The Middle Ages are often portrayed in books and films as a dark age in which tyrannical aristocrats and bloodthirsty robber barons oppressed mouse-grey clad peasants and women were burned at the stake as witches without trial. This depiction does not correspond to the facts in any way. The Middle Ages were not a colourless era, in fact the period up to 1500 was extremely colourful, nor was it characterised by lawlessness and arbitrariness. The Middle Ages were also not the great time of large-scale witch burnings. This dark episode would not begin until the 16th century. This dark chapter in history began in 1485, partly in Innsbruck with the involvement of Heinrich Kramer, the author of the Witch hammers.

The economic and social circumstances in cities such as pre-modern Innsbruck were a good breeding ground for witch trials. Cities grew at an above-average rate. Officials, court servants, showmen, soldiers, merchants and other "foreign people" caused insecurity. The mortality rate for children under the age of 10 was close to 50%. There were also no weather reports on which farmers could base their activities. Food was permanently scarce, which led to an increased incidence of diseases and deformities of all kinds. Medicine and science were not yet ready to explain all this.

Many things were therefore attributed to supernatural powers. People's superstitions included black magic, which was harmful, and white magic, which was helpful. Saints were asked for help. Processions and prayers were supposed to help people avoid the devil and damnation in the afterlife. Harmful objects such as bone splinters from unbaptised deceased children or pieces of wood from a gallows brought bad luck, while relics were highly sought-after artefacts to protect against this. Even the smallest particles of a saint's body were believed to have powers that could work miracles. Love or sickness spells, curses, devil worship - the reasons why one could be accused of witchcraft in 15th century Innsbruck were manifold.

Heinrich Kramer was a misogynistic, superstitious religious zealot, driven by a belief in the devil and the apocalypse, who unfortunately had been authorised by the Pope to hunt witches and who took advantage of this situation. Like a showman, he travelled the country as an inquisitor and came to Innsbruck in 1485. His lectures and sermons on magic and sorcery fell on fertile ground in Innsbruck. Kramer encouraged his audience to report suspects of witchcraft, which was gratefully accepted. Envy and envy were part of everyday life within the city community. Settling disputes by means of denunciation was a method that some townspeople liked to utilise. 50 people, the majority of them women, were suspected of witchcraft after being denounced by fellow citizens on charges of heresy. After arrests and interrogations, seven people were charged and threatened with the death penalty. The reasons for the charges were manifold. Helene Scheuberin, for example, was accused of having poisoned the knight Jörg Spiess by magic.

It was Bishop Golser of Bressanone who doubted Kramer's account and intervened. His envoy found serious procedural flaws. A lawyer was appointed to represent all seven accused women in court. In the end, all the suspects were released. The bishop asked Kramer to leave Tyrol. "In der Praxis zeigte sich seine Dummheit, denn er unterstellt vieles, was gar nicht erwiesen war," wrote Golser in a letter. This disappointing trial was the start of a dubious career for Kramer, whose honour had been insulted. Following this episode, he wrote his work Der Hexenhammer. Er leitete es sogar bezugnehmend auf Innsbruck ein mit „aber was, wenn ich alle (Fälle) berichten wollte, die allein in jener Stadt gefunden worden sind? Es hieße, ein Buch zu verfassen.“

Kramer's work became the standard work of the inquisitors of Europe. Almost at the same time, book printing celebrated its major breakthrough around 1500 and simplified the distribution of this guide to witch hunting and trials. It should be noted that most witch trials were not heard in church courts. Heresy was a secular crime, for which there were guidelines, at least on paper. Torture was regulated, which did not make it any less terrible, but at least took away some of the arbitrariness.

In Europe, it is estimated that between 100,000 and 150,000 people died as heretics, witches and sorcerers. This affected elites who aroused envy as well as Protestants, marginalised groups and the socially disadvantaged, who were scapegoats for bad weather, illness and other misfortune. The ratio between men and women was around 1:3. Innsbruck was to be spared further waves of witch hunts after 1485. The intervention of Golser and some of the people of Innsbruck played a decisive role in this.

The first years of Emperor Ferdinand I's reign (1503 - 1564) as sovereign of Tyrol were characterised by theological and social unrest. Theological and social tensions increased during this crisis-ridden period. Siegmund's lavish court management and Maximilian's wars, including the pledging of a large part of the provincial assets, had put Tyrol's financial situation in dire straits. The new law, which had been introduced by Maximilian's administration, stood in contrast to the old customary law. Hunting in the forest and searching for firewood had thus become illegal for the majority of the population. The loss of these common rights and the ever-increasing tax burden had a massive impact on small farmers, day labourers, farmhands and other "Pofel". In Tyrol at this time, Jakob Hutter (1500 - 1536) and Michael Gaismair (1490 - 1532) were two men who threatened the existing order and paid for it with their lives.

Jakob Hutter war die Galionsfigur der vor allem im Inntal und im Südtiroler Pustertal aktiven Wiedertäufer. Die ersten Anzeichen der Kleinen Eiszeit verursachten vermehrt Missernten. Viele Menschen sahen darin eine Strafe Gottes für das sündige Leben der Menschen. Sekten wie die Wiedertäufer predigten die reine Lehre der Religion, um sich von dieser Schuld zu befreien und die Ordnung so wiederherzustellen. Besonderen Unmut bei der Römischen Kirche und Ferdinand I. erregte ihre Einstellung zu weltlichem Besitz und zur Taufe und die offen zur Schau gestellte Abneigung gegen weltliche und kirchliche Obrigkeiten. Menschen sollten frei als erwachsene und mündige Bürger ihren Willen, dem Christentum beizutreten, kundtun und nicht als Kinder getauft werden. Für den streng gläubigen und papsttreuen Landesfürsten Ferdinand stellten die Wiedertäufer eine Bedrohung der öffentlichen Ordnung dar. Einem guten Teil der unter den finanziellen Schwierigkeiten nach der teuren Regentschaft Maximilians stöhnenden Bevölkerung waren sie als Sündenböcke willkommen, die mit ihrem gottlosen Gebaren Unheil über das Land brachten. Bereits 1524 wurden drei Wiedertäufer in Innsbruck vor dem Goldenen Dachl wegen Ketzerei am Scheiterhaufen verbrannt. Fünf Jahre später wurden Tausende Wiedertäufer des Landes verwiesen und wanderten nach Mähren, die heutige Tschechei, aus.

One of them was Hutter. Having grown up in South Tyrol, his apprenticeship and journeyman years as a hatter took him to Prague and Carinthia, where he probably first came into contact with the Anabaptists and their teachings. When the religious community was also expelled from Moravia in 1535, Jakob Hutter returned to Tyrol. He was captured, taken to Innsbruck and imprisoned in the Kräuterturm gefoltert. Er fand als Anführer der Häretiker für sein Wirken 1536 vor dem Goldenen Dachl his end at the stake.

The community of Hutterischen Brüder kam nach ihrer endgültigen Vertreibung aus den deutschen Ländern und langen Irrfahrten und Fluchten quer durch Europa im 19. Jahrhundert in Nordamerika an. Noch heute gibt es einige hundert Hutterer Kolonien in Kanada und den USA, die noch immer nach dem Gebot der Jerusalemer Gütergemeinschaft in einer Art kommunistischem Urchristentum leben. Wie die Mennoniten und die Amisch leben die Hutterer meist isoliert von der Außenwelt und haben sich eine eigene Form der an das Deutsche angelehnten Sprache erhalten. In Innsbruck erinnern eine kleine Tafel am Goldenen Dachl sowie eine Straße im Westen der Stadt an Jakob Hutter. 2008 hatten die Bischöfe von Brixen und Innsbruck gemeinsam mit den Landeshauptleuten Nord- und Südtirols in einem Brief an den Ältestenrat der Hutterischen Brüder das knapp 500 Jahre vergangene Unrecht an der Täufergemeinschaft eingestanden. 2015 wurde im Saggen eein paar Schritte südwestlich des Panoramagebäudes der Huttererpark eröffnet, in dem das Denkmal „Übrige Brocken“ an das Schicksal und Leid der Verfolgten erinnert.

Der größte Aufruhr im Zuge der Reformation in Tirol war der Bauernaufstand ab 1525, der eng mit dem Namen Michael Gaismairs verbunden ist. Anders als Hutter, der vor allem eine spirituelle Erneuerung forderte, wollte Gaismair auch soziale Veränderungen vorantreiben. Der Tiroler Aufstand war ein Teil dessen, was als Deutscher Bauernkrieg große Teile des Heiligen Römischen Reiches was shaken. It was partly reformist, theological fervour and partly dissatisfaction with the social situation and distribution of goods that drove the rebels. Unlike Martin Luther, Gaismair was not a theologian. He was the son of a mining entrepreneur, one could say educated middle class. He probably studied law at an Italian university before becoming a mine clerk in the Schwaz mine. In 1518 he entered the service of the Tyrolean governor Leonhard von Völs, where he gained military and administrative experience. In 1524 he moved into the service of the Bishop of Brixen. As was customary at the time, the bishop was both an ecclesiastical and secular prince and was regarded as a particularly rigid ruler. Here, Gaismair saw first-hand how the clergy's sovereign administration and strict jurisdiction subjugated the subjects. In May 1525, he took part in the uprising against the clergy in Brixen. A mob invaded the Neustift monastery and the bishop's property. The enraged subjects plundered the monastery and destroyed the Urbare, the records relating to jurisdiction, property, debts and obligations of the peasants to the lord of the manor.

The revolutionary movement quickly gained momentum and spread rapidly. Throughout the country, there were attacks on church institutions and those of foreign property owners such as the Fuggers. In Innsbruck, Wilten Abbey was besieged as a manorial seat. Gaismair was appointed captain by the rebels to conduct negotiations with the Tyrolean sovereign, Ferdinand I, at the provincial parliament in Innsbruck. He drew up a kind of new provincial constitution. His intention was not to shake Prince Ferdinand himself, but to ask him to Namen Gottes to organise and administer the country more fairly. The clergy were to concern themselves with the salvation of their subjects instead of politics. Land and goods such as mining yields were to be distributed in a socially just manner and interest was to be cancelled. The restrictions on hunting and fishing imposed on the Tyroleans by Ferdinand's predecessor Maximilian I (83) were to be lifted. These concerns were emphasised in the 62 Merano articles collected later on 96 Innsbruck articles have been expanded.

When Gaismair and his delegation negotiated with Ferdinand and his officials in Innsbruck in June 1525, he was arrested and imprisoned in the Kräuterturm imprisoned. After almost two months in prison, he was able to escape and continue his fight from Sterzing. After several defeats, he went to neighbouring Switzerland, which was in revolt against the Habsburgs, where he met the reformer and revolutionary Huldyrich Zwingli. It was here that he wrote down his social-revolutionary national order, which envisaged a Christian state of peasants, craftsmen and miners in which goods were to be communitised. One of the articles read:

„As far as the tithe is concerned, everyone should give it according to the commandment of God, and it should be used as follows: Let every parish have a priest according to the teaching of the Apostle Paul, whom the word of God proclaims to the people... what is left over is to be given to the poor."

As an army commander, he was active in the anti-Habsburg resistance. The reputation of his military successes reached the Republic of Venice, which had been in constant conflict with the Habsburgs since the war with Siegmund the Rich in Coin in 1477. Gaismair was recognised as Condottiereas an army commander. However, he soon fell out of favour here too. Not only did the Doge of Venice make peace with the Habsburgs, but his anti-Catholic stance and unconventional lifestyle also aroused envy and envy. In 1532, he was murdered at his country residence near Venice with more than 40 stab wounds. It is not clear which of the many powers he had antagonised was behind this, but the contract killers were probably commissioned by the royal court in Innsbruck.

No less interesting than his life is his post-mortem career. Gaismair never made it to the general fame of Andreas Hofer in Tyrol. To this day, he is hardly ever talked about in schools. Unlike Hofer, who rose up as a good Catholic against a foreign power, Gaismair was an insurgent, an unpleasant and lateral thinker. A play about the peasant leader by Franz Kranewitter was published in 1899. In the 20th century, Gaismair was interpreted as a fighter against the monarchy and clergy, by the National Socialists as a German hero and liberator of the peasants or by the left as an early communist. The generation of 1968 celebrated the actually pious and God-fearing revolutionary for his ideas on the communisation of property. The Tyrolean journalist and historian Claus Gatterer wrote about the constant reinterpretation of the figure of Gaismair:

 „How much truth is a people allowed to know about its past, about the growth and development of its present? .... According to the respective ideology, long-deserved heroes and saints are toppled from their pedestals and replaced by others who have been disregarded until then; or an established saint is given a new biography without further ado, which fits in with current requirements in terms of the motivation for action.“

Unlike Andreas Hofer, there are hardly any memorials in Innsbruck to Michael Gaismair and the peasants' revolt of 1525. In Wilten, a street and a secondary school named after him commemorate him.

On Friedl mit der leeren Tasche followed Siegmund der Münzreiche as Prince of Tyrol. Siegmund of Tyrol (1427 - 1496) had the worst possible start to his reign. When his father Frederick died, Siegmund was only 12 years old. His uncle Frederick III, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and father of Maximilian I, therefore took him into involuntary custody and guardianship. You could say that Siegmund began his career as a hostage of the emperor, his own cousin. Tyrol was now a rich county and the emperor was reluctant to relinquish direct control over it. It was only when the Tyrolean estates protested against this paternalism that Siegmund was able to take office. The Tyrolean Diet had taken over the reins of government in the absence of a sovereign prince, thereby demonstrating its political clout. At the age of 18, Siegmund moved to Innsbruck to take over the official duties. Four years later, he married Eleanor of Scotland (1433 - 1480), the visually unattractive 16-year-old daughter of King James of the House of Stewart. The marriage was to remain childless.

Siegmund issued the Schwaz mountain regulationswhich was to become the model for all Habsburg mines. Mining officials were given more rights within their sphere of influence, similar to the universities. There were special regulations for miners within society, as they were a highly sought-after labour force. One can speak of an early social and labour law agreement. The miners worked hard, but earned relatively well. The same applied to the mint and the salt works in Hall. Urban life in Innsbruck and the surrounding area also attracted new trades. In Mühlau, a high-quality metalworking trade was established in the form of the Plattnerei. The people who worked in this New Industry were employed formed a kind of middle class with higher purchasing power. The demand for meat increased. This in turn led to a change in agriculture. In villages close to towns such as Pradl and Amras or in the Tyrolean lowlands near the Hall and Schwaz mines to the east of Innsbruck, farmers discovered livestock farming as a more profitable source of income than arable farming. To this day, the types of cultivation in the different regions of Tyrol vary greatly.

In 1484, Siegmund had the mint moved from Meran in South Tyrol to Hall, which earned him the nickname Siegmund der Münzreiche brought in. For the small town of Hall, which was located in the immediate vicinity of Innsbruck, as well as for Innsbruck itself, this meant an immense increase in value. In reality, however, despite the rich land he had inherited from Frederick IV, Siegmund was not particularly rich in coin, unlike his father, due to his opulent lifestyle. His second marriage was to Katharina of Saxony (1468 - 1524), a lady from a highly aristocratic electoral family. It was probably also thanks to the influence and court behaviour of Siegmund and his two wives that the expenditure of the Coin rich exceeded the income from taxes, salt works and mines in the long term. At the royal wedding in 1484, the bride's procession alone comprised 54 carriages. The guests had to be accommodated and catered for in Innsbruck. Even with a wife 40 years his junior, the now senile Siegmund was granted a male heir, which must have been particularly bitter for him considering the 30 children he was rumoured to have fathered out of wedlock.

Innsbruck flourished under Siegmund's court and coffers. During his opulent reign, the city became a centre of attraction for craftsmen, goldsmiths and artists. The city tower near the Old Town Hall as an expression of the city's prosperity and the first parts of the Hofburg were built under Siegmund. A glass painter settled in Innsbruck and established the tradition of glass painting in Innsbruck. Around 1900, the resulting Stained glass Innsbruck in today's Glasmalereistraße, one of the world's leading companies with branches in New York and Munich. The court library grew in step with Siegmund and Eleonore's humanistically scholarly guests. Both were considered art-loving and interested in literature. Before the invention of printing, books were an expensive hobby. Travellers and showmen were also welcome at court to entertain local and international guests.

At the same time, times became tougher for those who could not keep up with the new pace of life in the city. It can be assumed that there were around 2000 townspeople at this time. Sigmund's court probably consisted of 500 people, not including his wife's court. These "strangers" caused a sensation in Innsbruck. The gap between the social classes grew. The witch trial of 1485 took place in a climate of envy, resentment and scepticism towards the new customs that had arrived in Innsbruck.

Siegmund was not the most successful ruler of Tyrol, but is still fondly remembered today thanks to his services to the cultural upswing in Innsbruck. At the end of his reign, his court was overly bloated and expensive. A lost war with the Swiss Confederates obliged him to make payments, and a war with Venice also ended badly. Siegmund had to hand over Habsburg possessions in Alsace and what is now Breisgau to Charles the bold of Burgundy, the future father-in-law of Maximilian I. He sold the Austrian Forelands to the Duchy of Bavaria for a ridiculously low price and pledged the Tyrolean silver mines to Jakob Fugger. The Bavarian Wittelsbachs wanted to bring Tyrol back under their control through an inheritance agreement with Sigmund, who was mentally deranged due to his age. Only imperial pressure and the hasty intervention of the Tyrolean estates and Maximilian made it possible for the land to remain with the House of Habsburg.

Maximilian zählt zu den bedeutendsten Persönlichkeiten der europäischen und der Innsbrucker Stadtgeschichte. Über Tirol soll der passionierte Jäger gesagt haben: "Tirol ist ein grober Bauernkittel, der aber gut wärmt." Er machte Innsbruck in seiner Regierungszeit zu einem der wichtigsten Zentren des Heiligen Römischen Reichs. „Wer immer sich im Leben kein Gedächtnis macht, der hat nach seinem Tod kein Gedächtnis und derselbe Mensch wird mit dem Glockenton vergessen.“ Maximilian was highly successful in actively countering this fear. Under him, 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, sovereigns and the monarchy. The laws passed centrally were implemented locally by the imperial districts. Salaried officials permeated the lives of individuals in a way that did not exist in the Middle Ages. Maximilian was unpopular with the Tyrolean peasants during his lifetime. In a veritable furore of new laws, he 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. Meat and fish, which had long been part of the diet in the Middle Ages, now became a luxury. It was around 1500 that hunters became poachers.

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.

This new way of taking to the field swallowed up huge sums of money. When the revenues from the princely possessions such as the coinage, market, mining and customs regalia were no longer sufficient, the individual population groups were taxed according to their status and wealth, but the tax was still a far cry from today's differentiated system and accordingly brought with it injustice and resentment.

One example of a levy was Maximilian's 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.

Schnell begriff man, dass diese Art der Steuereinhebung nicht funktionierte. Es bedurfte eines modernen Systems und Steuermodells. Eine kollegiale Kammer, das Regiment, wachte zentral über die Länder Tirol und Vorderösterreich nach dem modernen Vorbild der Burgunder Finanzwirtschaft, die Maximilian in seiner Zeit in den Niederlanden kennengelernt hatte. Innsbruck wurde zum Finanz- und Buchhaltungszentrum für die österreichischen Länder. Die Rait chamber and the House chamber were located in the Neuhof, where today the Goldene Dachl resided over the historic city centre. In 1496, all the financial resources of the Austrian hereditary lands were pooled in the treasury in Innsbruck. The Bishop of Brixen, Melchior von Meckau, was chairman of the court chamber and increasingly involved the Fuggers as lenders. Officials such as Jakob Villinger (1480 - 1529) used the Italian-influenced form of double-entry bookkeeping to handle monetary transactions with banks from all over Europe and tried to keep the imperial financial budget in check. Talented petty nobles and burghers, trained lawyers and educated civil servants replaced the high nobility in the controlling role. Financial experts from Burgundy took over the commercial leadership of the regiment. The transitions between finance and other fields such as war planning and domestic policy were fluid, which gave the new class of civil servants great power.

While it had previously been customary for the balance between sovereigns, church, landlord and subject to consist of contribution and military protection, this system was now enforced by the authorities through coercion. Maximilian argued that it was the duty of every Christian, regardless of their rank, to defend the Holy Roman Empire against external enemies. Even before Maximilian, the records of the disputes between the king, nobility, clergy, peasants and towns over the payment of taxes were very reminiscent of today's political discussions on the subject of social redistribution. The major difference and break between the end of the 15th century and the preceding centuries was that, thanks to the modern civil service, these taxes could now also be enforced and collected. The comparison with compulsory cash registers, the taxation of tips in the catering trade and the discussion about the abolition of cash is obvious.

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.

Innsbruck veränderte sich unter Maximilian Regentschaft baulich und infrastrukturell wie nie zuvor. Neben dem repräsentativen Goldenen Dachl ließ er die Hofburg umgestalten, begann mit dem Bau der Hofkirche und erschuf mit dem Innsbrucker Zeughaus Europas führende Waffenschmiede. Die Straßen durch die Altstadt wurden für das feine Volk des Hofstaats befestigt und gepflastert. 1499 ließ Maximilian die SalvatorikapelleThe hospital was renovated and extended to accommodate needy Innsbruck residents who were not entitled to a place in the city hospital. A modern water pipeline from the Nordkette to the city improved the drinking water supply, hygiene and safety. Maximilian had the trade route in today's Mariahilf laid and improved the city's water supply. Fire regulations for the city of Innsbruck followed in 1510, and Maximilian also began to chip away at the privileges of Wilten Abbey, the largest landlord in today's city area. Infrastructure owned by the monastery, such as the mill, sawmill and Sill Canal, were to come under greater control of the prince.

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. The Thurn und Taxis family was granted a monopoly on this important service and chose Innsbruck as the centre of their private imperial postal service. 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. The most famous of them was Peter "Löffler“ Laiminger. Die Geschichte der Löfflers ist im Roman Der Meister des siebten Siegels worth reading. The Fuggers maintained an office in Innsbruck. In addition to his love of Tyrolean nature, which was often attributed to him, treasures such as salt from Hall and silver from Schwaz were at least as expensive 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, among other things, mortgaging the country's mineral resources.

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 were held under the motto "Tyrolean at heart, European in spirit". The Viennese was naturalised benevolently. Salzburg has Mozart, Innsbruck Maximilian, an emperor whom 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.

The Tyrolean Prince Frederick IV (1382 - 1439) lived during a turbulent period in Habsburg and Innsbruck history. A long beard covered the face of the prince, who is described in many chronicles and reports as arbitrary, power-hungry, deceitful and devious. Frederick was described as a sexaholic who, when in doubt, did not shy away from violence to get his way. His positive image was only given to him in the centuries after his death. Whether he was a miserly moral scoundrel or a skilful politician and friend of the common man - the key dates of his life would be suitable material for an adventurous medieval film.

At the age of 24, Frederick took over the county of Tyrol as well as the regency of Vorderösterreich. Vorderösterreich? So Vorarlberg? Not quite. Vorderösterreich was understood to mean the Habsburg possessions in Switzerland, Vorarlberg, Alsace and Baden-Württemberg, among others. Tyrol and Vorderösterreich had been administered jointly since Frederick as Upper Austria. This made him one of the most powerful princes of the Heiligen Römischen Reiches. From the beginning of his reign, he was involved in costly wars against hostile powers on the country's borders and competition within the Heiligen Römischen Reiches involved. In the west, the Appenzellers rose up against the Habsburgs, in the south there was an uprising in Trento and Henry of Rottenburg instigated a feud north of the Inn. These were the last conflicts to be fought in the manner of pure knightly armies.

Like his predecessor in the princely chair, Margaret, Frederick also came into conflict with the Pope. In his time, there was a pope in Avignon, France, as well as a pope in Rome. This papal issue was to be resolved at the Council of Constance, perhaps the most important political event of the late Middle Ages in Europe. Frederick sided with John XXIII. The King of the Holy Roman Empire Sigismund from the Luxembourg dynasty, who backed the antipope in Avignon, had his rival within the empire, Frederick, rewarded with the Eight and imprisoned. This meant not only deprivation of liberty and expulsion from the church, but also the loss of his territories and property. His opponents gave him the nickname Friedl mit der leeren Tasche.

Once back in Innsbruck after an adventurous escape from prison, Frederick had to grant reforms to the population, especially the landowning lesser nobility and the towns, in recognition of their support in times of great need. In addition to the clergy, the nobility and the towns, this change in the law also allowed the courts, which were responsible for the administration of the rural communities, to send their representatives to the provincial parliament.

This nickname remained in the vernacular, even though at the end of his reign he was one of the richest princes in Europe of his time thanks to the rich silver finds in Schwaz and Gossensass as well as customs duties and tolls on trade between Venice and Augsburg. The social fabric of Innsbruck was also influenced by the silver discoveries and the associated mining industry in nearby Schwaz. The largest silver mine in Europe had a lasting impact on the country. The power of the guilds increased. Although Innsbruck was dependent on the surrounding area for food supplies, the growing prosperity of the city made it easier to manoeuvre through this time of crisis than in purely rural areas. When Frederick died, Tyrol had risen to become an important province within the Habsburg Empire thanks to the silver discoveries in Schwaz.

Although Innsbruck had grown, it was still a small town. In 1420, Frederick decided to make the city on the Inn his residence. Merano had been the ancestral seat of the Counts of Tyrol and remained the official Tyrolean capital until 1849. In fact, Innsbruck had been in the lead since Frederick's move at the latest. It was during his reign that the arcades in Herzog-Friedrich-Straße were laid out and the city tower was built. Throughout Europe, the 15th century was an economically difficult time, characterised by poor harvests due to the generally worse climate than in previous periods. However, thanks to trade and the impetus provided by the relocation of the court, Innsbruck flourished against the European trend.

Along with the court, which comprised around 400 people, came officials, servants, merchants, financiers and soldiers who brought money into the city. Above all, the craft guilds were to become the economic engine and the basis for the later early industrial production. It is difficult to say what specific effect the relocation of the residence had on Innsbruck's population. However, Frederick's court brought with it a new lifestyle with its new way of doing business. Public houses opened and offered variety in everyday life. Travelling theatres and show artists came to the city. As in many European cities in German-speaking countries, urbanisation spilled over from the Italian countries and brought a specialisation of the professional world and an even greater division of labour.

Immigration and the rapid change in the social fabric also caused problems. The xenophobia of the superstitious, often illiterate and poorly educated population did not diminish at the same pace as conditions changed. Tensions between long-established and new citizens, craftsmen, merchants, farmers and members of the court were part of everyday life in Frederick's Innsbruck.

Due to his many disputes with other princes and the Pope, his wealth from customs duties and the Schwaz mines and his probably eccentric character, Frederick IV was regarded by his contemporaries as a kind of robber baron. It was only later that he received a more favourable press due to the many legends that have grown up around his person since then. He is said to have travelled the country disguised as a beggar in order to find out what the people really thought of him. From the reports commissioned by the Habsburgs from the 16th century onwards, he comes off much better. His affectionate nickname Friedl mit der leeren Tasche carries this image of the good-natured, awkward prince of Tyrol right up to the present day. Innsbruckers still regard him as one of the fathers of the city.

Siegmund der Münzreiche was the one who brought Niklas Türing (1427 - 1496) to Innsbruck in the 15th century. He made his first documented appearance in 1488. The Türings were a family of stonemasons and master builders from what is now Swabia, which at the time was part of the Habsburg Monarchy as part of Vorderösterreich. Innsbruck had been the royal seat of the Tyrolean princes for several decades, but the architectural splendour had not yet arrived north of the Alps. The city was a collection of wooden houses and not very prestigious. Golden times were dawning for craftsmen and master builders, which were to gather even more momentum under Maximilian. There was a real building boom. Aristocrats wanted to have a residence in the city in order to be as close as possible to the centre of power. In the days before the press, a functioning postal system, fax and e-mail, politics was mainly played out through direct contact.

The Türings made a career in step with the city. It is reported from 1497 that Niklas Türing was in the service of the sovereign as a "paid court mason". When he died in 1517 or 1518, it is not known for certain, he was listed on his gravestone as "Roman imperial majesty's chief foreman" is the title. Together with his son Gregor, he was listed as a master stonemason. This enabled the Türings to acquire citizenship in Innsbruck. By 1506 at the latest, they had a house in the workers' and craftsmen's neighbourhood Anbruggen. In 1509, they were able to acquire the house of today's Gasthof zum Lamm in Mariahilfstraße. Further property was added at what is now Schlossergasse 21.

In the course of the late Middle Ages, the early Gothic period and later the Renaissance gave Europe a new architectural guise with a new understanding of architecture and aesthetics. Buildings such as Notre Dame or the Minster of York set the trend that would characterise the whole of Europe until the onset of the Baroque period. Pointed towers, ribbed vaults, bay windows and playful carvings depicting everyday courtly life are some of the typical features that make the heterogeneous style recognisable. The work of the Türings can be traced particularly well in the old town centre. Many of the town houses, such as the Trautsonhaus still have Gothic ground plans, inner courtyards and carvings.

The Türings left their mark on Gothic Innsbruck in the transitional period between the Middle Ages and early modern times. Thanks to their training, they combined an eye for the big picture and details in their building projects. They were known for their particularly fine stonework, which resulted in ornate portals, arcades, staircases and vaults. They produced relief jewellery with patterns in the typical style of Renaissance art. Grotesques, vases and depictions of animals were typical ways of decorating bay windows and smooth walls. The symmetrical arrangement of the individual elements is also a characteristic of the period.

Niklas Türing is the Goldene Dachl to a large extent. He also created the statue of the Burgriesen Haidla particularly tall member of Siegmund's bodyguard, which can be seen today in the city tower. Emperor Maximilian held him in such high esteem that he allowed him to display the family coat of arms of the Türings and his wife, a fountain and a fish, in the vault of the Goldenen Dachls to immortalise him. His son Gregor immortalised himself with the Trautsonhaus in der Herzog-Friedrich-Straße und am Burgriesenhaus in the Domgasse. The last of the Türings to have an influence on the Innsbruck building scene was Niklas Türing the Younger, who began planning the Hofkirche together with Andrea Crivelli. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the influence of the Gothic style began to wane, especially in what is now Austria. Churches in particular were increasingly remodelled and rebuilt in the Baroque style as part of the Counter-Reformation. Today, Türingstraße in the east of Innsbruck is a reminder of the early modern dynasty of master builders.

Today, Innsbruck's city centre is characterised by buildings and monuments that commemorate the Habsburg family. For many centuries, the Habsburgs were a European ruling dynasty whose sphere of influence included a wide variety of territories. At the zenith of their power, they were the rulers of a "Reich, in dem die Sonne nie untergeht". Through wars and skilful marriage and power politics, they sat at the levers of power between South America and the Ukraine in various eras. Innsbruck was repeatedly the centre of power for this dynasty. The relationship was particularly intense between the 15th and 17th centuries. Due to its strategically favourable location between the Italian cities and German centres such as Augsburg and Regensburg, Innsbruck was given a special place in the empire at the latest after its elevation to the status of a royal seat under Emperor Maximilian. Some of the Habsburg rulers had no special relationship with Tyrol, nor did they have any particular affection for this German land. Ferdinand I (1503 - 1564) was educated at the Spanish court. Maximilian's grandson Charles V had grown up in Burgundy. When he set foot on Spanish soil for the first time at the age of 17 to take over his mother Joan's inheritance of the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, he did not speak a word of Spanish. When he was elected German Emperor in 1519, he did not speak a word of German.

Tyrol was a province and, as a conservative region, usually favoured by the ruling family. Its inaccessible location made it the perfect refuge in troubled and crisis-ridden times. Charles V (1500 - 1558) fled during a conflict with the Protestant Schmalkaldischen Bund to Innsbruck for some time. Ferdinand I (1793 - 1875) allowed his family to stay in Innsbruck, far away from the Ottoman threat in eastern Austria. Shortly before his coronation in the turbulent summer of the 1848 revolution, Franz Josef I enjoyed the seclusion of Innsbruck together with his brother Maximilian, who was later shot by insurgent nationalists as Emperor of Mexico. A plaque at the Alpengasthof Heiligwasser above Igls reminds us that the monarch spent the night here as part of his ascent of the Patscherkofel.

Not all Habsburgs were always happy to be in Innsbruck. Married princes and princesses such as Maximilian's second wife Bianca Maria Sforza or Ferdinand II's second wife Anna Caterina Gonzaga were stranded in the harsh, German-speaking mountains after their wedding without being asked. If you also imagine what a move and marriage from Italy to Tyrol to a foreign man meant for a teenager, you can imagine how difficult life was for the princesses. Until the 20th century, children of the aristocracy were primarily brought up to be politically married. There was no opposition to this. One might imagine courtly life to be ostentatious, but privacy was not provided for in all this luxury.

When Sigismund Franz von Habsburg (1630 - 1665) died childless as the last prince of the province, the title of royal seat was also history and Tyrol was ruled by a governor. Tyrolean mining had lost its importance. Shortly afterwards, the Habsburgs lost their possessions in Western Europe along with Spain and Burgundy, moving Innsbruck from the centre to the periphery of the empire. In the Austro-Hungarian monarchy of the 19th century, Innsbruck was the western outpost of a huge empire that stretched as far as today's Ukraine. Franz Josef I (1830 - 1916) ruled over a multi-ethnic empire between 1848 and 1916. However, his neo-absolutist concept of rule was out of date. Although Austria had had a parliament and a constitution since 1867, the emperor regarded this government as "his". Ministers were responsible to the emperor, who was above the government. The ailing empire collapsed in the second half of the 19th century. On 28 October 1918, the Republic of Czechoslovakia was proclaimed, and on 29 October, Croats, Slovenes and Serbs left the monarchy. The last Emperor Charles abdicated on 11 November. On 12 November, "Deutschösterreich zur demokratischen Republik, in der alle Gewalt vom Volke ausgeht“. The chapter of the Habsburgs was over.

Despite all the national, economic and democratic problems that existed in the multi-ethnic states that were subject to the Habsburgs in various compositions and forms, the subsequent nation states were sometimes much less successful in reconciling the interests of minorities and cultural differences within their territories. Since the eastward enlargement of the EU, the Habsburg monarchy has been seen by some well-meaning historians as a pre-modern predecessor of the European Union. Together with the Catholic Church, the Habsburgs shaped the public sphere through architecture, art and culture. Goldenes DachlThe Hofburg, the Triumphal Gate, Ambras Castle, the Leopold Fountain and many other buildings still remind us of the presence of the most important ruling dynasty in European history in Innsbruck.