäger-Bataillone haben jene Personen, welche als Radfahrer in Evidenz stehen und heuer zur Waffenübung verpflichtet sind, zum Einrücken mit ihrem Fahrrade aufzufordern.“

The Velocipedists siedelten sich 1896 im Rahmen der „Internationalen Ausstellung für körperliche Erziehung, Gesundheitspflege und Sport“ im Saggen nahe der Viaduktbögen mit einer Radrennbahn samt Tribüne an. Neben Radrennen fanden hier bis zum Abriss der Anlage Boxkämpfe und Tennismatches statt. Die Innsbrucker Nachrichten berichteten begeistert von dieser Neuerung, war doch der Radsport bis zu den ersten Autorennen europaweit die beliebteste Sportdisziplin:

„Die Innsbrucker Rennbahn, welche in Verbindung mit der internationalen Ausstellung noch im Laufe der nächsten Wochen eröffnet wird, erhält einen Umfang von 400 Metern bei einer Breite von 6 Metern… Die Velociped-Rennbahn, um deren Errichtung sich der Präsident des Tiroler Radfahrer-Verbandes Herr Staatsbahn-Oberingenieur R. v. Weinong, das Hauptverdienst erworben hat, wird eine der hervorragendsten und besteingerichteten Radfahrbahnen des Continents sein. Am. 29. d. M. (Anm.: Juni 1896) wird auf der Innsbrucker Rennbahn zum erstenmale ein großes internationales Radwettfahren abgehalten, welchem dann in der Zukunft alljährlich regelmäßig Velociped-Preisrennen folgen sollen, was der Förderung des Radfahr-Sports wie auch des Fremdenverkehrs in Innsbruck sicher in bedeutendem Maße nützlich sein wird.“

The footballers had left the umbrella organisation ITV because of the Aryan Law, which forbade matches with teams with Jewish players. In 1903, the Verein Fußball Innsbruckwhich would later become the SVI. At this time, there were already national football matches, for example a 1:1 draw between the ITV team and Bayern Munich. The matches were played on a football pitch in front of the Sieberer orphanage. In Wilten, now part of Innsbruck, in 1910 the SK Wilten. 1913 gründete sich mit Wacker Innsbruck the most successful Tyrolean football club to date, winning the Austrian championship ten times under different names and also celebrating minor international successes.

The first bathing establishment welcomed swimmers from 1833 in the Höttinger in the outdoor pool on the Gießen. Further baths at Büchsenhausen Castle or the separate women's and men's baths next to today's Sillpark area soon followed. The outdoor swimming pool was in a particularly beautiful location Beautiful rest above Ambras Castle, which opened in 1929 shortly after the indoor swimming pool in Pradl was built. The population had grown just as much as the desire for swimming as a leisure activity. In 1961, the sports programme at Tivoli was expanded to include the Freischwimmbad Tivoli extended.

In addition to the various summer sports, winter sports also became increasingly popular. Tobogganing was already a popular leisure activity on the hills around Innsbruck in the middle of the 19th century. The first ice rink opened in 1870 as a winter alternative to swimming on the grounds of the open-air swimming pool in the Höttinger Au. Unlike water sports, ice skating was a pleasure that could be enjoyed by men and women together. Instead of meeting up for a Sunday stroll, young couples could meet at the ice rink without their parents present. The ice skating club was founded in 1884 and used the exhibition grounds as an ice rink. With the ice rink in front of the k.u.k. shooting range in Mariahilf, the Lansersee, the Amraser See, the Höttinger Au swimming facility and the Sillkanal in Kohlstatt provided the people of Innsbruck with many opportunities for ice skating. The first ice hockey club, the IEV, was founded as early as 1908.

Skiing, initially a Nordic pastime in the valley, soon spread as a downhill discipline. The Innsbruck Academic Alpine Club was founded in 1893 and two years later organised the first ski race on Tyrolean soil from Sistrans to Ambras Castle. Founded in 1867, the Sports shop Witting in Maria-Theresien-Straße proved its business acumen and was still selling equipment for the well-heeled skiing public before 1900. After St. Anton and Kitzbühel, the first ski centre was founded in 1906. Innsbruck Ski Club. The equipment was simple and for a long time only allowed skiing on relatively flat slopes with a mixture of alpine and Nordic style similar to cross-country skiing. Nevertheless, people dared to whizz down the slopes in Mutters or on the Ferrariwiese. In 1928, two cable cars were installed on the Nordkette and the Patscherkofel, which made skiing significantly more attractive. Skiing achieved its breakthrough as a national sport with the World Ski Championships in Innsbruck in February 1933. On an unmarked course, 10 kilometres and 1500 metres of altitude had to be covered between the Glungezer and Tulfes. The two local heroes Gustav Lantschner and Inge Wersin-Lantschner won several medals in the races, fuelling the hype surrounding alpine winter sports in Innsbruck.

Innsbruck identifiziert sich bis heute sehr stark mit dem Sport. Mit der Fußball-EM 2008, der Radsport-WM 2018 und der Kletter-WM 2018 konnte man an die glorreichen 1930er Jahre mit zwei Skiweltmeisterschaften und die beiden Olympiaden von 1964 und 1976 auch im Spitzensportbereich wieder an die Goldenen Zeiten anknüpfen. Trotzdem ist es weniger der Spitzen- als vielmehr der Breitensport, der dazu beiträgt, aus Innsbruck die selbsternannte Sporthauptstadt Österreichs zu machen. Es gibt kaum einen Innsbrucker, der nicht zumindest den Alpinski anschnallt. Mountainbiken auf den zahlreichen Almen rund um Innsbruck, Skibergsteigen, Sportklettern und Wandern sind überdurchschnittlich populär in der Bevölkerung und fest im Alltag verankert.

One of the most important figures in the town's history was Wilhelm Greil (1850 - 1923). From 1896 to 1923, the entrepreneur held the office of mayor, having previously helped to shape the city's fortunes as deputy mayor. It was a time of growth, the incorporation of entire neighbourhoods, technical innovations and new media. The four decades between the economic crisis of 1873 and the First World War were characterised by unprecedented economic growth and rapid modernisation. The city's economy boomed. Businesses were set up in the new districts of Pradl and Wilten, attracting workers. Tourism also brought fresh capital into the city. At the same time, however, the concentration of people in a confined space under sometimes precarious hygiene conditions also brought problems. The outskirts of the city and the neighbouring villages in particular were regularly plagued by typhus.

Innsbruck city politics, in which Greil was active, was characterised by the struggle between liberal and conservative forces. Unlike in the rest of Tyrol, the conservatives had a hard time in Innsbruck, whose population had been in the grip of the liberal wind since the Napoleonic era. In addition to politicians, each side had its own associations and newspapers to make its voice heard. Greil was a skilful politician who operated within the predetermined power structures of his time. He knew how to manoeuvre around the traditional powers, the monarchy and the clergy and how to come to terms with them.

Taxes, social policy, education, housing and the design of public spaces were discussed with passion and fervour. Due to an electoral system based on voting rights via property classes, only around 10% of the entire population of Innsbruck were able to go to the ballot box. Women were excluded as a matter of principle. Relative suffrage applied within the three electoral bodies, which meant as much as: The winner takes it all. Mass parties such as the Social Democrats were unable to assert themselves until the electoral law reform of the First Republic. Mayors like Greil could rely on 100% support in the municipal council, which of course made decision-making and steering much easier. For all the efficiency that Innsbruck mayors displayed on the surface, it should not be forgotten that this was only possible because, as part of an elite of entrepreneurs, tradesmen and freelancers, they ruled in a kind of elected dictatorship without any significant opposition or consideration for other population groups such as labourers, craftsmen and employees. The Imperial Municipalities Act of 1862 gave cities such as Innsbruck, and thus the mayors, greater powers. It is hardly surprising that the chain of office that Greil received from his colleagues in the municipal council on his 60th birthday was remarkably similar to the medal chains of the old nobility.

Greil belonged to the "Deutschen Volkspartei", a liberal and national-Great German party. What appears to us today as a contradiction, liberal and national, was a politically common and well-functioning pair of ideas in the 19th century. Pan-Germanism was not a political peculiarity of a radical right-wing minority, but rather a centrist trend, particularly in German-speaking cities of the Reich, which was important in varying forms through almost all parties until after the Second World War. Whoever issues the liberal Innsbrucker Nachrichten of the period around the turn of the century, you will find countless articles in which the common ground between the German Reich and the German-speaking countries was made the topic of the day.

Under Greil's aegis and the general economic upturn, Innsbruck expanded at a rapid pace. In the style of a merchant, he purchased land with foresight in order to make projects possible. The politician Greil was able to rely on the civil servants and town planners Eduard Klingler, Jakob Albert and Theodor Prachensky for the major building projects of the time. Infrastructure projects such as the new town hall in Maria-Theresienstraße in 1897, the Hungerburg railway in 1906 and the Karwendelbahn were realised. Other milestones included the renovation of the market square and the construction of the market hall.

In addition to the visible, prestigious large-scale projects, however, many inconspicuous revolutions emerged in the last decades of the 19th century. Much of what was driven forward in the second half of the 19th century is part of everyday life today. For the people of the time, however, these things were a real sensation and life-changing. Greil's predecessor, Mayor Heinrich Falk (1840 - 1917), had already made a significant contribution to the modernisation of the town and the settlement of Saggen. Since 1859, the lighting of the town with gas pipelines had progressed steadily. With the growth of the town and modernisation, the cesspits, which served as privies in the back yards of houses and were sold to surrounding farmers as fertiliser after being emptied, became an unreasonable burden for more and more people. In 1880, the RaggingThe city was responsible for the emptying of the lavatories. Two pneumatic machines were to make the process at least a little more hygienic. Between 1887 and 1891, Innsbruck was equipped with a modern high-pressure water pipeline, which could also be used to supply fresh water to flats on higher floors. For those who could afford it, this was the first opportunity to install a flush toilet in their own home.

Greil continued this campaign of modernisation. After decades of discussions, the construction of a modern alluvial sewerage system began in 1903. Starting in the city centre, more and more districts were connected to this now commonplace luxury. By 1908, only the Koatlackler Mariahilf and St. Nikolaus were not connected to the sewerage system. The new abattoir in Saggen also improved hygiene and cleanliness in the city. With a few exceptions, poorly controlled farmyard slaughterhouses were a thing of the past. The cattle arrived at the Sillspitz by train and were professionally slaughtered in the modern facility. Greil also transferred the gasworks in Pradl and the power station in Mühlau to municipal ownership. Street lighting was converted from gas lamps to electric lighting in the 20th century. In 1888, the hospital moved from Maria-Theresienstraße to its current location.

The mayor and municipal council were able to Innsbrucker Renaissance In addition to the growing economic power in the pre-war period, the church could also rely on patrons from the middle classes. While technical innovations and infrastructure were the responsibility of the liberals, the care of the poorest remained with clerically-minded forces, although no longer with the church itself. Baron Johann von Sieberer donated the old people's asylum and the orphanage in Saggen. Leonhard Lang donated the building, previously used as a hotel, to which the town hall moved from the old town in 1897, in return for the town's promise to build a home for apprentices.

In contrast to the booming pre-war era, the period after 1914 was characterised by crisis management. In his final years in office, Greil accompanied Innsbruck through the transition from the Habsburg Monarchy to the Republic, a period characterised above all by hunger, misery, scarcity of resources and insecurity. He was 68 years old when Italian troops occupied the city after the First World War and Tyrol was divided at the Brenner Pass, which was particularly bitter for him as a representative of German nationalism.

In 1928, former mayor Greil died as an honorary citizen of the city of Innsbruck at the age of 78. Wilhelm-Greil-Straße was named after him during his lifetime.