The year 1848 occupies a mythical place in European history. Although the hotspots were not to be found in secluded Tyrol, but in the major metropolises such as Paris, Vienna, Budapest, Milan and Berlin, even in the Holy Land however, the revolutionary year left its mark. In contrast to the rural surroundings, an enlightened educated middle class had developed in Innsbruck. Enlightened people no longer wanted to be subjects of a monarch or sovereign, but citizens with rights and duties towards the state. Students and freelancers demanded political participation, freedom of the press and civil rights. Workers demanded better wages and working conditions. Radical liberals and nationalists in particular even questioned the omnipotence of the church.

In March 1848, this socially and politically highly explosive mixture erupted in riots in many European cities. In Innsbruck, students and professors celebrated the newly enacted freedom of the press with a torchlight procession. On the whole, however, the revolution proceeded calmly in the leisurely Tyrol. It would be foolhardy to speak of a spontaneous outburst of emotion; the date of the procession was postponed from 20 to 21 March due to bad weather. There were hardly any anti-Habsburg riots or attacks; a stray stone thrown into a Jesuit window was one of the highlights of the Alpine version of the 1848 revolution. The students even helped the city magistrate to monitor public order in order to show their gratitude to the monarch for the newly granted freedoms and their loyalty.

The initial enthusiasm for bourgeois revolution was quickly replaced by German nationalist, patriotic fervour in Innsbruck. On 6 April 1848, the German flag was waved by the governor of Tyrol during a ceremonial procession. A German flag was also raised on the city tower. Tricolour was hoisted. While students, workers, liberal-nationalist-minded citizens, republicans, supporters of a constitutional monarchy and Catholic conservatives disagreed on social issues such as freedom of the press, they shared a dislike of the Italian independence movement that had spread from Piedmont and Milan to northern Italy. Innsbruck students and marksmen marched to Trentino with the support of the k.k. The Innsbruck students and riflemen moved into Trentino to nip the unrest and uprisings in the bud. Well-known members of this corps were Father Haspinger, who had already fought with Andreas Hofer in 1809, and Adolf Pichler. Johann Nepomuk Mahl-Schedl, wealthy owner of Büchsenhausen Castle, even equipped his own company with which he marched across the Brenner Pass to secure the border.

The city of Innsbruck, as the political and economic centre of the multinational crown land of Tyrol and home to many Italian speakers, also became the arena of this nationality conflict. Combined with copious amounts of alcohol, anti-Italian sentiment in Innsbruck posed more of a threat to public order than civil liberties. A quarrel between a German-speaking craftsman and an Italian-speaking Ladin got so heated that it almost led to a pogrom against the numerous businesses and restaurants owned by Italian-speaking Tyroleans.

The relative tranquillity of Innsbruck suited the imperial house, which was under pressure. When things did not stop boiling in Vienna even after March, Emperor Ferdinand fled to Tyrol in May. According to press reports from this time, he was received enthusiastically by the population.

"Wie heißt das Land, dem solche Ehre zu Theil wird, wer ist das Volk, das ein solches Vertrauen genießt in dieser verhängnißvollen Zeit? Stützt sich die Ruhe und Sicherheit hier bloß auf die Sage aus alter Zeit, oder liegt auch in der Gegenwart ein Grund, auf dem man bauen kann, den der Wind nicht weg bläst, und der Sturm nicht erschüttert? Dieses Alipenland heißt Tirol, gefällts dir wohl? Ja, das tirolische Volk allein bewährt in der Mitte des aufgewühlten Europa die Ehrfurcht und Treue, den Muth und die Kraft für sein angestammtes Regentenhaus, während ringsum Auflehnung, Widerspruch. Trotz und Forderung, häufig sogar Aufruhr und Umsturz toben; Tirol allein hält fest ohne Wanken an Sitte und Gehorsam, auf Religion, Wahrheit und Recht, während anderwärts die Frechheit und Lüge, der Wahnsinn und die Leidenschaften herrschen anstatt folgen wollen. Und während im großen Kaiserreiche sich die Bande überall lockern, oder gar zu lösen drohen; wo die Willkühr, von den Begierden getrieben, Gesetze umstürzt, offenen Aufruhr predigt, täglich mit neuen Forderungen losgeht; eigenmächtig ephemere- wie das Wetter wechselnde Einrichtungen schafft; während Wien, die alte sonst so friedliche Kaiserstadt, sich von der erhitzten Phantasie der Jugend lenken und gängeln läßt, und die Räthe des Reichs auf eine schmähliche Weise behandelt, nach Laune beliebig, und mit jakobinischer Anmaßung, über alle Provinzen verfügend, absetzt und anstellt, ja sogar ohne Ehrfurcht, den Kaiaer mit Sturm-Petitionen verfolgt; während jetzt von allen Seiten her Deputationen mit Ergebenheits-Addressen mit Bittgesuchen und Loyalitätsversicherungen dem Kaiser nach Innsbruck folgen, steht Tirol ganz ruhig, gleich einer stillen Insel, mitten im brausenden Meeressturme, und des kleinen Völkchens treue Brust bildet, wie seine Berge und Felsen, eine feste Mauer in Gesetz und Ordnung, für den Kaiser und das Vaterland."

In June, a young Franz Josef, not yet emperor at the time, also stayed at the Hofburg on his way back from the battlefields of northern Italy instead of travelling directly to Vienna. Innsbruck was once again the royal seat, if only for one summer. While blood was flowing in Vienna, Milan and Budapest, the imperial family enjoyed life in the Tyrolean countryside. Ferdinand, Franz Karl, his wife Sophie and Franz Josef received guests from foreign royal courts and were chauffeured in four-in-hand carriages to the region's excursion destinations such as Weiherburg Castle, Stefansbrücke Bridge, Kranebitten and high up to Heiligwasser. A little later, however, the cosy atmosphere came to an end. Under gentle pressure, Ferdinand, who was no longer considered fit for office, passed the torch of regency to Franz Josef I. In July 1848, the first parliamentary session was held in the Court Riding School in Vienna. The first constitution was enacted. However, the monarchy's desire for reform quickly waned. The new parliament was an imperial council, it could not pass any binding laws, the emperor never attended it during his lifetime and did not understand why the Danube Monarchy, as a divinely appointed monarchy, needed this council.

Nevertheless, the liberalisation that had been gently set in motion took its course in the cities. Innsbruck was given the status of a town with its own statute. Innsbruck's municipal law provided for a right of citizenship that was linked to ownership or the payment of taxes, but legally guaranteed certain rights to members of the community. Birthright citizenship could be acquired by birth, marriage or extraordinary conferment and at least gave male adults the right to vote at municipal level. If you got into financial difficulties, you had the right to basic support from the town.

Thanks to the census-based majority voting system, the Greater German liberal faction prevailed within the city government, in which merchants, tradesmen, industrialists and innkeepers set the tone. On 2 June 1848, the first edition of the liberal and Greater German-minded Innsbrucker Zeitungfrom which the above article on the emperor's arrival in Innsbruck is taken. Conservatives, on the other hand, read the Volksblatt for Tyrol and Vorarlberg. Moderate readers who favoured a constitutional monarchy preferred to consume the Bothen for Tyrol and Vorarlberg. However, the freedom of the press soon came to an end. The previously abolished censorship was reintroduced in parts. Newspaper publishers had to undergo some harassment by the authorities. Newspapers were not allowed to write against the state government, monarchy or church.

"Anyone who, by means of printed matter, incites, instigates or attempts to incite others to take action which would bring about the violent separation of a part from the unified state... of the Austrian Empire... or the general Austrian Imperial Diet or the provincial assemblies of the individual crown lands.... Imperial Diet or the Diet of the individual Crown Lands... violently disrupts... shall be punished with severe imprisonment of two to ten years."

After Innsbruck officially replaced Meran as the provincial capital in 1849 and thus finally became the political centre of Tyrol, political parties were formed. From 1868, the liberal and Greater German orientated party provided the mayor of the city of Innsbruck. The influence of the church declined in Innsbruck in contrast to the surrounding communities. Individualism, capitalism, nationalism and consumerism stepped into the breach. New worlds of work, department stores, theatres, cafés and dance halls did not supplant religion in the city either, but the emphasis changed as a result of the civil liberties won in 1848.

Perhaps the most important change to the law was the Basic relief patent. In Innsbruck, the clergy, above all Wilten Abbey, held a large proportion of the peasant land. The church and nobility were not subject to taxation. In 1848/49, manorial rule and servitude were abolished in Austria. Land rents, tithes and roboters were thus abolished. The landlords received one third of the value of their land from the state as part of the land relief, one third was regarded as tax relief and the farmers had to pay one third of the relief themselves. They could pay off this amount in instalments over a period of twenty years.

The after-effects can still be felt today. The descendants of the then successful farmers enjoy the fruits of prosperity through inherited land ownership, which can be traced back to the land relief of 1848, as well as political influence through land sales for housing construction, leases and public sector redemptions for infrastructure projects. The land-owning nobles of the past had to resign themselves to the ignominy of pursuing middle-class labour. The transition from birthright to privileged status within society was often successful thanks to financial means, networks and education. Many of Innsbruck's academic dynasties began in the decades after 1848.

Das bis dato unbekannte Phänomen der Freizeit kam, wenn auch für den größten Teil nur spärlich, auf und begünstigte gemeinsam mit frei verfügbarem Einkommen einer größeren Anzahl an Menschen Hobbies. Zivile Organisationen und Vereine, vom Lesezirkel über Sängerbünde, Feuerwehren und Sportvereine, gründeten sich. Auch im Stadtbild manifestierte sich das Revolutionsjahr. Parks wie der Englische Garten beim Schloss Ambras oder der Hofgarten waren nicht mehr exklusiv der Aristokratie vorbehalten, sondern dienten den Bürgern als Naherholungsgebiete vom beengten Dasein. In St. Nikolaus entstand der Waltherpark als kleine Ruheoase. Einen Stock höher eröffnete im Schloss Büchsenhausen Tirols erste Schwimm- und Badeanstalt, wenig später folgte ein weiteres Bad in Dreiheiligen. Ausflugsgasthöfe rund um Innsbruck florierten. Neben den gehobenen Restaurants und Hotels entstand eine Szene aus Gastwirtschaften, in denen sich auch Arbeiter und Angestellte gemütliche Abende bei Theater, Musik und Tanz leisten konnten.

Maximilian is one of the most important personalities in European and Innsbruck city history. He is said to have said about Tyrol: "Tirol ist ein grober Bauernkittel, der aber gut wärmt." Perhaps it was not only Innsbruck's location in the middle of the mountains that was a reason for his affection, Maximilian was a keen hunter. His father Friedrich III was born in Innsbruck in 1415. It certainly paid off for the city. During his reign, Maximilian turned Innsbruck into one of the most important centres of the Holy Roman Empire, changing its fortunes for good. "Wer immer sich im Leben kein Gedächtnis macht, der hat nach seinem Tod kein Gedächtnis und derselbe Mensch wird mit dem Glockenton vergessen.“ Maximilian actively and successfully countered this fear by erecting highly visible symbols of imperial power such as the Goldenen Dachl against. Propaganda, images and the media played an increasingly important role, partly due to the burgeoning printing press. Maximilian used art and culture to maintain his presence. For example, he kept an imperial choir, a music band that was mainly used for public appearances and receptions of international envoys. He had a veritable cult of personality organised around himself with coins, books, printed matter and paintings.

For all the romanticism that this lover of courtly traditions and chivalry cultivated, he was a cool-headed power politician. Under him, political institutions such as the Imperial Diet, the Imperial Court of Justice and the Imperial Chamber Court were established, which strictly regulated the relationship between subjects, sovereign and monarchy. Around 1500, Tyrol had around 300,000 inhabitants. More than 80% of the people worked in agriculture and lived for the most part from the yields of the farms. In a veritable furore of new laws, Maximilian curtailed the peasants' rights to the commons. Logging, hunting and fishing were placed under the control of the sovereign and were no longer common property. This had a negative impact on peasant self-sufficiency. Thanks to the new laws, hunters became poachers. Meat and fish had long been part of the diet in the Middle Ages, but now this indulgence became a luxury that could often only be obtained illegally. Maximilian was therefore unpopular with a large part of the population during his lifetime.

Restrictions on self-sufficiency were joined by new taxes. It had always been customary for sovereigns to impose additional taxes on the population in the event of war. Maximilian's warfare differed from medieval conflicts. The auxiliary troops and their noble, chivalrous landlords were supplemented or completely replaced by mercenaries who knew how to use modern firearms.

Diese neue Art ins Feld zu ziehen, verschlang Unsummen. Als die Erträge aus den landesfürstlichen Besitzungen wie Münz-, Markt-, Bergwerks-, und Zollregal nicht mehr ausreichten, wurden die einzelnen Bevölkerungsgruppen je nach Stand und Vermögen besteuert, jedoch war die Steuer noch weit entfernt von unserem heutigen ausdifferenzierten System und brachten dementsprechend Ungerechtigkeit und Unmut mit sich. Ein Beispiel für eine Abgabe war Maximilians Common penny. The wealth tax amounted to between 0.1 and 0.5% of wealth, but was capped at 1 guilder. Jews had to pay a poll tax of 1 guilder regardless of their wealth. For the first time, princes were also asked to pay, but due to the cap, they paid a maximum of the same amount as a middle-class Jew. Prelates, priests and secular lords were responsible for announcing and enforcing the tax. Pastors had to announce the tax from the pulpit on three Sundays, collect the contributions together with representatives of the courts and enter them in the Imperial Tax Register.

It was quickly realised that this type of tax collection did not work. A modern system and tax model was needed. A collegial chamber, the Regiment, centrally supervised the provinces of Tyrol and Vorderösterreich according to the modern model of Burgundian finance, which Maximilian had learnt about during his time in the Netherlands. Innsbruck became the financial and accounting centre for the Austrian lands. The Rait chamber and the House chamber were located in the Neuhof, where today the Goldene Dachl über die Altstadt residiert. 1496 wurden die finanziellen Mittel der österreichischen Erbländer in der Schatzkammer in Innsbruck gebündelt. Vorsitzender der Hofkammer war der Brixner Bischof Melchior von Meckau, der mehr und mehr die Fugger als Kreditgeber miteinbezog. Beamten wie Jakob Villinger (1480 - 1529) wickelten in der italienisch geprägten Form der doppelten Buchhaltung den Geldverkehr mit Bankhäusern aus ganz Europa ab und probierten den kaiserlichen Finanzhaushalt in Zaum zu halten. Talentierte Kleinadelige und Bürger, studierte Juristen und ausgebildete Beamten lösten den Hochadel in bestimmender Funktion ab. Finanzexperten aus Burgund hatten die kaufmännische Leiter des Regiments über. Die Übergänge zwischen Finanz- und anderen Feldern wie Kriegsplanung und Innenpolitik waren fließend, was der neuen Beamtenschicht große Macht verlieh. War es bisher üblich, dass das Gleichgewicht zwischen Landesfürsten, Kirche, Grundherr und Untertan aus Beitrag und militärischem Schutz bestand, wurde dieses System nun durch Zwang von der Obrigkeit durchgesetzt. Maximilian argumentierte, dass es Pflicht jedes Christenmenschen, egal welchen Standes, sei, das Heilige Römische Reich gegen äußere Feinde zu verteidigen. Die Aufzeichnungen rund um die Streitereien zwischen König, Adel, Klerus, Bauern und Städten um die Abgabenleistung erinnerten schon vor Maximilian stark an heutige politische Diskussion um das Thema der Macht- und Vermögensverteilung. Der große Unterschied zwischen dem ausgehenden 15. Jahrhundert und den vorhergegangenen Jahrhunderten entstand dadurch, dass dank des modernen Beamtenapparats diese Steuern nun auch exekutiert und eingetrieben werden konnten. Der Vergleich mit der Registrierkassenpflicht, der Besteuerung von Trinkgeldern in der Gastronomie und der Diskussion um die Abschaffung des Bargeldes drängt sich auf. Das Kapital folgte der politischen Bedeutung ebenfalls nach Innsbruck. Während seiner Regentschaft beschäftigte Maximilian 350 Räte, die ihm zur Seite standen. Knapp ein Viertel dieser hochbezahlten Räte stammte aus Tirol. Gesandte und Politiker aus ganz Europa bis zum osmanischen Reich sowie Adelige ließen sich ihren Wohnsitz in Innsbruck bauen oder übernachteten in den Wirtshäusern der Stadt. Ähnlich wie Big Money aus Ölgeschäften heute Fachkräfte aller Art nach Dubai lockt, zogen das Schwazer Silber und die daran hängende Finanzwirtschaft damals Experten aller Art nach Innsbruck, einer kleinen Stadt inmitten der unwirtlichen Alpen.

During Maximilian's reign, Innsbruck underwent structural and infrastructural changes like never before. In addition to the representative Goldenen Dachl he had the Hofburg remodelled, began building the Hofkirche and created Europe's leading armoury with the Innsbruck Armoury. The streets through the old town were paved and paved for the fine people of the court. In 1499 Maximilian had the Salvatorikapelle, ein Spital für notleidende Innsbrucker, die keinen Anspruch auf einen Platz im Stadtspital hatten, renovieren und erweitern. Eine moderne Wasserleitung von der Nordkette in die Stadt verbesserte die Trinkwasserversorgung, Hygiene und Sicherheit. 1509 wurde der innerstädtische Friedhof vom heutigen Domplatz hinter das Stadtspital an den heutigen Adolf-Pichler-Platz umgesiedelt. Maximilian ließ den Handelsweg im heutigen Mariahilf verlegen und verbesserte die Wasserversorgung der Stadt. Eine Feuerordnung für die Stadt Innsbruck folgte 1510. Maximilian begann auch an den Privilegien des Stiftes Wilten, dem größten Grundherrn im heutigen Stadtgebiet, zu sägen. Infrastruktur im Besitz des Klosters wie Mühle, Säge und Sillkanal sollten stärker unter landesfürstliche Kontrolle kommen.

The imperial court and the wealthy civil servants who resided in Innsbruck transformed Innsbruck's appearance and attitude. Maximilian had introduced the distinguished courtly culture of Burgundy of his first wife to Central Europe. Culturally, it was above all his second wife Bianca Maria Sforza who promoted Innsbruck. Not only did the royal wedding take place here, she also resided here for a long time, as the city was closer to her home in Milan than Maximilian's other residences. She brought her entire court with her from the Renaissance metropolis to the German lands north of the Alps. Art and entertainment in all its forms flourished.

Under Maximilian, Innsbruck not only became a cultural centre of the empire, the city also boomed economically. Among other things, Innsbruck was the centre of the postal service in the empire. Maximilian was able to build on the expertise of the gunsmiths who had already established themselves in the foundries in Hötting under his predecessor Siegmund. Platers, foundry operators, powder stampers and cutlers settled in Neustadt, St. Nikolaus, Mühlau, Hötting and along the Sill Canal. The Fugger merchant dynasty maintained an office in Innsbruck. In addition to his favoured love of Tyrolean nature, the treasures such as salt from Hall and silver from Schwaz were at least as dear and useful to him. Maximilian financed his lavish court, his election as king by the electors and the eight-year war against the Republic of Venice by mortgaging the country's mineral resources, among other things.

Innsbruck's strategically favourable location close to the Italian theatres of war also made the city so interesting for the emperor. Many Tyroleans had to enforce the imperial will on the battlefields instead of tilling the fields at home. This only changed in the last years of his reign. In 1511, Maximilian conceded the Tyroleans in the Tiroler LandlibellIn a kind of constitution, they agreed that they could only be called up as soldiers for the defence of their own country. This document also regulated the levying of special taxes in the event of war.

It is difficult to summarise Maximilian's work in Innsbruck. Proclamations of love from an emperor naturally flatter the popular psyche to this day. His material legacy with its many magnificent buildings reinforces this positive image. He turned Innsbruck into an imperial residence city and pushed ahead with the modernisation of the infrastructure. Thanks to the armoury, Innsbruck became the centre of the armaments industry, the treasury of the empire and grew economically and spatially. The debts he incurred for this and the state assets he pledged to the Fuggers left their mark on Tyrol after his death, at least as much as the strict laws he imposed on the common people. He is said to have left behind 5 million guilders in debt, an amount that his Austrian possessions could earn in 20 years. The outstanding payments ruined many businesses and servants after his death, who were left sitting on the imperial promises. Early modern rulers were not bound by the debts of their predecessors. The agreements with the Fuggers were an exception, as liens were attached to them.

In the legends about the emperor, the hard times are not as present as the Goldene Dachl and the soft facts learnt at school. In 2019, the celebrations to mark the 500th anniversary of the death of Innsbruck's most important Habsburg under the motto "Tyrolean at heart, European in spirit". The Viennese were favourably naturalised. Salzburg has Mozart, Innsbruck Maximilian, an emperor that the Tyroleans have adapted to Innsbruck's desired identity as a rugged journeyman who prefers to be in the mountains. Today, his striking face is emblazoned on all kinds of consumer goods, from cheese to ski lifts, the emperor is the inspiration for all kinds of profane things. It is only for political agendas that he is less easy to harness than Andreas Hofer. It is probably easier for the average citizen to identify with a revolutionary landlord than with an emperor.

Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria (1529 - 1595) is one of the most colourful figures in Tyrolean history. His father, Emperor Ferdinand I, gave him an excellent education. He grew up at the Spanish court of his uncle Emperor Charles V. The years in which Ferdinand received his schooling were the early years of Jesuit influence at the Habsburg courts. The young statesman was brought up entirely in the spirit of pious humanism. This was complemented by the customs of the Renaissance aristocracy. At a young age, he travelled through Italy and Burgundy and had become acquainted with a lifestyle at the wealthy courts there that had not yet established itself among the German aristocracy. Ferdinand was what today would be described as a globetrotter, a member of the educated elite or a cosmopolitan. He was considered intelligent, charming and artistic. Among his less eccentric contemporaries, Ferdinand enjoyed a reputation as an immoral and hedonistic libertine. Even during his lifetime, he was rumoured to have organised debauched and immoral orgies. 

Ferdinand's father divided his kingdom between his sons. Maximilian II, who was rightly suspected of heresy and adherence to Protestant doctrines by his parents, inherited Upper and Lower Austria as well as Bohemia and Hungary. Ferdinand's younger brother Charles ruled in Inner Austria, i.e. Carinthia, Styria and Carniola. The middle child received Tyrol, which at that time extended as far as the Engadine, and the fragmented Habsburg Forelands in the west of the central European possessions. Ferdinand took over the Tyrol as sovereign in turbulent times. He had already spent several years in Innsbruck in his youth. The mines in Schwaz began to become unprofitable due to the cheap silver from America. The flood of silver from the Habsburg possessions in New Spain on the other side of the Atlantic led to inflation. 

However, these financial problems did not stop Ferdinand from commissioning personal and public infrastructure. Innsbruck benefited enormously, both economically and culturally, from the fact that after years without a sovereign prince, it was now once again the centre of a ruler. Ferdinand's archducal presence attracted the aristocracy and civil servants back to Innsbruck after the decades of neglect following Maximilian's death. By the late 1560s, the administration had grown back to 1000 people, who fuelled the local economy with their money. Bakers, butchers and inns flourished again after a few barren years. At the end of the 16th century, Innsbruck had an above-average number of innkeepers compared to other towns, who earned an above-average amount of money from merchants, guests and travellers passing through. Wine houses were not only inns, but also storage and trading centres. 

The Italian cities of Florence, Venice and Milan were trendsetters in terms of culture, art and architecture. Ferdinand's Tyrolean court was to be in no way inferior to them. Gone were the days when Germans were considered uncivilised in the more beautiful cities south of the Alps, barbaric or even as Pigs were labelled. To this end, he had Innsbruck remodelled in the spirit of the Renaissance. In keeping with the trend of the time, he imitated the Italian aristocratic courts. Court architect Giovanni Lucchese assisted him in this endeavour. Ferdinand spent a considerable part of his life at Ambras Castle near Innsbruck, where he amassed one of the most valuable collections of works of art and armour in the world. Ferdinand transformed the castle above the village of Amras into a modern court. His parties, masked balls and parades were legendary. During the wedding of a nephew, he had 1800 calves and 130 oxen roasted. Wine is said to have flowed from the wells instead of water for 10 days. 

But Ambras Castle was not the end of Innsbruck's transformation. To the west of the city, an archway still reminds us of the Tiergartena hunting ground for Ferdinand, including a summer house also designed by Lucchese. In order for the prince to reach his weekend residence, a road was laid in the marshy Höttinger Au, which formed the basis for today's Kranebitter Allee. The Lusthaus was replaced in 1786 by what is now known as the Pulverturm The new building, which houses part of the sports science faculty of the University of Innsbruck, replaced the well-known building. The princely sport of hunting was followed in the former Lusthauswhich was the Powder Tower. In the city centre, he had the princely Comedihaus on today's Rennweg. In order to improve Innsbruck's drinking water supply, the Mühlauerbrücke bridge was built under Ferdinand to lay a water pipeline from the Mühlaubach stream into the city centre. The Jesuits, who had arrived in Innsbruck shortly before Ferdinand took office to make life difficult for troublesome reformers and church critics and to reorganise the education system, were given a new church in Silbergasse. Numerous new buildings such as the Jesuit, Franciscan, Capuchin and Servite monasteries boosted trade and the construction industry. 

The new religious orders supported Ferdinand's focus on the confessional orientation of his flock. In his Tyrolean provincial ordinance issued in 1573, he not only put a stop to fornication, swearing and prostitution, but also obliged his subjects to lead a God-fearing, i.e. Catholic, lifestyle. The „Prohibition of sorcery and disbelieving warfare" prohibited any deviation from the true faith on pain of imprisonment, corporal punishment and expropriation. Jews had to wear a clearly visible ring of yellow fabric on the left side of their chest at all times. At the same time, Ferdinand brought a Jewish financier to Innsbruck to handle the money transactions for the elaborate farm management. Samuel May and his family lived in the city as princely patronage Jews. Daniel Levi delighted Ferdinand with dancing and harp playing at the theatre and Elieser Lazarus looked after his health as court physician. 

Fleecing the population, living in splendour, tolerating Protestantism among his important advisors and at the same time fighting Protestantism among the people was no contradiction for the trained Renaissance prince. Already at the age of 15, he marched under his uncle Charles V in the Schmalkaldic War into battle against the enemies of the Roman Church. As a sovereign, he saw himself as Advocatus Ecclesiae (note: representative of the church) in a confessional absolutist sense, who was responsible for the salvation of his subjects. Coercive measures, the foundation of churches and monasteries such as the Franciscans and the Capuchins in Innsbruck, improved pastoral care and the staging of Jesuit theatre plays such as "The beheading of John" were the weapons of choice against Protestantism. Ferdinand's piety was not artificial, but like most of his contemporaries, he managed to adapt flexibly to the situation. 

Ferdinand's politics were suitably influenced by the Italian avant-garde of the time. Machiavelli wrote his work "Il Principe", which stated that rulers were allowed to do whatever was necessary for their success, even if they were incapable of being deposed. Ferdinand II attempted to do justice to this early absolutist style of leadership and issued his Tyrolean Provincial Code A modern set of legal rules by the standards of the time. For his subjects, this meant higher taxes on their earnings as well as extensive restrictions on mountain pastures, fishing and hunting rights. The miners, mining entrepreneurs and foreign trading companies with their offices in Innsbruck also drove up food prices. It could be summarised that Ferdinand enjoyed the exclusive pleasure of hunting on his estates, while his subjects lived at subsistence level due to increasing burdens, prices and game damage. 

His relationship life was eccentric for a member of the high aristocracy. Ferdinand's first "semi-wild marriage" was to the commoner Philippine Welser. After his wife #1 died, Ferdinand married the devout Anna Caterina Gonzaga, a 16-year-old Princess of Mantua, at the age of 53. However, it seems that the two did not feel much affection for each other, especially as Anna Caterina was a niece of Ferdinand. The Habsburgs were less squeamish about marriages between relatives than they were about the marriage of a nobleman to a commoner. However, he was also "only" able to father three daughters with her. Ferdinand's final resting place was in the Silver Chapel with his first wife Philippine Welser. 

Maria Theresia zählt zu den bedeutendsten Figuren der österreichischen Geschichte. Obwohl sie oft als Kaiserin tituliert wird, war sie offiziell "nur" unter anderem Erzherzogin von Österreich, Königin von Ungarn und Königin von Böhmen. Bedeutend waren ihre innenpolitischen Reformen. Viele davon betrafen konkret auch den Alltag der Innsbrucker in merklichem Ausmaß. Gemeinsam mit ihren Beratern Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz, Joseph von Sonnenfels und Wenzel Anton Kaunitz schaffte sie es aus den sogenannten Österreichischen Erblanden einen modernen Staat zu basteln. Anstatt der Verwaltung ihrer Territorien durch den ansässigen Adel setzte sie auf eine moderne Verwaltung. Ihre Berater hatten ganz im Stil der Aufklärung erkannt, dass sich das Staatswohl aus der Gesundheit und Bildungsgrad seiner Einzelteile ergab. Eine frühe Krankenreform Maria Theresias aus dem Jahr 1742 verpflichtete die Professoren des Fachbereichs Medizin an der Universität Innsbruck auch den Betrieb des Stadtspitals in der Neustadt sicherzustellen. Eine Schulreform veränderte die Bildungslandschaft innerhalb der Stadtmauern nicht nur thematisch, sondern auch örtlich. Untertanen sollten katholisch sein, ihre Treue aber sollte dem Staat gelten. Schulbildung wurde unter zentrale staatliche Verwaltung gestellt. Es sollten keine kritischen, humanistischen Geistesgrößen, sondern Material für den staatlichen Verwaltungsapparat erzogen werden. Über Militär und Verwaltung konnten nun auch Nichtadlige in höhere staatliche Positionen aufsteigen. Gleichzeitig sollten Reformen im Staatsdienst und in der Wirtschaft nicht nur mehr Möglichkeiten für die Untertanen schaffen, sondern auch die Staatseinnahmen erhöhen. Gewichte und Maßeinheiten wurden nominiert, um das Steuersystem undurchlässiger zu machen. Für Bürger und Bauern hatte die Vereinheitlichung der Gesetze den Vorteil, dass das Leben weniger von Grundherren und deren Launen abhing. Auch der Robot, den Bauern auf den Gütern des Grundherrn kostenfrei zu leisten hatten, wurde unter Maria Theresia abgeschafft. In Strafverfolgung und Justiz fand ein Umdenken statt. 1747 wurde in Innsbruck eine kleine Polizei which was responsible for matters relating to market supervision, trade regulations, tourist control and public decency. The penal code Constitutio Criminalis Theresiana did not abolish torture, but it did regulate its use.

As much as Maria Theresa staged herself as a pious mother of the country and is known today as an Enlightenment figure, the strict Catholic ruler was not squeamish when it came to questions of power and religion. In keeping with the trend of the Enlightenment, she had superstitions such as vampirism, which was widespread in the eastern parts of her empire, critically analysed and initiated the final end to witch trials. At the same time, however, she mercilessly expelled Protestants from the country. Many Tyroleans were forced to leave their homeland and settle in parts of the Habsburg Empire further away from the centre.

In crown lands such as Tyrol, Maria Theresa's reforms met with little favour. With the exception of a few liberals, they saw themselves more as an independent and autonomous province and less as part of a modern territorial state. The clergy also did not like the new, subordinate role, which became even more pronounced under Joseph II. For the local nobility, the reforms not only meant a loss of importance and autonomy, but also higher taxes and duties. Taxes, levies and customs duties, which had always provided the city of Innsbruck with reliable income, were now collected centrally and only partially refunded via financial equalisation. In order to minimise the fall of sons from impoverished aristocratic families and train them for civil service, Maria Theresa founded the Theresianum, das ab 1775 auch in Innsbruck eine Niederlassung hatte. Wie so oft bügelte die Zeit manche Falte aus und Innsbrucker sind mittlerweile stolz darauf, eine der bedeutendsten Herrscherpersönlichkeiten der österreichischen Geschichte beherbergt zu haben. Heute erinnern die Triumphpfote und die Hofburg in Innsbruck an die Theresianische Zeit.