There are events that remain in the collective memory of a community for generations. You don't have to have been there, or even be in the world, to know that Franz Klammer raced to the gold medal in the Olympic downhill on the Patscherkofel on 5 February 1976 in his yellow one-piece suit. Franz Josef I may have climbed the Patscherkofel in 1848, but he became a legend on this mountain. Kaiser Franz Bracket. "Jawoll! 1;45,73 für unseren Franzi Klammer," could be heard from countless TV sets in Austria at the time. In order to be able to follow the national hero Klammer on his devil's ride, the schoolchildren were allowed to stay at home on the day of the men's downhill, just like in 1964. The streets were also empty during this hellish ride. Klammer achieved what many emperors, kings and politicians had failed to do. He united the nation of Austria. "Mi hats obageibtlt von oben bis unten, I hatt nie gedacht, dass i Bestzeit foa,“ gab Klammer im Kärntner Dialekt beim Siegerinterview zu Protokoll. Kein Tiroler, nobody is perfect, aber die Olympischen Spiele waren für die Gastgebernation Österreich schon am zweiten Tag gerettet. 1976 fanden die Olympischen Winterspiele bereits zum zweiten Mal in Innsbruck statt. Eigentlich wäre Denver an der Reihe gewesen, wegen eines Referendums auf Grund finanzieller und ökologischer Bedenken trat man in Colorado als Ausrichter zurück. Innsbruck setzte sich als Gastgeber im zweiten Versuch gegen Lake Placid, Chamoix und Tampere durch. Zum ersten Mal war man 12 Jahre zuvor Ausrichter der Olympiade gewesen. Vom 29. Januar bis zum 9. Februar 1964 war Innsbruck der Nabel gewesen, nachdem man sich mit der Bewerbung gegen Calgary und Lahti durchgesetzt hatte. Erheblicher Schneemangel bereitete Probleme bei der Durchführung etlicher Events. Nur mit Hilfe des Bundesheeres, das Schnee und Eis aus dem Hochgebirge zu den Wettkampfstätten brachte, konnten die 34 Bewerbe über die Bühne gehen.

The opening ceremony in the packed Berg Isel Stadium can be clearly seen in archive photos. Unlike the elaborate ceremonies of today's Olympic Games, the procedure in the 1960s was still unspectacular. The Wilten town music erfreute die internationalen Gäste mit Tiroler Blasmusik. Beim Einmarsch der Fahnen konnten Besucher zum ersten Mal im Rahmen von olympischen Spielen die Flagge Nordkoreas erblicken. Die Tiroler Schützen überwachten mit Argusaugen die olympische Flamme. Als Logo wurden lediglich die Olympischen Ringe über das Wappen der Stadt gelegt, ein Maskottchen gab es noch nicht.Auch die Sportbewerbe waren weniger professionell organisiert als bei heutigen olympischen Spielen. Das Bobrennen fand zum ersten Mal auf einer Kunsteisbahn statt, wenn auch noch nicht im heutigen Igler Eiskanal. Die Eishockeyspiele wurden zum Teil noch in der Messehalle in sehr moderatem Rahmen abgehalten. Skibewerbe, wie der Slalom und Riesenslalom der Damen, in dem sich in jeweils anderer Konstellation die französischen Schwestern Christine und Marielle Goitschel Gold und Silber umhängen ließen, fanden in der Axamer Lizum statt. Am Berg Isel verfolgten laut offiziellen Angaben 80.000 Zuschauer das Spektakel, als sich der Finne Veikko Kankonnen Gold im Skisprung sicherte. Im Eishockeyfinale triumphierte die Sowjetunion vor Schweden. Mit 11 Goldmedaillen sicherte sich die UDSSR auch Platz 1 im Medaillenspiegel, mit vier Goldenen wurde Österreich sensationell Zweiter.

The opening of the 1976 Games also took place on Berg Isel. In memory of 1964, two flames were lit on Mount Isel during the opening ceremony. Most of the 37 competitions this time took place at the same venues in Innsbruck, Axams, Igls and Seefeld as in 1964. The ice stadium and ski jumping arena were still suitable for the Olympics. A new artificial ice rink was built in Igls. The Axamer Lizum was given a new standing track to allow the athletes to start on the Hoadl zu bringen. Schnee war erneut Mangelware im Vorfeld und man bangte erneut, rechtzeitig schlug das Wetter im letzten Moment aber um und bescherte Innsbruck das Weiße Gold. Das Schneemanndla round snowman with a carrot nose and Tyrolean hat, the mascot of the 1976 Games was probably a good omen.

Die größte Veränderung zwischen den beiden olympischen Spielen innerhalb von zwölf Jahren war der Status der Athleten. Waren bei den ersten Spielen offiziell nur Amateure am Start, also Sportler, die einem Beruf nachgingen, konnten 1976 Profisportler antreten. Auch die Übertragungs- und Fotoqualität war um einiges höher als bei der ersten Innsbrucker Edition. Fernsehen hatte dem Radio mittlerweile den Rang abgelaufen. Die deutsche Skirennläuferin Rosi Mittermaier wurde perfekt in Szene gesetzt bei ihren Fahrten zu Doppelgold und Silber bei den Damenskirennen. Das Eishockeyturnier gewann erneut die Sowjetunion vor Schweden, bereits zum vierten Mal in Folge. Auch der Medaillenspiegel sah am Ende die UDSSR wieder ganz oben, diesmal vor der DDR. Österreich konnte nur zwei Goldene erringen. Mit Klammers Gold in der Abfahrt war dies allerdings nur Nebensache. Der Patscherkofel und Österreichs Franzi sind seither untrennbar miteinander verbunden. Und auch wenn die Innsbrucker nicht ganz so sportlich sind, wie sie gerne wären, den Titel der Olympiastadt kann nach zwei Ausgaben plus einer Universiade und den Youth Olympic Games niemand wegdiskutieren.

The city, supported by federal funds, was also very generous with the non-sporting infrastructure for both games. Following the rapid reconstruction of the city after the war, the city was modernised in the run-up to the Games. Innsbruck's first Olympic edition took place during the period of the economic miracle. In 1963, the Olympic Bridge, which connected the west of the city with the competition venues, was built. Until then, Innsbruck's east-west traffic had travelled through the city centre in a complicated manner. The individual streets between Amraser-See-Straße in the east and Bachlechnerstraße in the west, which make up the Südring arterial road today, were only subsequently developed and were previously quiet parts of the suburbs. Meadows and fields characterised the scenery. The comparison of aerial photographs from 1960 and 2020 is fascinating. In Amras, where today the daily Rush Hour abspielt, bis in die 1970er Jahre Bauernhöfe und einzelne Wohnhäuser. In der heutigen Egger-Lienz-Straße beim Westbahnhof verlief das Bahnviadukt der Westbahn. Alte Fotos zeigen die Gleise, daneben Bäume und spielende Kinder. Rund um die heutige Graßmayr junction a new neighbourhood was created almost in passing. The Department stores' forumwhich today houses a cinema, was a sensation and a sign of Innsbruck's modernisation.

An Olympic village was built twice and living space was created that is still in use today. Part of the former village of Arzl, which had belonged to Innsbruck since 1940, was chosen for this purpose. Today's district O-Village im Osten der Stadt fungierte während der Spiele als Olympisches Dorf für die Athleten, das durch die Reichenauer Brücke über den Inn mit der Innenstadt und den Wettkampfstätten verbunden wurde. In der kaum besiedelten Arzler Au wurde 1961 mit dem Bau der ersten Wohnblöcke begonnen. Der Arzler Schießstand, den man auf einer Landkarte von 1960 noch sehen kann, wurde eine Talstufe weiter nach oben verlegt. In den 1970er Jahren kamen weitere Blöcke dazu. Heute ist das O-Dorf, trotz der wenig beschaulichen Hochhäuser im Stil der 1960er und 1970er Jahre, dank seiner Lage am Inn, den Grünflächen und der guten Anbindung an den öffentlichen Verkehr ein lebenswertes Grätzel. Viele weitere Bauten in Innsbruck, die während der Olympiade als Infrastruktur für Presse und Medien genutzt wurden, gehen ebenfalls auf die Olympischen Spiele zurück. Die Pädagogische Akademie PÄDAK in Wilten, die IVB-Halle und das Landessportheim können als olympisches Erbe betrachtet werden. Der wenig prächtige Bau, der das ehemalige Hotel Holiday Inn neben der Triumphpforte beherbergt, das in den letzten Jahrzehnten eine Vielzahl an Betreiberwechseln durchmachte, entstand ebenfalls im Rahmen der olympischen Renaissance. Auch ein Erbe der olympischen Spiele ist etwas, das man heute verzweifelt zu ändern versucht: Das olympiabedingte Wachstum fiel mit den 60er und 70er Jahren in die frühe Blütezeit des Automobils.

For Innsbruck, the Olympic Games were not only a starting point for modernity in terms of winter sports and infrastructure. The events also mentally put an end to the stale atmosphere of the grey post-war period and spread a feeling of departure from the status of a provincial nest. It may no longer have been a royal seat as in Maximilian's time, but at least it was back on the international map. Thanks be to Emperor Franz!

The Napoleonic Wars gave the province of Tyrol a national epic and, in Andreas Hofer, a hero whose splendour still shines today. However, if one subtracts the carefully constructed legend of the Tyrolean uprising against foreign rule, the period before and after 1809 was a dark chapter in Innsbruck's history, characterised by economic hardship, the devastation of war and several instances of looting. 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. Revenues from tolls and customs duties as well as from Hall salt left the country for the north. The British colonial blockade against Napoleon meant that Innsbruck's long-distance trade and transport industry, which had always flourished and brought prosperity, collapsed. Innsbruck's citizens had to accommodate Bavarian soldiers in their homes. The abolition of the Tyrolean provincial government, the gubernium and the Tyrolean parliament meant not only the loss of status, but also of jobs and financial resources. Inspired by the spirit of the Enlightenment, reason and the French Revolution, the new rulers set about overturning the traditional order. While the city suffered financially as a result of the war, as is always the case, the upheaval opened up new socio-political opportunities. War is the father of all things, 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.

Diese Reformen behagten einem großen Teil der Tiroler Bevölkerung nicht. Katholische Prozessionen und religiöse Feste fielen dem aufklärerischen Programm der neuen Landesherren zum Opfer. 1808 wurde vom bayerischen König für seinen gesamten Herrschaftsbereich das Gemeindeedikt eingeführt. Die Untertanen wurden darin verpflichtet öffentliche Gebäude, Brunnen, Wege, Brücken und andere Infrastruktur in Stand zu halten. Für die Tiroler Bauern, die seit Jahrhunderten von Fronarbeit größtenteils befreit waren, bedeutete das eine zusätzliche Belastung und war ein Affront gegen ihren Standesstozl. Der Funke, der das Pulverfass zur Explosion brachte, war die Aushebung junger Männer zum Dienst in der bayrisch-napoleonischen Armee, obwohl Tiroler seit dem 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 took control of Innsbruck following the agreement with the Habsburgs. Peace of Znojmo, which many still regard as a Viennese betrayal of the province of Tyrol. What followed was what is known as 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 Tyrol's commander-in-chief in the absence of regular facts, also for civil affairs. Innsbruck's financial plight did not change. Instead of the Bavarian and French soldiers, the townspeople now had to house and feed their compatriots from the peasant regiment and pay taxes to the new provincial government. The city's liberal and wealthy elites 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 chaste veils, 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 zum Gebot. Am Ende gab es im Herbst 1809 in der vierten und letzten Schlacht am Berg Isel eine empfindliche Niederlage gegen die französische Übermacht. Die Regierung in Wien hatte die Tiroler Aufständischen vor allem als taktischen Prellbock im Krieg gegen Napoleon benutzt. Bereits zuvor hatte der Kaiser das Land Tirol offiziell im Friedensvertrag von Schönbrunn wieder abtreten müssen. Innsbruck war zwischen 1810 und 1814 wieder unter bayrischer Verwaltung. Auch die Bevölkerung war nur noch mäßig motiviert, Krieg zu führen. Wilten wurde von den Kampfhandlungen stark in Mitleidenschaft gezogen. Das Dorf schrumpfte von über 1000 Einwohnern auf knapp 700. Hofer selbst war zu dieser Zeit bereits ein von der Belastung dem Alkohol gezeichneter Mann. Er wurde gefangengenommen und am 20. Januar 1810 in Mantua hingerichtet. Zu allem Überfluss wurde das Land geteilt. Das Etschtal und das Trentino wurden Teil des von Napoleon aus dem Boden gestampften Königreich Italien, das Pustertal wurde den französisch kontrollierten Illyrian provinces connected.

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.: Ihr dürft sie nur nicht heraufkommen lassen) fasst sein Wesen wohl ganz gut zusammen. In konservativen Kreisen Tirols wie den Schützen wird Hofer unkritisch und kultisch verehrt. Das Tiroler Schützenwesen ist gelebtes Brauchtum, das sich zwar modernisiert hat, in vielen dunklen Winkeln aber noch reaktionär ausgerichtet ist. Wiltener, Amraser, Pradler und Höttinger Schützen marschieren immer noch einträchtig neben Klerus, Trachtenvereinen und Marschmusikkapellen bei kirchlichen Prozessionen und schießen in die Luft, um alles Übel von Tirol und der katholischen Kirche fernzuhalten. Über die Stadt verteilt erinnern viele Denkmäler an das Jahr 1809. Die zweite Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts erfuhr eine Heroisierung der Kämpfer, die als deutsches Bollwerk gegen fremde Völkerschaften charakterisiert wurden. Der Berg Isel wurde der Stadt für die Verehrung 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. Das kurze Rote Gassl im alten Kern von Wilten erinnert an die Tiroler Schützen, die, in ihnen wohl fälschlich nachgesagten roten Uniformen, dem siegreichen Feldherrn Hofer nach dem Sieg in der zweiten Berg Isel Schlacht an dieser Stelle in Massen gehuldigt haben sollen. In Tirol wird Andreas Hofer bis heute gerne für alle möglichen Initiativen und Pläne vor den Karren gespannt. Vor allem im Nationalismus des 19. Jahrhunderts berief man sich immer wieder auf den verklärten Helden Andreas Hofer. Hofer wurde über Gemälde, Flugblätter und Schauspiele zur Ikone stilisiert. Aber auch heute noch kann man das Konterfei des Oberschützen sehen, wenn sich Tiroler gegen unliebsame Maßnahmen der Bundesregierung, den Transitbestimmungen der EU oder der FC Wacker gegen auswärtige Fußballvereine zur Wehr setzen. Das Motto lautet dann „Man, it's time!“. Die Legende vom wehrfähigen Tiroler Bauern, der unter Tags das Feld bestellt und sich abends am Schießstand zum Scharfschützen und Verteidiger der Heimat ausbilden lässt, wird immer wieder gerne aus der Schublade geholt zur Stärkung der „echten“ Tiroler Identität. Die Feiern zum Todestag Andreas Hofers am 20. Februar locken bis heute regelmäßig Menschenmassen aus allen Landesteilen Tirols in die Stadt. Erst in den letzten Jahrzehnten setzte eine kritische Betrachtung des erzkonservativen und mit seiner Aufgabe als Tiroler Landeskommandanten wohl überforderten Schützenhauptmanns ein, der angestachelt von Teilen der Habsburger und der katholischen Kirche nicht nur Franzosen und Bayern, sondern auch das liberale Gedankengut der Aufklärung vehement aus Tirol fernhalten wollte.

The period between the French Revolution and the Battle of Königgrätz in 1866 was a period of war. Many of the basic political attitudes, animosities towards other groups and European nationalism of the 19th and 20th centuries, which were also to influence the history of Innsbruck, had their roots in the conflicts of this period. Revolutionary Paris was a long way away and there were neither e-mails nor a nationwide press system to disseminate news. The godlessness of Marie Antoinette's murderers and the hatred of the Church of the new masters of France were successfully spread via leaflets and church pulpits. The monarchies of Europe, led by the Habsburgs, had declared war on the French Republic. Fears were rife that the slogan of the revolution „Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité" could spread across Europe. A young general named Napoleon Bonaparte was with his italienischen Armee advanced across the Alps as part of the coalition wars and met the Austrian troops there. It was not just a war for territory and power, it was a battle of systems. The Grande Armee of the revolutionary French Republic met the troops of the conservative and Catholic Habsburgs.

Tyrolean marksmen were actively involved in the fighting to defend the country's borders against the invading French. The men were used to handling weapons and were considered skilled marksmen. The historian Ludwig Denk put it this way in an essay in 1860:

"...The Tyrolean's main passion is shooting. Early on, the father takes his son hunting. It is not uncommon to see boys running around with loaded rifles, climbing high mountains and shooting birds or squirrels..."

The strength of units such as the Höttinger Schützen, founded in 1796, lay not in open field battles but in guerrilla warfare. They also had a secret weapon on their side against the most advanced and modern army of the time: the Sacred Heart. Since 1719, Jesuit missionaries had been travelling to the furthest side valleys and had successfully established the cult of the Sacred Heart as a unifying element in the fight against pagan customs and Protestantism. Now that they were facing the godless revolutionary French, who had declared war not only on the monarchy but also on the clergy, it was only logical that the Sacred Heart of Jesus would watch over the Tyrolean holy warriors in a protective capacity. In a hopeless situation, the Tyrolean troops renewed their covenant with the Heart of Jesus to ask for protection. Against all odds, the Tyrolean archers were successful in their defence. It was the abbot of Stams Abbey who petitioned the provincial estates to henceforth organise an annual "das Fest des göttlichen Herzens Jesu mit feierlichem Gottesdienst zu begehen, wenn Tirol von der drohenden Feindesgefahr befreit werde." Every year, the Sacred Heart celebrations were discussed and announced with great pomp in the press. In the 19th and early 20th centuries in particular, they were an explosive mixture of popular superstition, Catholicism and national resentment against everything French and Italian. Countless soldiers entrusted their well-being to the heart of Jesus even in the technologised battlefield of the First World War and carried images of this symbol with them in the hail of grenades. Alongside Cranach's Mother of Mercy, the depiction of the Heart of Jesus is probably the most popular Christian motif in Tyrol to this day and is emblazoned on the façades of countless houses.

The Habsburg Tyrol had expanded during the turmoil of war without his involvement, and probably also without that of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Trentino had become part of the crown land in the last breaths of the Holy Roman Empire before its dissolution in 1803. Innsbruck, on the other hand, had shrunk. The deaths of soldiers and the economic difficulties caused by the war led to a decline in the population from a good 9500 around 1750 to around 8800. After the Napoleonic Wars, things remained quiet on the Tyrolean borders for around 30 years. This changed with the Italian Risorgimento, the national movement led by Sardinia-Piedmont and France. 1848, 1859 and 1866 saw the so-called Italian wars of unification. In the course of the 19th century, at the latest since 1848, there was a veritable national frenzy among young men of the upper classes. Volunteer armies sprang up in all regions of Europe. Students and academics who came together in their fraternities, gymnasts, marksmen, all wanted to prove their new love of the nation on the battlefield and supported the official armies.

As a garrison town, Innsbruck was an important supply centre. After the Congress of Vienna, the Tyrolean Jägerkorps the k.k. Tiroler Kaiserjägerregiment an elite unit that was deployed in these conflicts. Volunteer units such as the Innsbruck academics or the Stubai Riflemen fought in Italy. Thousands fell in the fight against the coalition of the arch-enemy France, the godless Garibaldians and the threat posed by the Kingdom of Italy under the leadership of the Francophile Savoys from Piedmont, which was being formed at Austria's expense. The media fuelled the mood away from the front line. The "Innsbrucker Zeitung" predigte in ihren Artikeln Kaisertreue und großdeutsch-tirolischen Nationalismus, wetterte gegen das Italienertum und Franzosen und pries den Mut Tiroler Soldaten.

"Die starke Besetzung der Höhen am Ausgange des Valsugana bei Primolano und le Tezze gab schon oft den Innsbrucker-Akademikern I. und den Stubaiern Anlaß, freiwillige Ercur:sionen gegen le Tezze, Fonzago und Fastro, als auch auf das rechte Brenta-Ufer und den Höhen gegen die kleinen Lager von den Sette comuni zu machen...Am 19. schon haben die Stubaier einige Feinde niedergestreckt, als sie sich das erste mal hinunterwagten, indem sie sich ihnen entgegenschlichen..."

Probably the most famous battle of the Wars of unification took place in Solferino near Lake Garda in 1859. Horrified by the bloody events, Henry Durant decided to found the Red Cross. The writer Joseph Roth described the events in the first pages of his classic book, which is well worth reading Radetzkymarsch.

"In the battle of Solferino, he (note: Lieutenant Trotta) commanded a platoon as an infantry lieutenant. The battle had been going on for half an hour. Three paces in front of him he saw the white backs of his soldiers. The first row of his platoon was kneeling, the second was standing. Everyone was cheerful and certain of victory. They had eaten copiously and drunk brandy at the expense and in honour of the emperor, who had been in the field since yesterday. Here and there one fell out of line."

The year 1866 was particularly costly for the Austrian Empire, with the loss of Veneto and Lombardy in Italy. At the same time, Prussia took the lead in the German Confederation, the successor organisation to the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. For Innsbruck, the withdrawal of the Habsburg Monarchy from the German Confederation meant that it had finally become a city on the western periphery of the empire. The tendency towards so-called Großdeutschen LösungThe German question, i.e. statehood together with the German Empire instead of the independent Austrian Empire, was very pronounced in Innsbruck. The extent to which this German question divided the city became apparent over 30 years later, when the Innsbruck municipal council voted in favour of the Iron Chancellor Bismarck, who was responsible for the fratricidal war between Austria and Germany, wanted to dedicate a street to him. While conservatives loyal to the emperor were horrified by this proposal, the Greater German liberals around Mayor Wilhelm Greil were enthusiastic.

With the Tummelplatz, the Pradl military cemetery and the Kaiserjägermuseum on Mount Isel, the city has several memorials to these bloody conflicts, in which many Innsbruck residents took to the field.

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. Private investment in infrastructure such as railways, energy and electricity was desired by the state and favoured by tax breaks in order to lead the countries and cities of the ailing Danube monarchy into the modern age. The city's economy boomed. Businesses sprang 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. Greil belonged to the "Deutschen Volkspartei", a liberal and national-Great German party. What appears to be a contradiction today, liberal and national, was a politically common and well-functioning pair of ideas in the 19th century. The Pan-Germanism was not a political peculiarity of a radical right-wing minority, but rather a centrist trend, particularly in German-speaking cities in the Reich, which was significant in various forms across almost all parties until after the Second World War. Innsbruckers who were self-respecting did not describe themselves as Austrians, but as Germans. Those who were members of 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 Empire and the German-speaking countries was made the topic of the day, while distancing themselves from other ethnic groups within the multinational Habsburg Empire. Greil was a skilful politician who operated within the predetermined power structures of his time. He knew how to skilfully manoeuvre around the traditional powers, the monarchy and the clergy and 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. Greil wohne passenderweise ähnlich wie ein Renaissancefürst. Er entstammte der großbürgerlichen Upper Class. Sein Vater konnte es sich leisten, im Palais Lodron in der Maria-Theresienstraße die Homebase der Familie zu gründen. Massenparteien wie die Sozialdemokratie konnten sich bis zur Wahlrechtsreform der Ersten Republik nicht durchsetzen. Konservative hatten es in Innsbruck auf Grund der Bevölkerungszusammensetzung, besonders bis zur Eingemeindung von Wilten und Pradl, ebenfalls schwer. Bürgermeister Greil konnte auf 100% Rückhalt im Gemeinderat bauen, was die Entscheidungsfindung und Lenkung natürlich erheblich vereinfachte. Bei aller Effizienz, die Innsbrucker Bürgermeister bei oberflächlicher Betrachtung an den Tag legten, sollte man nicht vergessen, dass das nur möglich war, weil sie als Teil einer Elite aus Unternehmern, Handelstreibenden und Freiberuflern ohne nennenswerte Opposition und Rücksichtnahme auf andere Bevölkerungsgruppen wie Arbeitern, Handwerkern und Angestellten in einer Art gewählten Diktatur durchregierten. Das Reichsgemeindegesetz von 1862 verlieh Städten wie Innsbruck und damit den Bürgermeistern größere Befugnisse. Es verwundert kaum, dass die Amtskette, die Greil zu seinem 60. Geburtstag von seinen Kollegen im Gemeinderat verliehen bekam, den Ordensketten des alten Adels erstaunlich ähnelte. 

Under Greil's aegis and the general economic upturn, fuelled by private investment, Innsbruck expanded at a rapid pace. In true merchant style, the municipal council purchased land with foresight in order to enable the city to innovate. 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 opening of the Mittelgebirgsbahn railway, the Hungerburgbahn and the Karwendelbahn wurden während seiner Regierungszeit umgesetzt. Weitere gut sichtbare Meilensteine waren die Erneuerung des Marktplatzes und der Bau der Markthalle. Neben den prestigeträchtigen Großprojekten entstanden in den letzten Jahrzehnten des 19. Jahrhunderts aber viele unauffällige Revolutionen. Vieles, was in der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts vorangetrieben wurde, gehört heute zum Alltag. Für die Menschen dieser Zeit waren diese Dinge aber eine echte Sensation und lebensverändernd. Bereits Greils Vorgänger Bürgermeister Heinrich Falk (1840 – 1917) hatte erheblich zur Modernisierung der Stadt und zur Besiedelung des Saggen beigetragen. Seit 1859 war die Beleuchtung der Stadt mit Gasrohrleitungen stetig vorangeschritten. Mit dem Wachstum der Stadt und der Modernisierung wurden die Senkgruben, die in Hinterhöfen der Häuser als Abort dienten und nach Entleerung an umliegende Landwirte als Dünger verkauft wurden, zu einer Unzumutbarkeit für immer mehr Menschen. 1880 wurde das 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 und St. Nikolaus nicht an das Kanalsystem angeschlossen. Auch der neue Schlachthof im Saggen erhöhte Hygiene und Sauberkeit in der Stadt. Schlecht kontrollierte Hofschlachtungen gehörten mit wenigen Ausnahmen der Vergangenheit an. Das Vieh kam im Zug am Sillspitz an und wurde in der modernen Anlage fachgerecht geschlachtet. Greil überführte auch das Gaswerk in Pradl und das Elektrizitätswerk in Mühlau in städtischen Besitz. Die Straßenbeleuchtung wurde im 20. Jahrhundert von den Gaslaternen auf elektrisches Licht umgestellt. 1888 übersiedelte das Krankenhaus von der Maria-Theresienstraße an seinen heutigen Standort. Bürgermeister und Gemeinderat konnten sich bei dieser Innsbrucker Renaissance neben der wachsenden Wirtschaftskraft in der Vorkriegszeit auch auf Mäzen aus dem Bürgertum stützen. Waren technische Neuerungen und Infrastruktur Sache der Liberalen, verblieb die Fürsorge der Ärmsten weiterhin bei klerikal gesinnten Kräften, wenn auch nicht mehr bei der Kirche selbst. Freiherr Johann von Sieberer stiftete das Greisenasyl und das Waisenhaus im Saggen. Leonhard Lang stiftete das Gebäude in der Maria-Theresienstraße, in der sich bis heute das Rathaus befindet gegen das Versprechen der Stadt ein Lehrlingsheim zu bauen. 

Im Gegensatz zur boomenden Vorkriegsära war die Zeit nach 1914 vom Krisenmanagement geprägt. In seinen letzten Amtsjahren begleitete Greil Innsbruck am Übergang von der Habsburgermonarchie zur Republik durch Jahre, die vor allem durch Hunger, Elend, Mittelknappheit und Unsicherheit geprägt waren. Er war 68 Jahre alt, als italienische Truppen nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg die Stadt besetzten und Tirol am Brenner geteilt wurde. Das Ende der Monarchie und des Zensuswahlrechts bedeuteten auch den Niedergang der Liberalen in Innsbruck, auch wenn Greil das in seiner aktiven Karriere nur teilweise miterlebte. 1919 konnten die Sozialdemokraten in Innsbruck zwar zum ersten Mal den Wahlsieg davontragen, dank der Mehrheiten im Gemeinderat blieb Greil aber Bürgermeister. 1928 verstarb er als Ehrenbürger der Stadt Innsbruck im Alter von 78 Jahren. Die Wilhelm-Greil-Straße war noch zu seinen Lebzeiten nach ihm benannt worden.

In the 1990s, an Austrian television series caused a scandal. The Piefke Saga written by the Tyrolean author Felix Mitterer, describes the relationship between the German holidaymaker family Sattmann and their hosts in a fictitious Tyrolean holiday resort in four bizarrely amusing episodes. Despite all the scepticism about tourism in its current, sometimes extreme, excesses, it should not be forgotten that tourism was an important factor in Innsbruck and the surrounding area in the 19th century, driving the region's development in the long term, and not just economically.

The first travellers to Innsbruck were pilgrims and business people. Traders, journeymen on the road, civil servants, soldiers, entourages of aristocratic guests at court, skilled workers from various trades, miners, clerics, pilgrims and scientists were the first tourists to be drawn to the city between Italy and Germany. Travelling was expensive, dangerous and arduous. In addition, a large proportion of the subjects were not allowed to leave their own land without the permission of their landlord or abbot. Those who travelled usually did so on the cobbler's pony. Although Innsbruck's inns and innkeepers were already earning money from travellers in the Middle Ages and early modern times, there was no question of tourism as we understand it today. It began when a few crazy travellers were drawn to the mountain peaks for the first time. In addition to a growing middle class, this also required a new attitude towards the Alps. For a long time, the mountains had been a pure threat to people. It was mainly the British who set out to conquer the world's mountains after the oceans. From the late 18th century, the era of Romanticism, news of the natural beauty of the Alps spread through travelogues. The first foreign-language travel guide to Tyrol, Travells through the Rhaetian Alps by Jean Francois Beaumont was published in 1796.

In addition to the alpine attraction, it was the wild and exotic Natives Tirols, die international für Aufsehen sorgten. Der bärtige Revoluzzer namens Andreas Hofer, der es mit seinem Bauernheer geschafft hatte, Napoleons Armee in die Knie zu zwingen, erzeugte bei den Briten, den notorischen Erzfeinden der Franzosen, ebenso großes Interesse wie bei deutschen Nationalisten nördlich der Alpen, die in ihm einen frühen Protodeutschen sahen. Die Tiroler galten als unbeugsamer Menschenschlag, archetypisch und ungezähmt, ähnlich den Germanen unter Arminius, die das Imperium Romanum herausgefordert hatten. Die Beschreibungen Innsbrucks aus der Feder des Autors Beda Weber (1798 – 1858) und andere Reiseberichte in der boomenden Presselandschaft dieser Zeit trugen dazu bei, ein attraktives Bild Innsbrucks zu prägen.

Nun mussten die wilden Alpen nur noch der Masse an Touristen zugänglich gemacht werden, die zwar gerne den frühen Abenteurern auf ihren Expeditionen nacheifern wollten, deren Risikobereitschaft und Fitness mit den Wünschen nicht schritthalten konnten. Der German Alpine Club eröffnete 1869 eine Sektion Innsbruck, nachdem der 1862 Österreichische Alpenverein was not very successful. Driven by the Greater German idea of many members, the two institutions merged in 1873. Alpine Club is still bourgeois to this day, while its social democratic counterpart is the Naturfreunde. The network of paths grew as a result of its development, as did the number of huts that could accommodate guests. The transit country of Tyrol had countless mule tracks and footpaths that had existed for centuries and served as the basis for alpinism. Small inns, farms and stations along the postal routes served as accommodation. The Tyrolean theologian Franz Senn (1831 - 1884) and the writer Adolf Pichler (1819 - 1900) were instrumental in the surveying of Tyrol and the creation of maps. Contrary to popular belief, the Tyroleans were not born mountaineers, but had to be taught the skills to conquer the mountains. Until then, mountains had been one thing above all: dangerous and arduous in everyday agricultural life. Climbing them had hardly occurred to anyone before. The Alpine clubs also trained mountain guides. From the turn of the century, skiing came into fashion alongside hiking and mountaineering. There were no lifts yet, and to get up the mountains you had to use the skins that are still glued to touring skis today. It was not until the 1920s, following the construction of the cable cars on the Nordkette and Patscherkofel mountains, that a wealthy clientele was able to enjoy the modern luxury of mountain lifts while skiing.  

New hotels, cafés, inns, shops and means of transport were needed to meet the needs of guests. Anyone who had running water and a telephone connection at home in London or Paris did not want to make do with an outhouse in the corridor or in front of the house when on holiday. The so-called first and second class inns were suitable for transit traffic, but they were not equipped to receive upscale tourists. Until the 19th century, innkeepers in the city and in the villages around Innsbruck belonged to the upper middle class in terms of income. They were often farmers who ran a pub on the side and sold food. As the example of Andreas Hofer shows, they also had a good reputation and influence within local society. As meeting places for the locals and hubs for postal and goods traffic, they were often well informed about what was happening in the wider world. However, as they were neither members of a guild nor counted among the middle classes, the profession of innkeeper was not one of the most honourable professions. This changed with the professionalisation of the tourism industry. Entrepreneurs such as Robert Nißl, who took over Büchsenhausen Castle in 1865 and converted it into a brewery, invested in the infrastructure. Former aristocratic residences such as Weiherburg Castle became inns and hotels. The revolution in Innsbruck did not take place on the barricades in 1848, but in tourism a few decades later, when resourceful citizens replaced the aristocracy as owners of castles such as Büchsenhausen and Weiherburg.

Opened in 1849, the Österreichischer Hof was long regarded as the top dog of the modern hotel industry, but was officially just a copy of a grand hotel. Only with the Grand Hotel Europa had opened a first-class establishment in Innsbruck in 1869. The heyday of the inns in the old town was over. In 1892, the zeitgeisty Reformhotel Habsburger Hof a second large business. Where the Metropolkino cinema stands today, the Kaiserhof was built as a new building. The Habsburg Court already offered its guests electric light, an absolute sensation. Also on the previously unused area in front of the railway station was the Arlberger Hof settled. What would be seen as a competitive disadvantage today was a selling point at the time. Railway stations were the centres of modern cities. Station squares were not overcrowded transport hubs as they are today, but sophisticated and well-kept places in front of the architecturally sophisticated halls where the trains arrived.

The number of guests increased slowly but steadily. Shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, Innsbruck had 200,000 guests. In June 1896, the Innsbrucker Nachrichten:

„Der Fremdenverkehr in Innsbruck bezifferte sich im Monat Mai auf 5647 Personen. Darunter befanden sich (außer 2763 Reisenden aus Oesterreich-Ungarn) 1974 Reichsdeutsche, 282 Engländer, 65 Italiener, 68 Franzosen, 53 Amerikaner, 51 Russen und 388 Personen aus verschiedenen anderen Ländern.“

In addition to the number of travellers who had an impact on life in the small town of Innsbruck, it was also the internationality of the visitors who gradually gave Innsbruck a new look. In addition to the purely touristic infrastructure, the development of general innovations was also accelerated. The wealthy guests could hardly socialise in pubs with cesspits behind their houses. Of course, a sewerage system would have been on the agenda anyway, but the economic factor of tourism made it possible and accelerated the release of funds for the major projects at the turn of the century. This not only changed the appearance of the town, but also people's everyday and working lives. Resourceful entrepreneurs such as Heinrich Menardi managed to expand the value chain to include paid holiday pleasures in addition to board and lodging. In 1880, he opened the Lohnkutscherei und Autovermietung Heinrich Menardi for excursions in the Alpine surroundings. Initially with carriages, and after the First World War with coaches and cars, wealthy tourists were chauffeured as far as Venice. The company still exists today and is now based in the Menardihaus at Wilhelm-Greil-Strasse 17 opposite Landhausplatz, even though over time the transport and trading industry shifted to the more lucrative property sector. Local trade also benefited from the wealthy clientele from abroad. In 1909, there were already three dedicated Tourist equipment shops next to the fashionable department stores that had just opened a few years earlier.

Innsbruck and the surrounding towns were also known for spa holidays, the predecessor of today's wellness, where well-heeled clients recovered from a wide variety of illnesses in an Alpine environment. The Igler Hof, back then Grandhotel Igler Hof and the Sporthotel Igls, still partly exude the chic of that time. Michael Obexer, the founder of the spa town of Igls and owner of the Grand Hotel, was a tourism pioneer. There were two spas in Egerdach near Amras and in Mühlau. The facilities were not as well-known as the hotspots of the time in Bad Ischl, Marienbad or Baden near Vienna, as can be seen on old photos and postcards, but the treatments with brine, steam, gymnastics and even magnetism were in line with the standards of the time, some of which are still popular with spa and wellness holidaymakers today. Bad Egerdach near Innsbruck had been known as a healing spring since the 17th century. The spring was said to cure gout, skin diseases, anaemia and even the nervous disorder known in the 19th century as neurasthenia, the predecessor of burnout. The institution's chapel still exists today opposite the SOS Children's Village. The bathing establishment in Mühlau has existed since 1768 and was converted into an inn and spa in the style of the time in the course of the 19th century. The former bathing establishment is now a residential building worth seeing in Anton-Rauch-Straße. However, the most spectacular tourist project that Innsbruck ever experienced was probably Hoch Innsbruck, today's Hungerburg. Not only the Hungerburg railway and hotels, but even its own lake was created here after the turn of the century to attract guests.

One of the former owners of the land of the Hungerburg and Innsbruck tourism pioneer, Richard von Attlmayr, was significantly involved in the predecessor of today's tourism association. Since 1881, the Innsbruck Beautification Association to satisfy the increasing needs of guests. The association took care of the construction of hiking and walking trails, the installation of benches and the development of impassable areas such as the Mühlauer Klamm or the Sillschlucht gorge. The striking green benches along many paths are a reminder of the still existing association. 1888 years later, the profiteers of tourism in Innsbruck founded the Commission for the promotion of tourismthe predecessor of today's tourism association. By joining forces in advertising and quality assurance at the accommodation establishments, the individual businesses hoped to further boost tourism.

„Alljährlich mehrt sich die Zahl der überseeischen Pilger, die unser Land und dessen gletscherbekrönte Berge zum Verdrusse unserer freundnachbarlichen Schweizer besuchen und manch klingenden Dollar zurücklassen. Die Engländer fangen an Tirol ebenso interessant zu finden wie die Schweiz, die Zahl der Franzosen und Niederländer, die den Sommer bei uns zubringen, mehrt sich von Jahr zu Jahr.“

Postkarten waren die ersten massentauglichen Influencer der Tourismusgeschichte. Viele Betriebe ließen ihre eigenen Postkarten drucken. Verlage produzierten unzählige Sujets der beliebtesten Sehenswürdigkeiten der Stadt. Es ist interessant zu sehen, was damals als sehenswert galt und auf den Karten abgebildet wurde. Anders als heute waren es vor allem die zeitgenössisch modernen Errungenschaften der Stadt: der Leopoldbrunnen, das Stadtcafé beim Theater, die Kettenbrücke, die Zahnradbahn auf die Hungerburg oder die 1845 eröffnete Stefansbrücke an der Brennerstraße, die als Steinbogen aus Quadern die Sill überquerte, waren die Attraktionen. Auch Andreas Hofer war ein gut funktionierendes Testimonial auf den Postkarten: Der Gasthof Schupfen in dem Andreas Hofer sein Hauptquartier hatte und der Berg Isel mit dem großen Andreas-Hofer-Denkmal waren gerne abgebildete Motive.

1914 gab es in Innsbruck 17 Hotels, die Gäste anlockten. Dazu kamen die Sommer- und Winterfrischler in Igls und dem Stubaital. Der Erste Weltkrieg ließ die erste touristische Welle mit einem Streich versanden. Gerade als sich der Fremdenverkehr Ende der 1920er Jahre langsam wieder erholt hatte, kamen mit der Wirtschaftskrise und Hitlers 1000 Mark blockThe next setback came in 1933, when he tried to put pressure on the Austrian government to end the ban on the NSDAP.

It required the Economic miracle in the 1950s and 1960s to revitalise tourism in Innsbruck after the destruction. Between 1955 and 1972, the number of overnight stays in Tyrol increased fivefold. After the arduous war years and the reconstruction of the European economy, Tyrol and Innsbruck were able to slowly but steadily establish tourism as a stable source of income, even away from the official hotels and guesthouses. Many Innsbruck families moved together in their already cramped flats to supplement their household budgets by renting out beds to guests from abroad. Tourism not only brought in foreign currency, but also enabled the locals to create a new image of themselves both internally and externally. At the same time, the economic upturn made it possible for more and more Innsbruck residents to go on holiday abroad. The beaches of Italy were particularly popular. The wartime enemies of previous decades became guests and hosts.

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 labourers 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 just a leisure activity, but 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.

Swimming pools were among the first sports facilities. 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.

1883 gründeten die Radfahrer den Verein Bicycle Club. The first bicycle races in France and Great Britain took place from 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 personal 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 scene continued to develop before the turn of the century under the direction of Anton Schlumpeter from Munich. Schlumpeter covered the entire value chain with a riding school, a bicycle shop and workshop and finally the Veldidena bicycle brand produced in his Wilten factory. The Velocipedists siedelten sich 1896 im Rahmen der „Internationalen Ausstellung für körperliche Erziehung, Gesundheitspflege und Sport" in Saggen near the viaduct arches with a cycling track and grandstand. The Innsbrucker Nachrichten newspaper reported enthusiastically on this innovation, as cycling was the most popular sporting discipline in Europe until the first car races:

„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 cement railway was used for daily training in the warm season. The smoke-filled air as the locomotives passed by was probably not good for the lungs. After initial enthusiasm, Schlumpeter had to step in to save the railway. The enterprising entrepreneur realised that the cyclists were not providing enough activity and, on his own initiative, began to build a kind of predecessor to today's Olympiaworld at the Tivoli with several facilities for sport. In addition to cycling races, boxers could compete in the ring. He also had tennis courts built in Saggen. Despite all his efforts, the facility was demolished again in 1901.

Football was able to establish itself in Innsbruck more sustainably than cycling. The footballers had left the umbrella organisation ITV due to the Aryan law, which forbade matches with teams with Jewish players, and founded several clubs of their own. 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. The Besele football pitch, which still exists today next to the Westfriedhof cemetery, was equipped with stands to cope with the masses of spectators. 1913 saw the founding of Wacker Innsbruck the most successful Tyrolean football club to date, winning the Austrian championship ten times under different names and also celebrating international success.

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.

he buildings of the late monarchy still characterise the cityscape of Innsbruck today. The last decades of the 19th century were characterised as Wilhelminian style in the history of Austria. After an economic crisis in 1873, the city began to expand in a revival. From 1880 to 1900, Innsbruck's population grew from 20,000 to 26,000. Wilten, which was incorporated in 1904, tripled in size from 4,000 to 12,000. Between 1850 and 1900, the number of buildings within the city grew from 600 to over 900, most of which were multi-storey apartment blocks, unlike the small buildings of the early modern period. The infrastructure also changed in the course of technical innovations. Gas, water and electricity became part of everyday life for more and more people. The old city hospital gave way to the new hospital. The orphanage and Sieberer's old people's asylum were built in Saggen.

The buildings constructed in the new neighbourhoods were a reflection of this new society. Entrepreneurs, freelancers, employees and workers with political voting rights developed different needs than subjects without this right. From the 1870s, a modern banking system emerged in Innsbruck. Credit institutions such as the Sparkasse, founded in 1821, or the Kreditanstalt, whose building erected in 1910 still stands like a small palace in Maria-Theresien-Straße, not only made it possible to take out loans, but also acted as builders themselves. The apartment blocks that were built also enabled non-homeowners to lead a modern life. Unlike in rural areas of Tyrol, where farming families and their farmhands and maids lived in farmhouses as part of a clan, life in the city came close to the family life we know today. The living space had to correspond to this. The lifestyle of city dwellers demanded multi-room flats and open spaces for relaxation after work. The wealthy middle classes, consisting of entrepreneurs and freelancers, had not yet overtaken the aristocracy, but they had narrowed the gap. They were the ones who not only commissioned private building projects, but also decided on public buildings through their position on the local council.

The 40 years before the First World War were a kind of gold-rush period for construction companies, craftsmen, master builders and architects. The buildings reflected the world view of their clients. Master builders combined several roles and often replaced the architect. Most clients had very clear ideas about what they wanted. They were not to be breathtaking new creations, but copies and references to existing buildings. In keeping with the spirit of the times, the Innsbruck master builders designed the buildings in the styles of historicism and classicism as well as the Tyrolean Heimatstil in accordance with the wishes of the financially strong clients. The choice of style used to build a home was often not only a visual but also an ideological statement by the client. Liberals usually favoured classicism, while conservatives were in favour of the Tyrolean Heimatstil. While the Heimatstil was neo-baroque and featured many paintings, clear forms, statues and columns were style-defining elements in the construction of new classicist buildings. The ideas that people had of classical Greece and ancient Rome were realised in a sometimes wild mix of styles. Not only railway stations and public buildings, but also large apartment blocks and entire streets, even churches and cemeteries were built in this design along the old corridors. The upper middle classes showed their penchant for antiquity with neoclassical façades. Catholic traditionalists had images of saints and depictions of Tyrol's regional history painted on the walls of their Heimatstil houses. While neoclassicism dominates in Saggen and Wilten, most of the buildings in Pradl are in the conservative Heimatstil style.

For a long time, many building experts turned up their noses at the buildings of the upstarts and nouveau riche. Heinrich Hammer wrote in his standard work "Art history of the city of Innsbruck":

"Of course, this first rapid expansion of the city took place in an era that was unfruitful in terms of architectural art, in which architecture, instead of developing an independent, contemporary style, repeated the architectural styles of the past one after the other."

The era of large villas, which imitated the aristocratic residences of days gone by with a bourgeois touch, came to an end after a few wild decades due to a lack of space. Further development of the urban area with individual houses was no longer possible, the space had become too narrow. The area of Falkstrasse / Gänsbachstrasse / Bienerstrasse is still regarded as a neighbourhood today. Villensaggenthe areas to the east as Blocksaggen. In Wilten and Pradl, this type of development did not even occur. Nevertheless, master builders sealed more and more ground in the gold rush. Albert Gruber gave a cautionary speech on this growth in 1907, in which he warned against uncontrolled growth in urban planning and land speculation.

"It is the most difficult and responsible task facing our city fathers. Up until the 1980s (note: 1880), let's say in view of our circumstances, a certain slow pace was maintained in urban expansion. Since the last 10 years, however, it can be said that cityscapes have been expanding at a tremendous pace. Old houses are being torn down and new ones erected in their place. Of course, if this demolition and construction is carried out haphazardly, without any thought, only for the benefit of the individual, then disasters, so-called architectural crimes, usually occur. In order to prevent such haphazard building, which does not benefit the general public, every city must ensure that individuals cannot do as they please: the city must set a limit to unrestricted speculation in the area of urban expansion. This includes above all land speculation."

A handful of master builders and the Innsbruck building authority accompanied this development in Innsbruck. If Wilhelm Greil is described as the mayor of the expansion, the Viennese-born Eduard Klingler (1861 - 1916) probably deserves the title of its architect. Klingler played a key role in shaping Innsbruck's cityscape in his role as a civil servant and master builder. He began working for the state of Tyrol in 1883. In 1889, he joined the municipal building department, which he headed from 1902. In Innsbruck, the commercial academy, the Leitgebule school, the Pradl cemetery, the dermatological clinic in the hospital area, the municipal kindergarten in Michael-Gaismair-Straße, the Trainkaserne (note: today a residential building), the market hall and the Tyrolean State Conservatory are all attributable to Klingler as head of the building department. The Ulrichhaus on Mount Isel, which is now home to the Alt-Kaiserjäger-Club, is a building worth seeing in the Heimatstil style based on his design.

The most important building office in Innsbruck was Johann Huter & Sons. Johann Huter took over his father's brickworks. In 1856, he acquired the first company premises, the Hutergründeon the Innrain. Three years later, the first prestigious headquarters were built in Meranerstraße. The company registration together with his sons Josef and Peter in 1860 marked the official start of the company that still exists today. Huter & Söhne like many of its competitors, saw itself as a complete service provider. The company had its own brickworks, a cement factory, a joinery and a locksmith's shop as well as a planning office and the actual construction company. In 1906/07, the Huters built their own company headquarters at Kaiser-Josef-Straße 15 in the typical style of the last pre-war years. The stately house combines the Tyrolean Heimatstil surrounded by gardens and nature with neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque elements. Famous from Huter & Söhne buildings erected in Innsbruck include the Monastery of Perpetual Adoration, the parish church of St Nicholas, the first building of the new clinic and several buildings on Claudiaplatz. Shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, the construction company employed more than 700 people.

The second major player was Josef Retter (1872 - 1954). Born in Lower Austria with Tyrolean roots, he completed an apprenticeship as a bricklayer before joining the k.k. State Trade School in Vienna and attended the foreman's school in the building trade department. After gaining professional experience in Vienna, Croatia and Bolzano throughout the Danube Monarchy, he was able to open his own construction company in Innsbruck at the age of 29 thanks to his wife's dowry. Like Huter, his company also included a sawmill, a sand and gravel works and a workshop for stonemasonry work. In 1904, he opened his residential and office building at Schöpfstraße 23a, which is still used today as a Rescuer's house is well known. The dark, neo-Gothic building with its striking bay window with columns and a turret is adorned with a remarkable mosaic depicting an allegory of architecture. The gable relief shows the combination of art and craftsmanship, a symbol of Retter's career. His company was particularly influential in Wilten and Saggen. With the new Academic Grammar School, the castle-like school building for the Commercial Academy, the Evangelical Church of Christ in Saggen, the Zelgerhaus in Anichstraße, the Sonnenburg in Wilten and the neo-Gothic Mentlberg Castle on Sieglanger, he realised many of the most important buildings of this era in Innsbruck.

Late in life but with a similarly practice-orientated background that was typical of 19th century master builders, Anton Fritz started his construction company in 1888. He grew up remotely in Graun in the Vinschgau Valley. After working as a foreman, plasterer and bricklayer, he decided to attend the trade school in Innsbruck at the age of 36. Talent and luck brought him his breakthrough as a planner with the country-style villa at Karmelitergasse 12. In its heyday, his construction company employed 150 people. In 1912, shortly before the outbreak of the First World War and the resulting slump in the construction industry, he handed over his company to his son Adalbert. Anton Fritz's legacy includes his own home at Müllerstraße 4, the Mader house in Glasmalereistraße and houses on Claudiaplatz and Sonnenburgplatz.

With Carl Kohnle, Carl Albert, Karl Lubomirski and Simon Tommasi, Innsbruck had other master builders who immortalised themselves in the cityscape with buildings typical of the late 19th century. They all made Innsbruck's new streets shine in the prevailing architectural zeitgeist of the last 30 years of the Danube Monarchy. Residential buildings, railway stations, official buildings and churches in the vast empire between the Ukraine and Tyrol looked similar across the board. New trends such as Art Nouveau emerged only hesitantly. In Innsbruck, it was the Munich architect Josef Bachmann who set a new accent in civic design with the redesign of the façade of the Winklerhaus. Building activity came to a halt at the beginning of the First World War. After the war, the era of neoclassical historicism and Heimatstil was finally history. Times were more austere and the requirements for residential buildings had changed. More important than a representative façade and large, stately rooms became affordable living space and modern facilities with sanitary installations during the housing shortage of the sparse, young Republic of German-Austria. The more professional training of master builders and architects at the k.k. Staatsgewerbeschule also contributed to a new understanding of the building trade than the often self-taught veterans of the gold-digger era of classicism had. Walks in Saggen and parts of Wilten and Pradl still take you back to the days of the Wilhelminian style. Claudiaplatz and Sonnenburgplatz are among the most impressive examples. The construction company Huter and Sons still exists today. The company is now located in Sieglanger in Josef-Franz-Huter-Straße, named after the company founder. Although the residential building in Kaiser-Josef-Straße no longer bears the company's logo, its opulence is still a relic of the era that changed Innsbruck's appearance forever. In addition to his home in Schöpfstraße, Wilten is home to a second building belonging to the Retter family. On the Innrain opposite the university is the Villa Retter. Josef Retter's eldest daughter Maria Josefa, who herself was educated by the reform pedagogue Maria Montessori, opened the first „House of the child“ of Innsbruck. Above the entrance is a portrait of the patron Josef Retter, while the south façade is adorned with a mosaic in the typical style of the 1930s, hinting at the building's original purpose. A smiling, blonde girl embraces her mother, who is holding a book, and her father, who is carrying a hammer. The small burial chapel at the Westfriedhof cemetery, which serves as the Retters' family burial place, is also a legacy of this important family for Innsbruck that is well worth seeing.