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. The Kingdom of Bavaria was allied with France during the Napoleonic Wars and was able to take over the province of Tyrol from the Habsburgs in several battles between 1796 and 1805. Innsbruck was no longer the capital of a crown land, but just 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. At the beginning of the 19th century, a considerable number of people were still dying from diseases caused by a lack of hygiene and contaminated drinking water. A new tax system was introduced and the powers of the nobility were further reduced. The Bavarian administration allowed associations, which had been banned in 1797, again. Liberal Innsbruckers also liked the fact that the church was pushed out of the education system. The Benedictine priest and later co-founder of the Innsbruck Music Society, Martin Goller, was appointed to Innsbruck to promote musical education.

These reforms were not to the liking of a large part of the Tyrolean population. Catholic processions and religious festivals fell victim to the enlightenment programme of the new rulers. Dissatisfaction grew steadily. The spark that caused the powder keg to explode 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.

In July 1809, Bavaria and the French regained control of Innsbruck following the Peace of Znaim concluded with the Habsburgs, which many still regard as a Viennese betrayal of the Tyrol. What followed was what is 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 once again under Bavarian administration between 1810 and 1814. The population was also only moderately motivated to wage war. Wilten was badly affected by the fighting. The village shrank from over 1000 inhabitants to just under 700. By this time, Hofer himself was already a man marked by the strain 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.

Many monuments throughout the city commemorate the year 1809. The second half of the 19th century saw a heroisation of the fighters, who were characterised as a German bulwark against foreign nations. Mount Isel was made available to the city for the honouring of the freedom fighters by Wilten Abbey, the Catholic authority of Innsbruck. Andreas Hofer and his comrades-in-arms Josef Speckbacher, Peter Mayer, Father Haspinger and Kajetan Sweth were given street names in the Wilten district, which came to Innsbruck in 1904 during the period of the Greater German-liberal dominated municipal council and had long been under the administration of the monastery. The short Rote Gassl in the old centre of Wilten is a reminder of the Tyrolean marksmen who, wearing the red uniforms that were probably falsely attributed to them, are said to have paid homage en masse to the victorious general Hofer after his victory in the Second Battle of Berg Isel.

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 fit for military service, who cultivates 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. To this day, the celebrations to mark the anniversary of Andreas Hofer's death on 20 February regularly attract crowds of people from all parts of Tyrol to the city. 

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.