Gegenüber der Hofburg befindet sich der Hofgarten. Hinter den hohen Mauern verbirgt sich Innsbrucks gepflegteste Ruheoase. Spazierwege führen durch die innerstädtische Gartenanlage vorbei an uralten Bäumen und getrimmten Rasenflächen. Bänke laden zum Verweilen während Besorgungen und Spaziergängen ein. Der Hofgarten ist aber nicht nur viel genutztes Erholungsgebiet, sondern ein Spiegel der Innsbrucker Stadtgeschichte.

Seit dem 15. Jahrhundert wurde hier nachweisbar der Gartenkunst gefrönt. Waren es anfangs noch die Innauen, die kultiviert wurden, verwandelte der kunstsinnige Landesfürst Ferdinand II. den Hofgarten in einen Renaissance-Garten, die Würtz- und Lustgärten. Der Fasanengarten mit dem Fasanenhaus soll nicht nur 3000 dieser als edel geltenden Vögel beheimatet haben, sondern auch „Bären, Löwen, Tiger und Meerkatzen“. Die exotischen Tiere waren an den Fürstenhöfen der Zeit die Regel, nicht die Ausnahme. Meist tauschten die bemitleidenswerten Exemplare als Geschenk unter Adeligen den Besitzer und mussten als Machtsymbole und Prestigeobjekte ihr Dasein hinter Gittern fristen. Normale Innsbrucker hatten wohl keinen Zugang zu den fremdländischen Tieren, allein schon das Wissen um die Anwesenheit, die Geräusche und Gerüche waren wohl trotzdem spektakulär. Am 14. April 1636 fanden zwei der landesfürstlichen Löwen ihr Ende, als ihr Gehege nach einer Explosion der nahen Pulvermühle Feuer fing. Das ehemalige Löwenhaus Inn on the Inn reminds us of its former purpose.

During Maria Theresa's reign, the gardens near the Hofburg were given a Baroque makeover. Although the Gothic Innsbruck was no longer a royal seat, this administrative centre was nevertheless intended to meet the demands of the modern, new era. According to legend, there are still plants in the Hofgarten that she buried in the ground with her own hands.

Finally, in the 19th century, the Hofgarten was transformed into an English garden, in keeping with the fashion of the Victorian era. Parks and gardens were created in many European cities at this time. Before 1800, around 50% of the inhabitants of Innsbruck were members of the nobility, the clergy or their administration. Only 50 years later, the proportion was considerably lower thanks to the influx of labourers and craftsmen and their families, who worked in the factories on the outskirts of the city. While parks such as the Hofgarten had previously been reserved for the aristocracy, ordinary citizens were now also able to spend their leisure time here. Society had changed after 1848 and with it the rules by which it functioned.

The centre of the garden has been the pavilion since 1773, which still hosts regular free music concerts today. In front of the pavilion is a small pond with a statue of the Froschkönigs. Sie wurde vom Südtiroler Bildhauer Alexander Lanner entworfen, der unter anderem für den Meraner in der Südtirolersiedlung Wilten West und die Büste Adolf Hitlers im Trausaal des Goldenen Dachls während der NS-Zeit verantwortlich war. Das Palmenhaus am Nordwestrand des Hofgartens bietet über 5.000 tropische Pflanzen. Es kann als Kontinuum er Würtz- und Lustgärten Ferdinands II. gesehen werden, dem frühen Innsbrucker Forschergeist. Leider ist es ganz im Sinne des öffentlichen Dienstes nur unter der Woche geöffnet.

Auch heute noch bietet der Hofgarten immer wieder Stoff für Diskussionen. Nachdem die Wiesen jahrelang mehr oder minder zum Betrachten, nicht aber zum Betreten gedacht waren, öffnete der Hofgarten sich in den letzten Jahren auch mehr den Anforderungen eines modernen Publikums. Mit dem Brand des alten Hofgarten Cafés verlor der Garten seine Gastronomie. Was an der Stelle wie und zu welcher Nutzung entsteht, ist noch offen. Auch die Abstimmung zwischen den Bundesgärten, zu denen der Hofgarten gehört, und der Stadt sorgt oft für Kopfschütteln unter Innsbruckern. Der Vorwurf, die Institution der Bundesgärten sei noch elitär im Stile der Habsburger mit und fern der Nutzungsvorstellung der Allgemeinheit ist wohl nicht ganz aus der Luft gegriffen, schaut man sich die Armut an Events und Nutzungsmöglichkeiten im Hofgarten an.

Where the large and very modern congress centre now stands opposite the Hofgarten, the building designed by Alberto Lucchese has stood since 1581. Comdedihauswhich Prince Ferdinand II had built for the Innsbruck court. The name Comedihaus is misleading. The plays that were performed were mostly plays that lasted for hours and related to a biblical theme or, in the spirit of the Renaissance, to antiquity. For a long time, the majority of them were in Latin, but it was only later that the German vernacular became the language of the theatre for plays aimed at an educated audience. In addition to plays, it was also possible to stage elaborate performances such as dressage riding and water games.

Prince Leopold V had the ballroom converted into a court theatre in 1630. As educated contemporaries of the Renaissance and the 17th century, he and his wife Claudia de Medici appreciated art and culture. They wanted their residence city to be at the cutting edge of the times. Until then, it had been customary for theatres to be travelling institutions that moved from city to city; now a permanent team was to entertain the court and the citizens as required. The Dogana war eines der ersten Opern- und Theaterhäuser im Heiligen Römischen Reich überhaupt. Innsbruck allerdings war eine kleine Stadt mit etwa 5000 Einwohnern. Das Theater war zu groß geraten und auf Dauer nicht rentabel zu erhalten.

In 1653, the municipal theatre moved to the site of today's Tiroler Landestheater on the opposite square next to the Hofgarten. Christoph Gumpp planned to convert one of the former ballrooms into a more modern theatre. Comedihaus in Venetian style, which could seat around 1000 spectators.

um. Das Landestheater in seinem aktuellen Aussehen wurde im 19. Jahrhundert vom italienischen Architekten Giuseppe Segusini geplant. Die kunstsinnigen Bürger Innsbrucks gierten nach Unterhaltung, wie sie international üblich war. Dafür musste das alte Nationaltheater modern extension and remodelling. A large part of the costs were borne by the city's theatre association, in keeping with the spirit of social bourgeoisie. The reopening in its current appearance took place on 19 April 1846, the birthday of Emperor Ferdinand I, a monarch who was particularly fond of the city of Innsbruck.  

The classicist building was constructed against a similar social background to the Ferdinandeum. The shape of the building resembles a Roman triumphal arch. The imposing entrance area with stairs is supported by mighty columns. Today, the venerable Landestheater seems almost somewhat lost next to the massive and modern Haus der Musik.

Auch in Innsbruck war die Hochkultur und deren Deutung immer auch ein Zeichen der Macht und Herrschaftsverhältnisse. Die Namen des Theaterhauses spiegeln die Geschichte Innsbrucks, Tirols und Österreichs wider. 1765 unter Maria Theresia wurde das „Hoftheater" and under their son Josef, a supporter of the modern nation state, it was renovated into the Nationaltheater.. In 1805, under Bavarian foreign rule, it was the "Königlich-Bayrische Hof-Nationaltheater". In the age of nationalism, it was again austrianised and relaunched in 1844 under the name "Nationaltheater" closed due to dilapidation. From 1938 - 1945 it was used as a "Reichsgautheater“ bekannt, der Platz davor wurde in Adolf Hitler Square renamed. After the war, it was given its current name Tiroler Landestheater.

The former ballroom on the opposite side of the street, today's Kongresshaus, was first used as a riding school and from 1776 as a toll house. The centralisation under Maria Theresa required new infrastructure to accommodate the civil servants for taxation. The name Dogana, italienisch für Zoll, rührt von dieser Verwendung. Im 2. Weltkrieg erlitt die Dogana erheblichen Schaden. Von 1970-1973 wurde sie zu einem Teil des heutigen Kongresszentrums umgebaut. Seit 2007 ist die erste Station der Hungerburgbahn neben dem Kongresshaus zu finden. 2018 befand sich vor dem Kongresshaus das Ziel der Radweltmeisterschaften. 

The Leopold Fountain in front of the Tyrolean State Theatre and the House of Music commemorates the Habsburg Leopold V. Greek gods and nymphs pose at the edge of the basin. Leopold had himself depicted as a victorious general in the style of Roman emperors. What is special about the fountain is that the figure of the equestrian statue's horse is standing without "leaning" on its tail. A lead weight in the tail ensures that the horse and rider do not tip over. At the time of its construction, this courbette was the only bronze sculpture of a rearing horse of its kind north of the Alps. The figures on the fountain are only copies, the originals can be admired in the Tyrolean Provincial Museum.

The figures that adorn the fountain today were placed along the Rennweg and in the court garden during Leopold's lifetime. This move towards antiquity was intended to bring the Innsbruck court closer to the trend-setting Italian royal courts. When the Tyrolean prince passed away in 1632, the baroque fountain had not yet been completed.

More than a quarter of a century was to pass before the final work was completed. The reason for the completion of the fountain was the Tyrolean Provincial Exhibition, which took place in Innsbruck in June 1893. The provincial exhibition was not only intended to "Tyrol with a picture of his entire agricultural, commercial, technical and artistic skills" but also to demonstrate the ties between the Crown Land of Tyrol and the monarchy.

The Innsbrucker Nachrichten described the opening:

"The actual opening ceremony began in the exhibition hall at 11am. A coat of arms - the Tyrolean eagle with the imperial motto "Viribus unitis" below it - adorned the pediment of the entrance. Palm trees and mighty bamboo sticks adorned the portal. The guests gathered in the centre of the hall by the Leopoldsbrunnen fountain in front of the magnificent imperial tent."

Leopold V was the ideal Habsburg for the occasion and the spirit of neoclassicism. The works of art in the Renaissance style fitted the year 1893, at least from the perspective of Innsbruck's educated bourgeoisie. Leopold was considered a bon vivant and liberal, having renounced his episcopal dignity to serve the country and even married instead. The world of the Greek gods combined with the powerful Habsburg prince were a Perfect Matchto spruce up the square in front of the theatre. As is still the case with monuments in public spaces today, opinions were divided on the Leopoldsbrunnen. In the year it was erected, it was a hot political issue. There was even talk in the press of a "Well wars" that developed around the monument. In the carnival speech, the Leopoldsbrunnen was mockingly referred to as the Monumental oven labelled.

The excitement surrounding the fountain was nothing new. Just under 100 years earlier, the figures had almost been destroyed. When Andreas Hofer resided in Innsbruck as Tyrol's provincial commander in 1809, the overly revealing figures were a thorn in his side. The pious Catholic wanted to hide the bare-breasted nymphs and the polytheism of antiquity from the eyes of the pious population he hoped to win over. He planned to melt down the bronze statues in order to have them made into gun ammunition. However, some of Innsbruck's bourgeoisie managed to hide the works of art.

The Well war continues to this day. In 2022, the one of the nymphs whose gestures invite you to take a selfie with her was stolen from her place. After a few weeks, during which the whole city brooded over the criminal case and countless rumours circulated, the figure reappeared in the Olympic Village on the cycle path. Whether it was an imitator and admirer of the moral guardian Andreas Hofer or a "bsoffene Gschicht" will probably not be clarified any time soon.

Alongside the Vienna Hofburg and Schönbrunn Palace, the Hofburg in Innsbruck is Austria's third imperial palace complex. The history of Innsbruck's Hofburg is like a walk through the past centuries of Innsbruck and is one of the city's most important sights. On the east side, the imperial double-headed eagle is emblazoned on the pristine white façade. The Hofburg has always been a symbol of Habsburg rule.

The Tyrolean prince Leopold IV acquired the property south of the parish church at the end of the 14th century. When Frederick IV moved the seat of Tyrol's government from Merano to Innsbruck, he resided in the Neuhof, today's Goldenem Dachl. Erst sein Sohn Siegmund „der Münzreiche" had a castle built at this location on the outer wall of the city on the site of today's Hofburg, adjacent to the Sagg Gate, which still existed at the time. The complex was not so much part of the courtly representation, it was part of the defences of the growing city.

Emperor Maximilian I moved his residence from the Neuhof, which had become too small, to the Hofburg around 1500. Under Maximilian, both the court administration and the number of visitors to Innsbruck grew. Innsbruck was elevated to the status of royal seat. Maximilian's second wife Bianca Maria Sforza spent a lot of time in Innsbruck. Both the functionality and size of the court infrastructure had to be modernised. The apartments, the so-called "Frauenzimmer" were built during this time.

Tournaments were held in front of the castle, on today's Rennweg, to provide entertainment for members of the court. Emperor Ferdinand I, Maximilian's grandson, also used Innsbruck as a temporary residence for himself and his family. Under his son Ferdinand II, the Hofburg and thus also Innsbruck became one of the most important centres of 16th century Renaissance court culture north of the Alps, even though the sovereign himself preferred to spend his time at Ambras Castle.

The Innsbruck Hofburg owes its current rococo-style appearance to Austria's most prominent regent, Maria Theresa. Although she was only present twice herself, the old Gothic walls were anathema to her. The new architecture was designed by the architects Johann Martin Gumpp the Younger and Nicolaus von Pacassi. Maria Theresa also founded the Innsbruck Ladies' Convent on the south side of the Innsbruck Hofburg. Her husband Emperor Franz Stephan had died in Innsbruck. 16 noble ladies were to pray for the salvation of the emperor's soul in his death chamber, which was converted into a convent. Maria Theresa, who was regarded as the regent of the Enlightenment, was also still aware that life after death was more important than life on earth. Maria Elisabeth, one of her daughters, took over the management of the monastery. Because of her appearance, she was called the kropferte Liesl. This institution continues to exist to this day, and prayers for the salvation of the emperor's soul are probably still being said diligently.

With the end of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1918 and the Habsburg Laws behind it, the Hofburg became the property of the Republic. It is administered by the Burghauptmannschaft Österreich. The interior of the Hofburg is well worth seeing and can be visited. The highlights are the halls of Empress Maria Theresa and the Empress Elisabeth Apartment of Sissi as well as the Riesensaal mit Bildern der Familie Maria Theresias.

Innsbruck's Hofkirche is one of the few places of worship that survived the furore of Baroque urban renewal in the 17th and 18th centuries unscathed. The unadorned façade almost goes unnoticed next to the magnificent Hofburg. Nevertheless, the Gothic church, which was built at the end of the Renaissance, is one of the city's most famous sights. Designed as Maximilian's final resting place, it is considered the largest imperial tomb in Western Europe.

„Das meiste Kunstinteresse erregt die Hof- oder Franziskaner-, eigentlich heil. Kreuzkirche, die mehr Museum der Erzbildnerei als Kirche ist. Im Mittelschiff ist das Grabmal Kaiser Marimilian’s I. angebracht, von einem unförmlichen Eisengitter umschlossen. Auf der Decke des Sargs ist der Kaiser lebensgroß, knieend, die Hände zum Gebet gefaltet, zu schauen. Diesen Erzguß verfertigte der Sicilianer Ludwig del Duca, und die an den vier Ecken der Decke angebrachten Statuetten, die Tugenden der Gerechtigkeit, Klugheit, Stärke und Mäßigkeit vorstellend… Die Seitenflächen des Sarges, in 24 Felder getheilt, enthalten auf eben so vielen Marmortafeln die merkwürdigsten Kriegs- und Friedensthaten dieses Herrschers in erhabener Arbeit.“

This is how a visitor to Innsbruck described the Hofkirche in 1846. And it is probably true: no building shows the view that Maximilian I. on itself as well as the Innsbruck Court Church. The "letzte Ritter und erste Kanonier" placed himself at the centre of a long line of ancestors stretching back to the English legendary king Arthur. One could have gone even further, as Maximilian's court genealogist had identified Noah, the father of the Bible, and Hector, the prince of ancient Troy, as the progenitors of the Habsburgs.

Albrecht Dürer, among others, was involved in the design of the cenotaph, which is enthroned in the centre of the church. Dürer did not suffer the fate of many other early modern artists, whose value was only recognised post mortem, but marketed himself well during his lifetime. Maximilian was a keen patron of Dürer, who as a commercially and early capitalistically orientated artist was the cultural equivalent of the Fuggers.

Of the planned 40 Schwarzen Mandern, auch wenn nicht alle männlich sind, wurden schlussendlich nur 28 realisiert. Das Oratorium am Sarg von Hans Waldner stellt eine Sternstunde der Tischlereikunst dieser Zeit dar. Maximilian ließ sich knieend als frommer Mann darstellen. Die Reliefs an den Seiten zeigen wichtige Stationen aus dem Leben Maximilians, jedes für sich ist ein kleines Kunstwerk. Beginnend mit der Vermählung mit Maria von Burgund über verschiedene kriegerische Stationen zeigen die 24 Tafeln die Glanztaten Maximilians.

The emperor did not live to see the completion of his tomb. In 1519, at the end of his life, the Innsbruck innkeepers are said to have presented him with the bill that his court had accumulated over the years. Enraged by this insolence, Maximilian returned "seinem" Innsbruck and made his way to Wiener Neustadt, his alternative to Innsbruck as a final resting place. He died on the way there.

As the figures were too heavy for the castle in Wiener Neustadt, Emperor Ferdinand I, Maximilian's grandson, decided to have the tomb built in Innsbruck. The bronze figures were cast in the foundry in Mühlau, which opened in 1511, and the empty coffin was nothing more than an unpleasant side effect. Construction of the church was completed in 1563 after 10 years.

Der Bau an der Kirche wurde 1563 nach 10 Jahren beendet. So egozentrisch Maximilian im Leben und dessen Darstellung war, so bescheiden wollte er seinen letzten Weg antreten. Er soll verfügt haben, ihn nach der letzten Ölung nicht mehr mit seinen Titeln anzusprechen, seinem Leichnam die Zähne zu ziehen, den Schädel zu rasieren und ihn in einen Leichensack einzunähen, auf dass er als armer Büßer vor dem Herrn im Himmel treten könnte. Glaube war ein Instrument, um Ordnung herzustellen und Macht zu legitimieren, Herrscher wie Maximilian waren aber keine Zyniker, sondern tatsächlich fromme Menschen. Glaube funktioniert nur, wenn man wirklich glaubt, Gebäude wie die Hofkirche zeigen das heute noch eindrucksvoll. Der Leichnam Maximilians wurde nicht mehr überführt, der Kaiser blieb in Wiener Neustadt begraben. Sein Herz wurde wie bei Monarchen üblich, getrennt vom Körper bestattet. Es liegt bei seiner geliebten ersten Ehefrau Maria von Burgund in Brügge. Die Schwarzmanderkirche is an impressive coup for PR professional Maximilian, even without the corpse in the magnificent sarcophagus.

The Tyrolean resistance fighter achieved what the emperor could not Andreas Hofer. His mortal remains lie in a grave of honour in the Hofkirche. After he was executed in Mantua in 1810, an unofficial delegation of Tyrolean marksmen set out in 1823 to unearth Hofer's body and bring it to Innsbruck. After initial resistance from the authorities, he was finally buried in the Hofkirche. The marble monument shows Hofer in traditional Tyrolean costume with a flag taking the oath of allegiance "For God, Emperor and Fatherland".

At the back of the church, one of the oldest Renaissance organs that can still be played towers above the scenery. Instruments in churches are still used for concerts today, but hardly seem spectacular to us as 21st century people. We should not forget that church music was a highlight of the mass-goers' day for centuries, as there was no radio or Spotify.

Another sovereign of Tyrol is in the Silver Chapel which is accessible via the Hofkirche. Ferdinand II was regarded as a bon vivant, bon vivant and art collector. Given the stories about his legendary parties in the palace, it is hardly surprising that he did not make himself at home with his second wife. Caterina Gonzaga in the Servite monastery, but with his popular first wife Philippine Welser in the Silver Chapel at the Innsbruck Hofburg.

Wer mehr über die Kultur und Alltag vergangener Zeiten in Tirol und die Geschichte der Hofkirche erfahren möchte, kann das Volkskunstmuseum im Rahmen der Besichtigung der Hofkirche besuchen. Das Volkskunstmuseum in Innsbruck war ehemals ein Stift, erbaut nach den Plänen von Andrea Crivelli und Niclas Türing, einem Mitglied der bedeutenden Tiroler Architektendynastie. 

Ein großer Teil zwischen Sillgasse, Angerzellgasse und Universitätsstraße wird vom Gebäudekomplex der Theologischen Fakultät, des akademischen Gymnasiums, dem Palais Pfeifersberg und der Jesuitenkirche eingenommen. Die Gebäude gehören dem Jesuitenorden. Ihre Präsenz in der Stadt war nicht nur wichtig für die Geschicke Innsbrucks und die Entwicklung der Universität. Die Jesuiten waren der Orden, der Gesellschaft und Politik der Frühen Neuzeit über den Einfluss am Hof der Habsburger über Jahrhunderte prägte.

Der Jesuitenorden war ein wichtiger Verbündeter Ferdinands im Kampf gegen die Reformatoren. Deshalb ließ er auch in Innsbruck ein Kollegium der Jesuiten gründen. 1562 zogen die Jesuiten im Salvatorikirchlein to begin teaching at the college. This chapel had been the court and imperial hospital founded by Emperor Maximilian in 1499 for the poorer sections of the population who had to live in the city hospital in the Neustadt found no place. On the corner of Universitätsstraße 4, the year 1562, carved in stone in the Austrian shield, is a reminder of the foundation of the college.

Just a few years later, the church was extended under Ferdinand II. The current school building in Universitätsstraße was built under Maximilian III. Leopold V finally had the Jesuit Church built in its current form with a double-tower façade and the large dome from 1627, after Maximilian's first building attempt collapsed in 1626.

The church is similar in appearance to the original Jesuit church Il Gesu in Rome. However, its towers were made of wood for a long time. In the 18th century, the interior, which is well worth seeing, was extended in baroque style. In 1901, it was Johann von Sieberer, a private owner, who had the church towers torn down and rebuilt in concrete. The underground crypt, which is freely accessible, is particularly worth seeing. Among other things, it contains the tombs of Leopold V, his wife Claudia de Medici and the influential theologian Karl Rahner, after whom the square in front of the church was named.

From 1720, university services, which were an important part of everyday university life, were celebrated exclusively in the Jesuit church, having previously been held alternately in different places of worship. This exacerbated the tensions between the diocese and the Jesuits, as there were repeated disputes over which party should have the right of residence.

The Jesuits were represented with several chairs at the university. Other professors were appointed by the diocese of Brixen. This led to tensions within the university, as the Jesuits primarily represented the interests of the sovereign and monarch, while the professors of the diocese wanted to protect the political interests of the bishop. It was all about positions, power, money and influence, and not just within the city.

In this early phase of the Enlightenment, the separation of state, church and science was still a long way off. The university was there to train Catholic civil servants loyal to the state for the emperor. Students and professors had to Tridentinische Glaubensbekenntnis in front of the university chancellor appointed by the church, the local bishop's representative. In this profession of faith from 1564, which Pope Pius laid down after the Council of Trent, the students testified their allegiance to the Catholic faith. Every year on 8 December, members of the university had to take the Immaculate Conception of Mary confess. The refusal to take this oath by some enlightened freemasons among the professors at the end of the 18th century was an unparalleled scandal.

Under Joseph II, the Jesuits were briefly banned in the Habsburg Empire. The college fell to the University of Innsbruck and has been used as a theological faculty ever since. Joseph's successor Franz I lifted this ban.

In 1835, the Jesuits purchased the Palais Pfeifersberg in today's Sillgasse as a college. Part of this wing is a dormitory for theologians. The Jesuit youth centre, the MK, resides at Sillgasse 8. The entire complex in this exclusive location demonstrates both the prosperity and the place that the church still occupies in the everyday culture and significance of modern Austria.

After the turbulent period of the French Revolution and the subsequent Napoleonic Wars (1792 - 1815), the bourgeoisie gradually gained greater economic and social importance. Under State Chancellor Clemens Metternich, a harsh wind blew in politics with strict censorship and a police state. At the same time, science and culture flourished in the private sphere. Clubs of all kinds were en vogue in the Biedermeier period, also in Innsbruck. "Innsbruck has a music society, an agricultural society and a mining and geological society." The foundation of the Association of the Tyrolean National Museum dates back to this time. Members of the nobility and commoners met here to pursue leisure activities together, which was unthinkable for a long time. Of course, politics were also discussed behind closed walls and in whispers in these circles.

Around 400 Innsbruck citizens joined together to collect donations. If you look at the membership lists of the 19th century, you will find the high aristocracy such as the Prince-Bishop of Salzburg alongside the founder of Innsbruck's first department stores', Dominikus Zambra. The purpose of the museum was to promote education in science and art. A public appeal was issued in 1823

„to the friends of patriotic art and science for the foundation of an association of the patriotic museum in Tyrol... whose education of the nation in general and in particular, however, in the awakening and revitalisation of the common interest for the common fatherland".

Until 1845, the collection of things had to "...are interesting and remarkable for the province of Tyrol in terms of natural history, art and history", were kept in Wilten Abbey. Then the first building was erected. It was a modest and unadorned building that was erected in Neugasse, today's Museumstraße, which had only recently been laid out. It was not until 1884 that the major extension and remodelling of the museum took place, including the unveiling of the new façade designed by Natale Tommasi. A room on the first floor was called the "Reliquary of the Tyrolean nation" with all kinds of reminders of the popularised uprising of 1809 and a larger-than-life statue of Andreas Hofer. Other places of remembrance in Tyrolean history, such as the Battle of Spinges, have also been immortalised in the Ferdinandeum. The traditional

The traditional, the Tyrolean nation The neoclassical exterior contrasts with the interior, which is dedicated to the city. Two sphinxes, not exactly native-looking mythical creatures, flank the entrance. Portraits of famous Tyrolean artists and scientists can be seen on the façade. The centrepiece is the Tyroliaa mythical symbolic figure of the "Tyrolean nation", can be seen. She is modestly flanked by Minerva, the ancient goddess of wisdom. As the remains of the temples excavated at this time were white, buildings imitating antiquity, such as the Ferdinandeum, were also painted white. A similarly designed building in Innsbruck is the Tiroler Landestheater just a few steps away from the Ferdinandeum. The Landestheater was not recoloured until it was renovated.

In contrast to the collections of the aristocracy, the Ferdinandeum accessible to the public. This was a social paradigm shift.

"The Ferdinandeum's book collection contains around 1,400 works relating to regional studies... It can be used by anyone... A visit to this institution certainly provides pleasure for locals and foreigners alike, and creates the conviction that there is no lack of sense and endeavour for art and science in Tyrol."

The name of the museum goes back to Archduke Ferdinand, who was also Emperor of Austria from 1835 and took over the patronage of the Tyrolean National Museum. Together with the nature-loving Archduke Johann, he played a leading role in the founding of the Tyrolean National Museum. These two Habsburgs not only shared a love of art, culture and science, but also an affinity for Tyrol. In other respects, however, the two Habsburgs could not have been more different. Archduke Johann was an ardent supporter of the Tyrolean struggle for freedom against the will of Viennese politics and Andreas Hofers. While he was known as an alpinist, general and also as an energetic politician and doer, the man who gave his name to the Ferdinandeum was the exact opposite. Ferdinand was regarded as weak, bordering on the debilitating and, thanks to the Habsburgs' incestuous marriage policy, was probably struck with short stature and deformity. As the successor to Francis I, he had been Chancellor Metternich's favourite emperor, who favoured a weak monarch so that he could continue to rule as he pleased. He was probably a gentle and simple soul as Ferdinand the Kindevil tongues also liked to christen him Gütinand the Finishedknown. In 1848, he fled to the Hofburg in Innsbruck, a safe haven of conservative values loyal to the emperor, but was able to return to Vienna as a popular ruler.

Today, the Ferdinandeum houses a colourful selection of collections, including paintings by well-known Tyrolean artists such as Albin Egger-Lienz. Special exhibitions of all kinds are organised on a regular basis.

Das Gebäude, in dem die Wirtschaftskammer Tirol today, is a mix of different styles that is well worth seeing. Decorated with oriels and turrets, the building looks like a small palace. The architecture was designed by Munich architects Ludwig Lutz and is an example of historicism and the Heimatstil, the two dominant styles of the time. The topmost of the bay windows is a small imitation of the Goldenen Dachls and thus demonstrates the Chamber of Commerce's connection to Tyrolean tradition. The mosaic façade in Art Nouveau style depicts the various economic sectors as people holding hands above the windows. It was created by the Schwaz artist Alfons Siber (1860 - 1919), who worked in the Tyrolean Glass Painting and Mosaic Institute had learnt, under the title Allegory of trade and commerce designed. Siber was a financially extremely successful painter, but he had the stall odour of the Greater German. Many of his works were inspired by Germanic mythology. This did not bother the liberal founders of the Tyrolean Chamber of Commerce and Industry, many of whom belonged to the Greater German movement.

By good fortune, the façade, which is well worth seeing, was preserved. While the rest of Meinhardstraße fell victim to bombing during the Second World War, the Chamber of Commerce remained intact. The connecting wing, which links the old part of the building with the new one in Wilhelm-Greil-Straße, was built in 2014.

As early as 1851, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry was founded as the predecessor organisation of the Chamber of Commerce. After the social upheavals of 1848, it was necessary to react to the social changes. The voice of bourgeois entrepreneurs was not yet on a par with that of the nobility, although the de facto influence of this group on society was steadily increasing. Particularly in the suburbs of the city at the time, many companies such as the Rauchmühle in Mühlau, the Epp soap factory, the spinning mill Herrburger und Rhomberg and the locksmith's shop Köllensperger was created.

The Trade Act of 1859 turned the economic conditions and thus the everyday lives of many people upside down. Whereas guilds had previously looked after their members on a social level alongside the state and church institutions, this duty was increasingly transferred to the municipality. The guilds were replaced by guilds and co-operatives. This also meant that the protection they offered their members was lost. This led to freedom of trade, which was regulated ten years after the economic crisis of 1873 through certificates of competence and master craftsman examinations. In 1901, the Trade Promotion Institute, a predecessor of the WIFI, was founded, offering courses for craftsmen and the self-employed. The Austrian system of business promotion, adult education and the chamber state can be traced back to this development in the 19th century.

Since its foundation, Innsbruck has been more of an administrative and university city than an industrial centre. Unlike cities in Upper Austria or Styria, there are still hardly any large companies worth mentioning in the city. Trade and crafts as well as tourism businesses tend to be small-scale. With the university, hospital, the state of Tyrol and the city, Innsbruck's largest employer is the public sector. From a national perspective, however, industry is the most important employer, ahead of tourism. The Chamber of Commerce, which represents the self-employed and entrepreneurs, plays an important role in Austrian politics. In addition to wage negotiations, training, qualification examinations and industry representation and authorisations are part of the Chamber of Commerce's tasks.

"Even if harsh criticism may criticise some aspects of the statue, the whole must be described as highly successful and makes a beautiful, satisfying impression."

In the editorial office of the Innsbrucker Tagblatt on 29 September 1877, the day the Rudolfsbrunnen was unveiled, people seem to have been reasonably satisfied with the result of the city's newest attraction. However, the design of the square had been preceded by heated discussions between liberal and conservative contemporaries.

The 12 metre high figure on the fountain represents Duke Rudolf IV. The lower basin is flanked by griffins bearing coats of arms with the Tyrolean eagle and the imperial double-headed eagle. Friedrich Schmidt was commissioned with the planning. The future master builder of Vienna Cathedral was to become one of the most important architects of the neo-Gothic style in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Between Bolzano, Bohemia and Ruthenia, he realised many striking buildings, including the new south tower of St. Stephen's Cathedral and St. Nicholas Church in Innsbruck. He is not only an honorary citizen of the city of Innsbruck, but also has a magnificent grave of honour at Vienna's Central Cemetery. After the Second World War, the fountain, which had been damaged in an air raid, was renovated under Franz Baumann.

The construction of the fountain began in 1863 to mark 500 years of Tyrol being part of the Habsburg Empire. Thanks to an allegedly forged inheritance treaty, the county of Tyrol had become part of the Habsburg Empire. Its nickname The founder historian Rudolf because of his services to Vienna, today the capital of Austria. At the time of his reign, the centre of the Heiligen Römischen Reiches in Prague. With the founding of the University of Vienna and St. Stephen's as the metropolitan chapter and burial place of the Habsburgs under Rudolf, Vienna took its first step as the new centre of the Holy Roman Empire. Rudolf landed his most sensational coup in 1358. The Privilegium maiusThe document of the Habsburgs, which granted the House of Habsburg a number of special rights over all other German princes, was also a forgery. Emperor Charles IV, a fierce opponent of the Habsburgs, was already convinced that the collection of documents was a forgery. The great scholar Francesco Petrarca also came to the conclusion that the Privilegium maius could not be genuine. Nonetheless, the special rights of the archducal dignity, succession and independent jurisdiction in their territories were granted to the Austrians. Whoever stands before the Rudolf's Fountain on Boznerplatz should not forget that the man in whose honour a fountain was erected was not only a pious benefactor, but above all a gifted swindler.

Fake or not, the unity of Austria and Tyrol was a reason to celebrate. The 19th century was the great age of nationalism. Traditions and commonalities were sought throughout Europe in order to give people a national identity. Buildings, literature and monuments were intended to strengthen the sense of belonging to the Habsburg Empire and national pride among the population. The fountain was a manifestation of the unity and affiliation of the crown land of Tyrol to the Habsburg Monarchy.

Depending on the political attitude and perspective, different ideas of the national idea emerged. The German national-liberal politicians in the city were keen to portray the unity of Tyrol and Austria. They saw Innsbruck as part of a strong Habsburg empire under German domination vis-à-vis the other peoples of the multi-ethnic state. The conservative version of Tyrolean identity was based on a Catholic, Tyrolean-national identity including the cult of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was memorialised in the Andreas Hofer monument on Mount Isels. While the liberal Crown Prince Rudolf was present at the unveiling of the Rudolfsbrunnen, the conservative Franz Josef I was a guest at the opening of the monument on Mount Isel.

Knapp 150 Jahre später steht der Boznerplatz wieder im Zentrum reger Diskussionen im Gemeinderat. Betrachtet man ihn auf alten Bildern, sieht man einen attraktiven innerstädtischen Platz. Die aktuelle Realität ist etwas trister. Der Boznerplatz ist vom Verkehr bedrängt und lädt kaum zum Verweilen ein. Die Geister scheiden sich daran, ob und wie der Platz um den Rudolfsbrunnen vom Verkehrsknotenpunkt wieder zu einer Begegnungszone umgestaltet werden soll. Die Diskussionen drehen sich nicht mehr um die Frage der Tiroler Identität, Klima und Mobilität rücken den Boznerplatz aber erneut in den Fokus eines Kulturkampfes.

Das Tiroler Landhaus und der Eduard-Wallnöfer-Platz samt dem dazugehörigen „Franzosendenkmal" are considered by many Innsbruck residents to be the city's greatest building sin. The chapter in Innsbruck's history that it symbolises is also unpleasant. Anyone who compares Landhausplatz before and after 1938 in old photographs will not recognise it. Hardly any other place in Innsbruck has changed so much.

In photos from before 1938, you can recognise the Lohnkutscherei und Autovermietung Heinrich Menardi at today's Landhausplatz. The company was founded in 1880 with the onset of tourism in Tyrol for excursions to the Alpine surroundings. Initially with carriages, and after the First World War with buses 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 the years the transport and trading industry has shifted to the more lucrative property sector. On the north side of the square, the courtyard of Palais Fugger-Taxis extended as far as Wilhelm-Greil-Strasse. Between 1905 and 1938, it housed the offices of the Tyrolean provincial government. The Fuggerhaus, which served as a secondary school and commercial academy, was also demolished.

1938 wurde mit dem Bau der Reichsstatthalterei under Gauleiter Franz Hofer and the square was completely redesigned and levelled. To the east of the old baroque country house with its façade in Maria-Theresien-Straße, the monumental new building was to be constructed. The south-eastern part of Palais Fugger-Taxis was demolished for this purpose. Where the casino stands today was the Bismarckplatznamed after the Iron Chancellor The buildings between today's Landhaus and Bismarckplatz, where Lois Welzenbacher's skyscraper towered futuristically over everything, were to make way for a large area for political marches, which was to be adorned with monuments and sacrificial columns in memory of the Tyroleans who fell for National Socialism. The Gauhaus and the square in front of it were to become a symbol of the new ideology, a kind of church for faith in the Führer and the liberation of the German people. In fact, only the northern part of the Landhausplatz was redesigned during the war years.

The tender was won by the two architects Walter and Ewald Guth. Seen from the front, the shape of the façade is intended to remind the observer of an eagle about to soar. The columns at the entrance were designed in the neoclassical style to suit Adolf Hitler's taste. During the amateurish construction phase, supervised by Hofer himself, there were repeated delays and problems due to the war and the construction work on the blocks of flats for the South Tyrolean optants. What actually remained of the grandiose plans was a dull functional building, which even people in faraway Berlin were not really happy with.

In this Reichsstatthalterei mitten in der Stadt wurden keine Verhöre oder Misshandlungen durchgeführt, dafür war die Zentrale der Gestapo (Anm.: Geheime Staatspolizei im Nationalsozialismus) in Innsbruck mit Sitz in der Herrengasse zuständig. Im heutigen Tiroler Landhaus wurden Verbrechen geplant und Gesetzesbeschlüsse und Befehle aus Berlin umgesetzt. Dass die sterblichen Überreste der Opfer eines Luftangriffes vom 15. Dezember 1943 am heutigen Landhausplatz aufgebahrt wurden zeugt von trauriger Ironie des Schicksals. In einigen Zimmern des Landhauses sind bis heute Symbole der NS-Zeit sichtbar. Wie genau man mit diesen stummen Zeugen des Nationalsozialismus umgehen soll, ist noch immer Inhalt reger Diskussionen. Die Kanzlei von Gauleiter Franz Hofer war lange Zeit das Sitzungszimmer der Tiroler Landesregierung.

The southern part of the Landhausplatz was not designed until 1945. Houses such as the Haidenburg residence were destroyed during the air raids. The previously contaminated site was redesigned. The square is dominated by Eduard Wallnöfer Square from the Liberation Monumentcommissioned by the French occupation in 1946. The monument is intended to represent a more modern version of the nearby Triumphal Gate and commemorate the "Freedom of the Dead of Austria" (Pro Libertate Austriae Mortuis). The commander-in-chief, General Emile Bethouart, refrained from using the French language and thus patronisingly considered the Allies' share in the liberation of Austria to be smaller than it actually was in favour of the Austrian resistance. After the plan to erect a memorial to those who died for National Socialism in 1938, only seven years later the resistance fighters were to be commemorated in the same way as the fallen soldiers.

Although the grille shows the coats of arms of Austria's new federal states, it is hard to deny its resemblance to various fascist monuments, not least because of the classicist style and the enthroned eagle with laurel wreath designed by Emmerich Kerle.

The construction of the "French monument", as the people of Innsbruck called it, was largely carried out by prisoners of war who were assigned to the construction company carrying out the work. Mayreder, Kraus & Co were made available. In addition to labour, the required raw materials also caused problems in the barren post-war period. A liberation memorial imposed by the occupying power was difficult to sell to the population, especially with the housing shortage that still prevailed in the city after the air raids. In order not to fuel the resentment of the population in the first post-war years over the construction, the French also refrained from a ceremonial inauguration.

In the decades that followed, the entire square eked out a dreary existence without seating. For a long time, Landhausplatz served as a parking area for the increasing traffic in the city centre. Only gradually did it free itself from the post-war stench. An inconspicuous memorial at the southern end of Landhausplatz commemorates the Jewish victims of the pogroms of the Reichskristallnacht from 1938. Menorah was consecrated in June 1997 by the Chief Rabbi of the Jewish Community for Tyrol and Vorarlberg, Chaim Eisenberg.

Anyone crossing Landhausplatz today seems to find a lively inner-city fun park for skaters and BMXers. It has had its current appearance since 2011, after the LAAC architecture firm won a tender to redesign the square in 2008. In the first few years after its opening, cycling and skating were strictly forbidden on the barren Landhausplatz with its inviting concrete waves, after the dispute between the state government and skateboarders had already led to heated discussions in the 1990s. However, young people have not been deterred by this to this day and have persevered to conquer the square in front of the seat of the Tyrolean state government.

In 1911, under Mayor Wilhelm Greil, the town acquired the so-called Zelgergründe südöstlich der Triumphpforte von den Erben des Innsbrucker Unternehmers Karl Zelger. Das Politikum, was mit diesem letzten unverbauten Stück Land zwischen Innenstadt und Wilten geschehen sollte, war zum Zeitpunkt des sich über Jahre hinziehenden Kaufabschlusses bereits seit Jahren in vollem Gange. Das rasch wachsende Viertel rund um den Bahnhof war während der letzten Jahrzehnte mit Geschäftslokalen, Fabriken und Wohnhäusern zugepflastert worden. Von einem Gewerbemuseum über ein Internat bis hin zu einem öffentlichen Park zur Erholung der gestressten Stadtbewohner reichten die Ideen. Am heutigen Landhausplatz gegenüber stand unter anderem die Villa Zelger, deren großzügiger Garten bis auf das Grundstück der heutigen Salurnerstraße herüberreichte. Umgesetzt wurde auf Grund des Kriegsausbruches vorerst keiner der kreativen Bebauungsansätze. Es sollte beinahe zehn Jahre dauern, bis Geld da war, um das leerstehende Areal, das nach Kriegsausbruch in großdeutscher Begeisterung in Bismarckplatz was renamed to serve a purpose.

The project by Lois Welzenbacher, which emerged victorious from a competition in 1926, did not silence the discussions, on the contrary. Instead of a park, the Campgrounds das Elektrizitätswerk Innsbruck errichtet. Nicht nur das Gebäude an und für sich, auch die Art, in der Welzenbacher Innsbrucks erstes Hochhaus geplant hatte, erregte die Gemüter. Professor Josef Manfreda, selbst Architekt und Unterrichtender an der Staatsgewerbeschule wütete über die Missachtung der Tiroler Bergwelt und die Verletzung des „gesunden und schlichten Gefühls der Bevölkerung“. Die kubischen Elemente im Stil der New Objectivity, die schon beim Städtischen Hallenbad in der Amraserstraße die Geister schieden, galten vielen Menschen als Verschandelung, einigen wenigen als Wahrzeichen des Aufbruchs der Stadt in die Moderne. Der Altstadt sollte eine Neustadt gegenübergestellt werden. Noch Jahre später beschäftigte das Gebäude, wie der Artikel the tower block on bismarckplatz von Manfreda aus dem Jahr 1930 zeigt:

"the displeasure with the bare wall surfaces that is currently so frequently expressed in the assessment of buildings is a natural, reactionary feeling of our spoilt eye, which sees the streets predominantly overloaded with heavy cornices and window frames."

The unadorned building with its striking numberless dials was not only a visual challenge for many contemporaries. Whereas church steeples had previously monitored and organised people's everyday lives with their height and clocks, the Republic now set out to claim the loyalty of the new citizens.

During the Nazi era, the SS took up residence on the third floor of the office building. While the SA had its headquarters in a Wilhelminian-style building at Bürgerstraße 10, the Gestapo resided in the Old University in Herrengasse and the Gauleitung had the New Landhaus built opposite Bismarckplatz in monumental classicism, the Schutzstaffel chose the most modern building in the city in the spirit of the dawn of a new era.

The tower suffered considerable damage as a result of Allied air raids. Renovation began in 1947, which was also a structural remodelling. The building's striking asymmetrical corner tower disappeared and the window fronts were given a completely new design. The onion dome, which crowns the building like a baroque church, was also rebuilt as part of the addition of an extra storey.

With the pre-Olympic building frenzy of the second Games, the square in front of Innsbruck's first high-rise building was once again shovelled. Instead of revitalising the open space and thus giving the main building of the Innsbruck municipal utilities This inner-city space was densified in order to give it a greater impact. In 1970, construction began on the three-storey, unattractive commercial and office building and the 15-storey hotel. The tower block in the style of the Concrete Brut is one of the architectural sins of the time that have left a lasting impression on Innsbruck's panorama.

In the boundless optimism of the early 1990s, the casino was added to the hotel. For its daring green marble façade with overhanging steel and glass construction under a sloping wing-shaped roof, the building was awarded the Austrian Builder-Owner Award of the Central Association of Architects. The fountain on the forecourt completes the ensemble on the former Bismarckplatz, which almost became a city centre park over 100 years ago.

An imperial wedding and an imperial death within a few days of each other in the summer of 1765 once again made Innsbruck the centre of Europe for a short time. The Triumphal Gate commemorates the events that took place in Innsbruck. 

On 5 August, Maria Theresa's son Leopold married the Spanish princess Maria Ludovica in Innsbruck. For the wedding party coming from south-west and eastern Europe, Innsbruck was an ideal meeting place to finalise the deal and make the union official, as the former royal seat already had experience with royal and princely weddings. However, the celebrations were marred by several accidents. Despite all efforts, the cultural programme in little Innsbruck could not be adapted to the tastes of the noble society. Changeable weather and the groom's stomach flu dampened the mood. The news of the death of one of the bride's uncles did nothing to lift the spirits either. But the bad end came shortly after the wedding. On 18 August, the groom's father, Emperor Franz Stephan I of Habsburg-Lorraine, died of a stroke.

The original wooden gate was actually only intended as a temporary, festively decorated entrance to the city during the wedding. It was not unusual for this Roman custom of the triumphal arch to be revived at important events organised by the imperial ruling family. In 1774, however, Maria Theresa had her triumphal arch built permanently in stone, modelled on that of the ancient Emperor Constantine, in order to commemorate both the death of her husband and the wedding of her son forever. The southern part of the triumphal gate facing Leopoldstrasse expresses the joy of the wedding of the future Emperor Leopold II. The portrait of the ruling couple is flanked by the figures of the Providentia Divina, der göttlichen Vorsehung, und der Constantia, der Beständigkeit. Diese beiden Eigenschaften sahen die Habsburger als ganz entscheidend für ihre Dynastie an. Sie legitimierten die Macht ihres Hauses über ihre Untertanen durch das Gottesgnadentum, der Vorsehung, auf der die Beständigkeit the fate of the country for the good of all. On the northern part facing Maria-Theresien-Strasse, the Angel of Death is enthroned in Baroque pathos to symbolise mourning over the sudden death of the emperor. The remains of the city wall and the demolition material of the suburban gate at today's southern entrance to the old town, which fell victim to the modernisation of the city under Maria Theresa in 1765, were used as building material.

Especially with the Nordkette from the south or from the east with the Winklerhaus in the background, the Triumphpforte is a wonderful motif. It's worth getting up early, as the traffic during the day is quite annoying for photo enthusiasts.

The Deutschordenshaus is one of the most remarkable Gothic buildings in the old town centre. Gothic and Renaissance meet in this building. In the early 16th century, the  German Orders This jewel, designed by master builder Gregor Türing and miraculously preserved to this day, was built in order to have a residence close to the imperial court in Innsbruck. The Order never had its own command in Innsbruck. However, as important advisors and diplomats, they wanted to have an office close to the sovereign. The Teutonic Order was an order of knights, a remnant from the time of the Crusades. At first glance, from today's perspective, it seems to have fallen out of time in the early modern period, as its warfare was already far removed from the armies of knights and warrior orders. Through skilful politics and connections to the European high aristocracy, it ensured its continued existence even at a time when the sword had long since been replaced by gunpowder.

The lavishly decorated bay windows depicting St Christopher and St George are particularly beautiful and have been preserved to this day. The German Orders St George, the patron saint of the fighting classes of the Middle Ages, was very well suited to these religious brothers, who were both pious and militant. The order sold the building again as early as 1539, and the families who owned the house subsequently changed frequently. In the 18th century, the building, which today serves as an ordinary residence, was extended to five storeys. In 1872, the house fell victim to the flames during one of the frequent town fires. It was also affected by air raids during the Second World War. Today, after two renovations, it shines in its old Gothic splendour.

Die Namen Fugger und Taxis stehen für frühe Globalisierung, Kapitalismus und eine Veränderung in der Welt der Kommunikation und Medien. Mit den Fuggern und den Thurn und Taxis beherbergte das Palais Mitglieder von zwei der bedeutendsten Familien der frühen Neuzeit, die in Innsbruck ihren Geschäften nachgingen. Würde man heutige Maßstäbe anlegen, müsste man die Familien Warren Buffetts und Mark Zuckerbergs bemühen, um einen adäquaten Vergleich zu haben. Das Palais Fugger taxis zeugt gleichermaßen von den Veränderungen, die die Welt ab 1500 nahm wie von der zunehmenden Bedeutung Innsbrucks als Residenzstadt der Habsburger.

Viele einflussreiche Aristokraten ließen sich im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert in der Neustadt ihre Palazzi errichten, um möglichst nahe am Hof des Tiroler Landesfürsten zu sein. Innsbruck hatte zwar ein wenig an Ansehen verloren seit den Tagen Maximilians, war aber noch immer eine der wichtigsten Städte des Heiligen Römischen Reichs. Nach einem Brand ließ der kaiserliche Geheimrat Graf Hans Otto Fugger ein Palais planen, das alle anderen Stadtpaläste in den Schatten stellen sollte. Wer wenn nicht er sollte sich das leisten können, kam er doch aus der Kaufmannsippe der Augsburger Fugger, einer der reichsten Familien Europas der frühen Neuzeit. Johann Martin Gumpp der Ältere wurde für die Planung engagiert. Zum Vorbild nahm er sich ganz im Chic der Zeit das Genueser Stadtpalais. Der 1679 eröffnete Palast nahm wie die meisten in Innsbruck beim großen Erdbeben von 1689 erheblichen Schaden. Über Heirat kam das Gebäude an die Familie von Welsberg, die es in den folgenden Jahren vermietete. 1784 kaufte Joseph Sebastian von Thurn und Taxis das Palais Fugger, um es als Wohnhaus und Poststation zu verwenden. Das Adelsgeschlecht der Thurn und Taxis war eine der wichtigsten Dynastien ihrer Zeit. Über die Einführung des Postwesens brachten sie es zu Ruhm, Ehre und Vermögen im Kaiserreich. 1905 ging das nunmehrige Palais Fugger-Taxis in den Besitz des Landes Tirol über, um darin Amtsräume des Landhauses unterzubringen. Die Amtsräume wanderten nach Fertigstellung des Landhauses 1938 in den Neubau ums Eck. Heute befindet sich im Gebäude eine Kunsthalle mit wechselnden Ausstellungen moderner Kunst.

Die Geschichte der Servitenkirche ist bewegter als man dem unscheinbaren Gotteshaus ansieht. Anna Catarina Gonzaga (1566 – 1621), die zweite Frau Ferdinand II., gründete 1613 in Innsbruck mit der Servitenkirche die erste Niederlassung der Neuzeit des „Ordo Servorum Mariae" (Order of the Servants of Mary) north of the Alps. The mosaic in the entrance vault shows the coat of arms of the Duchy of Mantua with the 4 black eagles and the red lion together with the coat of arms of the Archduchy of Austria. It symbolises the unity of Ferdinand and Anna Catarina Gonzaga and their dynasties. Although the city-states of Italy were past their prime, they still had the means to intermarry with the highest circles of the European aristocracy. The northern Italian principalities and the Habsburgs were the Catholic bulwark of Europe at this time of schism. The ceiling fresco in the interior of the church impressively depicts the roots of the church's founder.

The establishment of this strict order was of great concern to the pious sovereigns with Italian roots. As a mendicant order, the Servites dedicated themselves to caring for the poor in their early days. During the Reformation, the Servite order, which originated in Tuscany, was completely dissolved in German-speaking countries and was only able to spread again from Innsbruck in the 17th century. Today, the Servites are mainly involved in development aid.

The first building burnt down in a fire in 1620. The plan to be buried in the church, which they had donated themselves, had to be postponed for the time being. Johann Martin and Georg Anton Gumpp planned the new building in 1626 in the Baroque style. Anna Caterina Gonzaga had already died by this time. Instead of being buried in the Servite church as planned, she was buried in the Servite convent until completion, and later in the Jesuit church. It was not until 1693 that she was reinterred in the church together with her daughter.

In the 20th century, the Servite Church was once again on the brink of collapse. On 3 November 1938, the National Socialists dissolved the Servite Order as the first monastery in Innsbruck "zum Schutze des Volkes" on. In Catholic Tyrol in particular, actions against the church had to be planned and communicated with great care. Often the most hair-raising stories were put out into the world. In the Austrian edition of the "Völkischen Beobachter“ vom 4. November 1938 ist als Grund dafür zu lesen:

„Staatspolizeiliche Untersuchungen im Servitenkloster in Innsbruck ergaben, dass in diesem Kloster derart sittenwidrige Zustände herrschen, dass es unmöglich ist, sie in der Öffentlichkeit zu unterbreiten. Es handelt sich bei dem genannten Kloster um eine Lasterhöhle erster Ordnung, hinter deren Treiben das staatsfeindliche Verhalten, das durch aufgefundene Schriften festgestellt wurde, weit in den Hintergrund tritt.“

Am 15. Dezember 1943 wurde die Servitenkirche bei einem Bombenangriff auf Innsbruck zerstört. Das markante Gemälde an der Außenseite und das Deckenfresko wurden nach 1945 beim Wiederaufbau von Hans Andre, der nach dem Krieg auch die ramponierte Spitalskirche (33) auf Vordermann brachte, neu geschaffen.

The first coffee house on the site of today's Central opened on 14 September 1876 as "Café Grabhofer". Das Jahr 1848 hatte in Tirol zwar keine blutige Revolution gebracht, zu gesellschaftlichen Veränderungen im Alltag reichte es aber. Die Kaffeehauskultur war eine davon. Hier traf sich, wer auf sich hielt, um der Muse des bürgerlichen Daseins zu frönen, zu diskutieren oder still Zeitung zu lesen. Wie heute befand sich auch damals direkt gegenüber eine Bank. Finanzdienstleister und modernes Caféhaus bildeten wohl ungeplant eine moderne, für die Zielgruppe der gehobenen Bürgerschaft passgenaue Symbiose. Der Kapitalismus der ersten Jahre nach der Wirtschaftskrise von 1873 traf auf ein Gut, das durch den Kolonialismus des späten 19. Jahrhunderts für immer mehr Bürger leistbar wurde.

Kaffee war lange Zeit kein Alltagsgetränk, sondern ein exklusives und teures Vergnügen exzentrischer Eliten. 1713 beschloss der Stadtrat den Kauf von Kaffee nur in Apotheken zuzulassen. Ähnlich wie Red Bull in den 1990er Jahren stand das exotische Getränk unter Generalverdacht. Als die Nachfrage stieg und Kaffee nach und nach zumindest in den gehobenen Schichten ankam, lockerte man die Regelungen. Die Unternehmen Unterberger&Comp Kolonialwaren in der Herzog-Friedrich-Straße 26 und Kaffee Nosko in der Seilergasse 18 waren die ersten Kaffee-Spezialgeschäfte Innsbrucks.

Der Konsum von Kaffee stand symbolisch Pate für einen neuen, bürgerlichen Arbeitsethos und Lebensstil. Lange Zeit waren Wein und Bier die Alltagsgetränke der Massen gewesen. Auch wenn der Wein im Mittelalter nicht besonders stark war, trübte er doch die Sinne. In der Arbeiterklasse waren Bier und billige Spirituosen im 19. Jahrhundert beliebt und problematisch gleichermaßen geworden. Wer auf sich hielt, hielt sich davon fern. Kaffee hingegen machte wach und leistungsfähig und begünstigte die neuen Tugenden der Arbeitsamkeit und des Fleißes. Der willige Untertan, der für seinen Herrn in der Landwirtschaft arbeitete, wurde in Städten wie Innsbruck mehr und mehr vom kritischen, im Kaffeehaus Zeitung lesenden Bürger abgelöst. 1888 gab es bereits sieben Gast- und Kaffeehäuser und vier Kaffeeschenker in der Stadt.

After the death of the house founder Johann Grabhofer, his daughter and her husband managed the café. When she also died in 1891, Leopold Eck bought the café and gave it the name Café Central. Just one year later, the hotel of the same name opened in the same building on the unused floors above. In 1896, Eck sold the building to the tenant of the pub at the time, Franz Kosak. Under financial pressure, Kosak also served beer for the first time in order to expand the clientele.

In the Belle Epoque Before the First World War, the Central was one of the many lively centres of city life. Students, soldiers, industrialists, citizens and travellers met here to discuss, read and celebrate in a pleasant atmosphere. Café houses had now become a standard feature of everyday culture in the cities of the Danube monarchy. No matter where you were between Innsbruck in the west and Czernowitz in the east of the giant empire, you could be sure to find a railway station, a hotel and a café with German-speaking staff and a similar menu and furnishings. The Hotel Europa und das Central had become the measure of the culture of the Habsburg Empire.

In 1919, in the post-war period, the café building was first converted by Josef Falkner into a depot for the wines of his winery in Tramin, and later as an office building in part of the Commerzbank before reopening as a restaurant under Falkner's management in 1928. In addition to the café and hotel, the enterprising restaurateur opened the Falconry cellar In the basement there was also a wine bar modelled on the South Tyrolean style. This was one of the first restaurants in Innsbruck to earn the name nightclub. The basement of the hotel quickly became a popular meeting place with a dubious reputation, as can be seen from this article in the Allgemeine Tiroler Anzeiger of 8 June 1928.

On 17 March, an exciting shooting took place in the well-known Innsbruck wine bar "Falknerkeller". In a fit of jealousy, 37-year-old railway employee Johann Raggl from Arzl near Imst had fired his revolver at his former lover Marie Amonn, who worked as a waitress in the pub. The shots missed their target only because a friend intervened.

 In the period after the Second World War, Central became the "Comptoir Francais" and used as a French restaurant. The Falconry cellar advertised its gastronomic goods and the unusually long opening hours with an original slogan in the Innsbrucker Nachrichten.

Falknerkeller's Easter wine must be as good as ever.

Please ask old Leu how he was in pre-war years...

At midnight every day, we ask you to honour us.

In 1954, the hotel, café and cellar were returned to Falkner. The day before the opening in the new design, the Innsbrucker Nachrichten to read this advert: A ship with Innsbruck pirates lands on the previously unknown treasure island in the Falknerkeller on 1 July! Come along for the ride! Josef Falkner / Isolde Sterzinger. Falkner broke with tradition and dispensed with the furnishings in the typical Tyrolean parlour style in favour of a more creative concept. The "Seeräuberburg", modelled on a harbour pub, provided variety in Innsbruck's post-war nightlife.

After Falkner's death in 1967, the savings bank acquired the Central. In 1980 the falconry cellar became the Club Central. Seven years later, it went to the property developer Fröschl, who had the traditional building renovated while retaining its special charm. However, the era of night catering in Gilmstraße was coming to an end.

Today, you can enjoy the pleasant atmosphere, good coffee, cakes and Austrian specialities at Central. The neo-baroque interior has survived the various renovations of the building well, and the furnishings are still reminiscent of the good old days, when Viennese coffee house culture decided to make its home in Tyrol and raise the provincial town of Innsbruck to the standard of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.

St Anne's Column is one of Innsbruck's most popular photo motifs. Especially when the snow-covered Nordkette mountain range rises behind the old town in winter, the column is a real eye-catcher against the mountain panorama. The Anna Column was erected to mark the end of a conflict between Tyrol and Bavaria, which was known as the Boarischer Rummel has gone down in the history books.

The monument shows several figures that are symbolically important for this occasion and the Innsbruck citizens of the time. The statue of the eponymous St Anne looks piously northwards towards Bavaria. She was the mother of Mary. It was not until very late in life that God fulfilled her wish to have a child. St Anne is considered the patron saint of expectant mothers and the childless. Above all, her housewifely efficiency and her maternal stabilisation of the household were regarded as female virtues before the first wave of female emancipation in the 19th century, which was particularly tender in conservative Tyrol.

St George, the fierce slayer of dragons, is also represented on St Anne's Column as the patron saint of Tyrol. Statues of Kassian as patron saint of the diocese of Brixen (South Tyrol) and Vigilius as patron saint of the diocese of Trento (Trentino) flank the saints. Innsbruck was not the episcopal see of the province until 1964. In 1706, the year the monument was built, Tyrol was governed by the bishops of Brixen and Trento. This is why the two saints of these South Tyrolean and Trentino dioceses are stationed in Innsbruck.

Of particular interest is the Mondsichelmadonna, die das Ensemble krönt. In der apokalyptischen Offenbarung des Johannes wird sie als Zeugin des letzten Gefechtes zwischen dem Erzengel Michael und dem Teufel genannt: „Eine Frau, mit der Sonne bekleidet; der Mond war unter ihren Füßen und ein Kranz von zwölf Sternen auf ihrem Haupt.“ Sie kann als Symbol für den Kampf zwischen Gut und Böse gelesen werden, der sich nach Tiroler Lesart zuvor abgespielt hatte.

At the time, good versus evil once again meant a threat to Tyrol from its neighbours to the north. In June 1703, the Bavarian Elector Max Emanuel marched across the border with an army of 12,000 men and conquered the fortress of Kufstein, which was considered impregnable. After a series of victories, he reached Innsbruck. Only gradually were the Tyrolean troops able to form up and celebrate their first victories. On 26 July, St. Anne's Day, the Tyrolean defenders were able to drive the Bavarian invaders out of Innsbruck again. To mark the occasion, the Tyrolean estates decided to erect a memorial monument and dedicate it to St Anne in order to protect the city from war in the future.

Von Krieg wurde Innsbruck seit 1945 verschont, der Platz rund um die Annasäule ist aber auch heute noch konfliktgeladen, wenn auch auf anderer Ebene. Die Gastronomen der umliegenden Cafés und Bars sehen es nicht gerne, dass sich junge Leute auf den Stufen vor dem Denkmal niederlassen, um das Innenstadtflair zu konsumieren, ohne dafür Geld auszugeben. Auch die Beliebtheit als Platz für Demonstrationen aller Art stößt auf wenig offizielle Gegenliebe.

The history of the Konsumtempel in Innsbruck's city centre and the neighbouring pub reflects many events of the 19th and 20th centuries as well as the more recent past. In 1854, Dominikus Zambra opened his first department stores' at Maria-Theresienstraße 29, the Hardware and Nuremberg haberdashery. From kitchen utensils for the housewife and toys for the children of the growing middle class to tools and equipment for mountain tours, locals and tourists could buy all kinds of everyday items and souvenirs of their visit to Tyrol in Zambra's shop.

The social and economic changes in people's everyday lives and the burgeoning tourism industry were reflected in changing consumer habits. While farmhands and maidservants largely worked for board and lodging in the countryside, entrepreneurs, civil servants, labourers and self-employed people who received wages and salaries worked in the city. They had disposable income. An urban public, where the omnipotence of the church was also beginning to crumble, had developed new needs. Just as society changed consumer behaviour, department stores had a reciprocal effect on society. In the second half of the 19th century, it was shops like Zambra's that widened the gap between urban and rural populations. People dressed differently, ate differently, lived differently and thought differently as a result.

The roots of the later Tyrol department stores'which was built right next door to Zambra, were the result of a project that was not untypical of the time of the Danube Monarchy - today it would be an international project. The Bauer family had come from Burgenland as travelling merchants and had worked their way up to become merchants with a fixed location. In 1874, Josef Bauer moved his business, which he ran with his son Louis, from the corner of today's Wilhelm-Greil-Straße and Museumstraße to Maria-Theresienstraße 31. Together with his brother-in-law and his brothers from the Croatian-born Schwarz merchant family, who had been successfully selling women's and men's fashion in Innsbruck for decades, Louis Bauer opened the Department stores' Josef Bauer & Sohn - Victor Schwarz & Co. The row of houses was transformed into a modern shopping centre in what was a spectacular conversion at the time. In the magnificent four-storey building with 2,000 m² of retail space, Innsbruck residents found an unprecedented variety of goods.

The new department stores' and the First World War forced Dominik Zambras' business out of business. In 1918, Hugo Schindler bought the building where the Zambras had had their shop and home for 45 years. Schindler's family had come to Tyrol from Bohemia and had opened a jam factory and schnapps distillery in Wilten. The restaurant opened in 1922 Cafe and confectionery Schindler opened its doors to pamper locals and tourists with food, drinks and entertainment in a chic ambience. Dance evenings and concerts, far removed from the rural stages that dominated Innsbruck's cultural scene in the early 20th century, quickly transformed the Schindler into one of the city's meeting places. Hugo Schindler came into a fortune that enabled him to build Villa Schindler on Rennweg, one of the most beautiful houses in the city.

The two businesses at the Annasäule were groundbreaking for Innsbruck. The problem was that the owners were Jewish. Despite all their successful efforts to integrate into society, both the operators of the department stores' and the Schindler repeatedly faced anti-Semitic hostility in the Holy Land Tyrol suspended.

The café and department stores' survived the Second World War, the post-war period and the economic crisis, but the annexation of Austria by the German Reich was too much. Boycotts, coercive measures and bans drove the Jewish operators into bankruptcy within a very short time. Some members of the Bauer and Schwarz families fled to England, while Wilhelm Bauer and his mother perished during the Nazi era.

In 1938, the café and the Innsbruck trading house were sold to German companies as part of the Aryanisation of Jewish property. Ferdinand Kraus, a favourite of the Tyrolean Gauleiter Franz Hofer, bought the stock for a fraction of its actual value. National Socialism and war not only destroyed the entrepreneurial families as software, the hardware was also damaged. The building was badly damaged in one of the many air raids. After a long restitution process between the new owner Kraus and the Bauer and Schwarz families, a settlement was reached in 1959 that in no way reflected the value of the company.

In 1964, Kraus sold his department stores' to Warenhaus-Immobilien GmbH in Vienna. Two years later, it was reopened with great pomp and circumstance. The new Tyrol department stores' was for a long time THE Innsbruck's shopping centre. The city's first escalator, which Innsbruck residents could marvel at here, was a sensation. However, with the opening of the DEZ in the commercial area near Amras and the Sillpark in Pradl, it faced increasing competition from shopping centres with a more modern concept and free parking. The interior had also become outdated in the meantime. Many changes of operator and the complicated ownership structure were the death knell for Innsbruck's former consumer temple in the 1990s

In 2004, the SIGNA group of companies owned by the Innsbruck-based construction and retail entrepreneur Rene Benko acquired the time-honoured Tyrol department stores', which had been vacant for several years due to a lack of operators. According to the plans of architect David Chipperfields, the shopping centre was completely refurbished in 2010. Look and feel reopened. The department stores' concept was not retained, but the long-established concept with many individual shops was used instead. In 2011, it was named the most beautiful shopping centre in Austria. Innsbruck was delighted that a "local" investor took on the time-honoured building in a prime location. Benko, who came from a modest middle-class background in Innsbruck and had grown up in the former working-class neighbourhood of Pradl, created a property empire from nothing as a young entrepreneur, which began to disappear again in 2023 in one of the most sensational bankruptcies that has provided material for novels and feature films. In January 2025, Rene Benko was arrested by the public prosecutor's office for economic offences and corruption.

While the modern architecture in the middle of Maria-Theresien-Straße initially divided the opinions of the people of Innsbruck, even sceptics now have to admit that the Kaufhaus Tyrol has contributed greatly to the revitalisation of the city centre. After having been closed for decades, the Cafe Schindler now offers fine dining and DJ sessions, along with a dignified view of Innsbruck's city centre. A plaque in the entrance area of Kaufhaus Tyrol commemorates the eventful history of the building.

Im 16. Jahrhundert, als Innsbrucks Neustadt stark wuchs, wurde sowohl das Gotteshaus vor den Stadtmauern wie auch das Stadtspital, das direkt daran angeschlossen war, vergrößert. Die große Glocke, die heute noch erklingt und nach ihrem Gießer Löfflerglocke also dates back to the early modern period. The hospital church itself in its current baroque appearance was built between 1700 and 1705 according to the plans of Johann Martin Gumpp, after the original building fell victim to the great earthquake of 1689. Large parts of the interior from this period have been preserved to this day. The ceiling paintings were destroyed during air raids in the Second World War. The frescoes in the expressionist style by Hans Andre, which were redesigned after the war, are well worth seeing. The corner building Maria-Theresienstraße / Marktplatz, which was built in 1888 instead of the hospital, is now a residential building with shops on the ground floor.

Die Historie der Spitalskirche und des Stadtspitals ist eng mit der Entwicklung der Kranken-, Alters und Armenversorgung der Stadt Innsbruck verbunden. Über dieses Kapitel der Innsbrucker Geschichte lässt sich gut nachempfinden, wie sich die Obsorge für Untertanen und Bürger weg von der Kirche in Richtung des modernen Sozialstaats verlagerte. Als Menschen des 21. Jahrhunderts erwarten wir von einem Spitalsaufenthalt, das Krankenhaus wieder gesund zu verlassen. Bis ins 18. Jahrhundert waren Spitäler, so auch in Innsbruck, eher die Endstation vor dem Jenseits unter christlicher Obhut und Pflege. Das Spital wurde von einer karitativen Bruderschaft von Innsbrucker Bürgern gegründet und durch Spenden der Kirche und wohlhabender Innsbrucker betrieben. Die

The Spitalskapelle was first mentioned in 1307 in a document issued by Duke Henry of Carinthia and Tyrol. His time was characterised by increasing urbanisation. Towns enjoyed privileges due to their economic importance. The citizens' hospital was intended to look after the welfare of the important key labour force. The hospice was built outside Innsbruck's city walls to minimise the spread of disease within the narrow streets. The task of the hospice was not only to care for the sick, but also to look after the destitute. One's own family was still the first and most important authority in emergencies. Craftsmen also organised part of the social care for members unable to work or their widows and orphans themselves. People without family, servants, indentured labourers and childless people were not abandoned, contrary to what is often portrayed. Destitute women could take up residence in hospitals. Elderly and needy citizens were provided with clothing, food and care. Orphans and illegitimate children were also taken in.

These facilities set the town apart from the villages, where health and old-age care was much worse and farm labourers often had to work until the end of their lives. As paying members, wealthier members of the brotherhood had the prospect of better care and treatment than non-members. Alms were also distributed to the poorest in the hospital. One can certainly speak of an early form of social welfare at communal level, a non-state welfare organisation.

Until the 19th century, and in many areas until after the First World War, it was not the central state but the community or patrons who were responsible for the care of the poor, sick, orphans, the elderly and those unable to work. Emperor Maximilian I, for example, had a hospital planned for old and sick members of his court staff on today's Domplatz, which was named after him as "Kaiserspital“ benannt wurde. Die Kirche war häufig mitverantwortlich und Organisator dieser Sozialarbeit.

Hinter der Spitalskirche befand sich seit 1509 der Friedhof. Schon damals war es üblich, die Toten etwas abseits des Geschehens zu gestatten. Das Recht, Beerdigungen abzuhalten, war lange ein Privileg des Stifts Wilten, an dem Innsbruck im kirchenrechtlichen Sinn hing. Erst im späten Mittelalter erhielt Innsbruck das Recht Beerdigungen durchzuführen vom Stift Wilten, das für kirchliche Angelegenheiten in Innsbruck zuständig war. Bei der heutigen Spitalskirche befand sich bis 1888 auch das Stadtspital Innsbrucks, bevor es an seinen heutigen Platz am Westende der Anichstraße übersiedelte, wo es sich zu beeindruckender Größe entwickelte. Beda Weber beschrieb die Pflegeanstalt in seinem Handbuch für Reisende in Tirol als Teil seines Innsbruck Reiseführers:

„An die Kirche schließt sich das Spital an, dessen vorzüglicher Wohlthäter König Heinrich von Böhmen ist, welcher im Jahre 1307 ansehnliche Gefälle dazu anwies. Die Zahl der darin verpflegten Kranken, Irren und Pfründner übestehgt wenigsten die Zahl von 100… Neben dem Spitale besteht auch ein sogenanntes Bruderhaus für 36 arme Weiber und Dienstmägde, welche darin freie Wohnung, Wäsche, Holz und täglich 6 Kreuzer genießen. Aus dem Krankenhause tritt man auf den Gottesacker von Gärten und Feldern umfangen und von Arkaden eingefaßt.“

Bis zu den Entdeckungen in Mikrobiologie und Medizin in der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts durch Robert Koch (1843 – 1910) oder Louis Pasteur (1922 – 1895) war Hygiene in der Krankenpflege ein unterschätzter Faktor. Die Zustände im alten Spital wurden so beschrieben:

„Für die gesamten Spitalsgebäude stand nur ein Brunnen im Hof, von dem das Wasser in alle Räume getragen werden musste, zur Verfügung. Eine Kanalisation fehlte; es gab einzig Abortgruben. Die Küche lag ebenerdig und gleich dahinter befand sich das Leichenzimmer, in dem auch die Aufbahrungen vorgenommen wurden. Der Keller diente zugleich als Trocken- und Desinfektionsraum. Die Schwestern mussten einen Backofen so lange heizen, bis alle Läuse tot waren. Der Garten war für die männlichen und weiblichen Patienten abgeteilt. In einem Stöcklgebäude waren die Irren untergebracht; zwei Zimmer standen für die ruhigen Patienten zur Verfügung, dann drei Tobzellen und eine Teeküche…. Typhuskranke wurden überhaupt nicht abgesondert. Wenn Deliranten ihre Betten verlassen wollten, dann wurde einfach ein festes Gitter um das Bett aufgestellt.“

Bereits vor dem Umzug war das Stadtspital ein Lehrkrankenhaus und eng mit der Universität verbunden. Die Lehrtätigkeit war einer der Hauptgründe für die Übersiedlung und Ausbau, das rapide Bevölkerungswachstum der andere. Nach der Wiedereröffnung der Universität 1826 waren es nur etwas mehr als 20 Studenten, die Ausmaße des heutigen Studiums- und Klinikbetriebes wäre damals unvorstellbar gewesen. Innsbrucks Klinik ist heute bis weit über die Landesgrenzen hinaus bekannt, geachtet und geschätzt. Die Universitätsklinik ist heute beinahe ein eigener Stadtteil und zählt zu den größten Arbeitgebern der Stadt.

The Mariahilfzeile is one of Innsbruck's landmarks. Together with the River Inn and the Nordkette mountain range in the background, it forms a unique ensemble. The colourful houses seen from the market square across the Inn are among the most popular photo motifs, both among locals and tourists. Most of the buildings have been rebuilt or renovated over time in the Baroque style, but many of the houses still have Gothic interiors and structures from the 12th and 13th centuries.

Der Platz an der Innbrücke, wo sich heute das Metropol Kino befindet, war ein Verkehrsknotenpunkt und ein beliebter Treffpunkt außerhalb der Stadtmauern. An der Ecke Höttinger Gasse / Innstraße kann man ein Marterl des Gekreuzigten mit Maria und Johannes aus dem frühen 15. Jahrhundert bewundern, dass den Handelsleuten als Wegweiser und Treffpunkt diente. Auch der Heilige Nikolaus ist Teil dieser sehenswerten Skulptur, die als eine der ältesten erhaltenen der Stadt gilt. Seit dem 16. Jahrhundert entwickelten sich entlang dieser Handelsroute viele Gasthäuser und Betriebe. Einige davon gibt es noch heute. Der Gasthof zum Weißen Lamm zum Beispiel bot Reisenden schon 1688 seine Dienste an, das Hotel Mondschein proudly bears the year 1473 on its beautiful street sign. Craftsmen also settled along the busy trade route to offer their services to travellers passing through. The façade of the house at Mariahilferstraße 14 shows a blacksmith at work. 

In 1809, Tyrolean insurgents launched attacks from Mariahilf against the Bavarian troops stationed in Innsbruck. Riflemen entrenched themselves in the houses and took the town under fire. The Mariahilfzeile had become a fortress, but was hardly affected. More devastating were the air raids during the Second World War. Fortunately, it was decided to renovate the affected buildings to their original appearance instead of rebuilding them as in other neighbourhoods. The block owes its strangely concerted appearance to this renovation. The varied colour scheme from the 1950s and the uniform height of the four- and five-storey buildings are the reason for the special aesthetics of the oldest part of Innsbruck.

The best view of the Mariahilfzeile with its colourful houses is from the market square. For a long time, the market was located within the city walls in front of the Golden Roof. Although there was also agriculture within the city walls, it was nowhere near enough to supply the city's population. Farmers from the surrounding communities offered their goods for sale at the market. The organisation of the market was regulated and controlled by the town council, as were the goods on offer. In the 16th century, the weekly market moved to Rennplatz in front of the Hofburg. It was not until the 17th century that Innsbruck's weekly market was moved outside the city gates due to a lack of space and settled on the Innrain.

The market hall as we know it today was built under Eduard Klingler and Jakob Albert, the two most important municipal officials under Mayor Wilhelm Greil. The market hall was a reaction to recurring protests from the population about the rapidly rising food prices since the 1870s. In 1912, Innsbruck's municipal council adopted a plan to build a public wholesale market hall next to the former meat bank on the Innrain, where a wholesale meat market was housed. Together with the slaughterhouse in Saggen, which opened in 1910, the market hall was to revolutionise the prices, hygiene and availability of food in Innsbruck.

The older, now listed hall was designed by Fritz Konzert. A quarter of the market hall's construction costs were spent on the elaborate refrigerated hall. The façade of the old market hall is somewhat obstructed, but from the Herzog-Siegmund-Ufer it is still a relic from the last days of the monarchy that is well worth seeing. The eastern, modern part was added in 1960. What is now a hip food market for high earners was an important supply point for the people of Innsbruck when it was built, when there were no supermarkets. Today, the market square regularly hosts sporting events and events such as the Christmas market and the fish market.