After the disappearance of the Western Roman Empire and its administration, various Germanic tribes took control of the area that is now Innsbruck. When the land was taken, the Castell Veldidena The transition to Bavarian rule was less sudden and warlike for the Breton-Romanised population, however, and much more fluid. They were not barbarian destroyers, but groups that had been in contact with the Roman world in one form or another for centuries. Fighting was probably the exception. Cultures gradually intermingled at a time when the structure of power was rather loose. The everyday language of the people was a form of Germanic, but Latin had also established itself early on as a written language among the "barbarians" north of the Alps.

However, the most important remnant of the Romans was Christianity. The Bavarians were Christianised from the 8th century at the latest. At the time of Charlemagne (approx. 748 - 814), the Dukes of Bavaria and with them the Inn Valley became part of the Heiligen Römischen Reicheswhich extended over large parts of central Europe and northern Italy. The rulers relied on the ecclesiastical structures of the Romans to administer the territory, as clerics were often the only scribes. Instead of Roman emperors, an arrogant aristocracy ruled in the name of God over their subjects, who were agricultural labourers, as feudatories of Charles, King of the Franks, anointed by the Pope. The Christian church father Paul wrote in his Letter to the Romans laid the theological foundation for this system:

Jedermann sei untertan der Obrigkeit, die Gewalt über ihn hat. Denn es ist keine Obrigkeit außer von Gott; wo aber Obrigkeit ist, ist sie von Gott angeordnet. Darum: Wer sich der Obrigkeit widersetzt, der widerstrebt Gottes Anordnung; die ihr aber widerstreben, werden ihr Urteil empfangen. Denn die Gewalt haben, muss man nicht fürchten wegen guter, sondern wegen böser Werke. Willst du dich aber nicht fürchten vor der Obrigkeit, so tue Gutes, dann wirst du Lob von ihr erhalten. Denn sie ist Gottes Dienerin, dir zugut. Tust du aber Böses, so fürchte dich; denn sie trägt das Schwert nicht umsonst. Sie ist Gottes Dienerin und vollzieht die Strafe an dem, der Böses tut. Darum ist es notwendig, sich unterzuordnen, nicht allein um der Strafe, sondern auch um des Gewissens willen. Deshalb zahlt ihr ja auch Steuer; denn sie sind Gottes Diener, auf diesen Dienst beständig bedacht.

Culturally, Christianity also proved to be adaptable to traditions and customs in the Alpine region. The martyrs and saints of Christianity replaced the pagan polytheism. Old festivals such as the winter solstice, Thanksgiving and the beginning of spring were integrated into the Christian calendar and replaced by Christmas, All Saints' Day and Easter. Popular legends about miraculous plants, ominous mountain peaks, magical beings such as the Saligen Fräuleinenchanted kings and other legendary figures could easily be worshipped alongside Christianity.

Two of the most popular of these in Innsbruck to this day play the leading role in the founding myth of Wilten Abbey. An extraordinarily strong knight, known as the giant Haymon, travelled to Tyrol sometime between late antiquity and the early Middle Ages. In Tyrol he met the long-established giant Thyrsus von Seefeld. While the Germanic knight Haymon was armed with a sword and shield, Thyrsus, who had a Romanised name but was actually a wild inhabitant of the Alps, only had a tree trunk at his disposal. As it happened, the modern sword struck the wooden club and Haymon killed Thyrsus. In remorse for his deed, he converted to Christianity and was baptised by the Bishop of Chur. Instead of building a castle in the Inn Valley as planned, he built a monastery on the ruins of the Roman fortress of Veldidena. However, a terrifying dragon lived in the nearby Sill Gorge, which not only ravaged the new building of the now Christian hero every night, but also made it impossible to settle the area in any meaningful way. Haymon killed the beast, cut off its tongue and bequeathed it to his own foundation. After his career as a dragon slayer, Haymon handed over the monastery to the Benedictine monks of Tegernsee and joined the brotherhood himself as a lay brother. The people of the region were so grateful to the giant for freeing them from the dragon that they gladly placed themselves in the dutiful care of Wilten Abbey in order to cultivate the once wild land as farmers.

In this parable, Haymon stands for the initially violent but later noble and benevolent Germanic colonisers, Thyrsus for the brave and wild but ultimately defeated inhabitants of the region between the Seefeld plateau and the Brenner Pass. The dragon symbolises the evil, destructive and unchristian paganism that is eradicated by the converted Teutons. The monastery brothers, richly endowed by the brave knight, are the organising hand without which nothing would work.

The Haymonsage and their morals were just as flexible over the centuries, depending on the zeitgeist, as Christianity was when it was introduced in late antiquity. At one time Haymon was a nobleman from the Rhine who came to Tyrol after the death of Charlemagne, at another time he travelled between Ravenna and Germany as a follower of the Ostrogothic king Theoderic, better known as Dietrich of Bern. From the Middle Ages to the 19th century, the conversion HaymonsThe protection of peasant subjects by Christian chivalry and the founding of monasteries took centre stage in order to underpin the beneficial feudal system. In an article in the Innsbrucker Nachrichten of 2 October, on the other hand, the author Dr Franz Wöß left the Catholic element of the monastery building almost completely aside and emphasised the heroic German before turning to the healing properties of thyrsus oil, which the Seefeld farmers had been extracting from the oily slate stones since the Middle Ages. In this version of the legend, Haymon retired to the wilderness in Seefeld as a hermit after his heroic deeds instead of ending his life as a cleric in Wilten Abbey. After the Second World War, however, people wanted to distance themselves as far as possible from Germanism. The 1956 inscription on the façade of the "Inn Zum Riesen Haymon" shows the defeated Thyrsus with an Austrian coat of arms, in keeping with the victim myth of the post-war period.

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.

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 wenig erfolgreich war. Angetrieben vom großdeutschen Gedanken vieler Mitglieder fusionierten die beiden Institutionen 1873. Der Alpenverein ist bis heute bürgerlich geprägt, sein sozialdemokratisches Pendant sind die Naturfreunde. Das Wegenetz wuchs durch dessen Erschließung ebenso wie die Zahl an Hütten, die Gäste beherbergen konnten. Der Tiroler Theologe Franz Senn (1831 – 1884) und der Schriftsteller Adolf Pichler (1819 – 1900) waren maßgeblich an der Vermessung Tirols und der Erstellung von Kartenmaterial beteiligt. Anders als gerne behauptet, waren die Tiroler nicht geborene Bergsteiger, sondern mussten sich die Fähigkeiten die Bergwelt zu erobern erst beibringen lassen. Bis dato waren Berge vor allem eins: gefährlich und mühsam im landwirtschaftlichen Alltag. Sie zu besteigen, war zuvor kaum jemandem in den Sinn gekommen. Die Alpenvereine bildeten auch Bergführer aus. Ab der Jahrhundertwende kam neben Wandern und Bergsteigen der Skisport in Mode. Lifte gab es noch nicht, um auf die Berge zu gelangen, musste man sich der Felle bedienen, die heute noch auf Tourenski geklebt werden. Erst ab den 1920ern konnte nach dem Bau der Seilbahnen auf die Nordkette und dem Patscherkofel eine zahlungskräftige Klientel den modernen Luxus von Bergbahnen beim Skivergnügen genießen.  

Für den Komfort bei der Beherbergung war ebenfalls gesorgt. Mit dem Grand Hotel Europa had also opened a first-class hotel in Innsbruck in 1869, replacing the often outdated inns in the historic city centre as the accommodation of choice. This was followed in 1892 by the Reformhotel Habsburger Hof a second large company. The Habsburg Court already offered its guests electric light, an absolute sensation. The Arlberger Hof was also located at the railway station. What would be seen as a competitive disadvantage today was a selling point at the time. Railway stations were the centres of modern cities. The station squares were not overcrowded transport hubs like 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. New hotels, cafés, inns, shops and means of transport were needed to meet the needs of the guests. In addition to the purely touristic infrastructure, the development of general innovations was also accelerated. The wealthy guests were hardly able to socialise in inns with cesspits behind the house. Of course, a sewerage system would have been on the agenda anyway, but the economic factor of tourism enabled 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.

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 in 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 baths in Mühlau have existed since 1768 and were 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.

Seit 1881 kümmerte sich der Innsbrucker Verschönerungsverein um Befriedigung der steigenden Bedürfnisse der Gäste. Der Verein kümmerte sich um die Anlage von Wander- und Spazierwegen, dem Aufstellen von Bänken und der Erschließung unwegsamer Gebiete wie der Mühlauer Klamm oder der Sillschlucht. Die markanten grünen Bänke entlang vieler Wege erinnern bis heute an den noch immer existierenden Verein. 1888 Jahre später gründeten die Profiteure des Fremdenverkehrs in Innsbruck die Commission for the promotion of tourism, den Vorgänger des heutigen Tourismusverbands. Durch vereinte Kräfte in Werbung und Qualitätssicherung bei den Beherbergungsbetrieben hofften die einzelnen Betriebe, den Tourismus weiter anzukurbeln.

„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. 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. The war enemies of past decades became guests and hosts.