One of the most important figures in the town's history was Wilhelm Greil (1850 - 1923). From 1896 to 1923, the entrepreneur held the office of mayor, having previously helped to shape the city's fortunes as deputy mayor. It was a time of growth, the incorporation of entire neighbourhoods, technical innovations and new media. The four decades between the economic crisis of 1873 and the First World War were characterised by unprecedented economic growth and rapid modernisation. The city's economy boomed. Businesses were set up in the new districts of Pradl and Wilten, attracting workers. Tourism also brought fresh capital into the city. At the same time, however, the concentration of people in a confined space under sometimes precarious hygiene conditions also brought problems. The outskirts of the city and the neighbouring villages in particular were regularly plagued by typhus.

Innsbruck city politics, in which Greil was active, was characterised by the struggle between liberal and conservative forces. Greil belonged to the "Deutschen Volkspartei", a liberal and national-Great German party. What appears to be a contradiction today, liberal and national, was a politically common and well-functioning pair of ideas in the 19th century. The Pan-Germanism was not a political peculiarity of a radical right-wing minority, but rather a centrist trend, particularly in German-speaking cities in the Reich, which was significant in various forms across almost all parties until after the Second World War. Innsbruckers who were self-respecting did not describe themselves as Austrians, but as Germans. Those who were members of the liberal Innsbrucker Nachrichten of the period around the turn of the century, you will find countless articles in which the common ground between the German Empire and the German-speaking countries was made the topic of the day, while distancing themselves from other ethnic groups within the multinational Habsburg Empire. Greil was a skilful politician who operated within the predetermined power structures of his time. He knew how to skilfully manoeuvre around the traditional powers, the monarchy and the clergy and to come to terms with them.

Taxes, social policy, education, housing and the design of public spaces were discussed with passion and fervour. Due to an electoral system based on voting rights via property classes, only around 10% of the entire population of Innsbruck were able to go to the ballot box. Women were excluded as a matter of principle. Relative suffrage applied within the three electoral bodies, which meant as much as: The winner takes it all. Mass parties such as the Social Democrats were unable to assert themselves until the electoral law reform of the First Republic. Conservatives also had a hard time in Innsbruck due to the composition of the population, especially until the incorporation of Wilten and Pradl. Mayor Greil was able to build on 100% support in the municipal council, which naturally made decision-making and steering much easier. For all the efficiency that Innsbruck mayors displayed on the surface, it should not be forgotten that this was only possible because, as part of an elite of entrepreneurs, tradesmen and freelancers, they ruled in a kind of elected dictatorship without any significant opposition or consideration for other population groups such as labourers, craftsmen and employees. The Imperial Municipalities Act of 1862 gave cities such as Innsbruck, and therefore the mayors, greater powers. It is hardly surprising that the chain of office that Greil received from his colleagues in the municipal council on his 60th birthday was remarkably similar to the medal chains of the old nobility.

Under Greil's aegis and the general economic upturn, Innsbruck expanded at a rapid pace. In the style of a merchant, he bought land with foresight to enable the city to innovate. The politician Greil was able to rely on the civil servants and town planners Eduard Klingler, Jakob Albert and Theodor Prachensky for the major building projects of the time. He was also extremely open to private investment in the city's economy. Infrastructure projects such as the new town hall in Maria-Theresienstraße in 1897, the Hungerburg railway in 1906 and the Karwendelbahn were realised during his reign. Other highly visible milestones were the renovation of the market square and the construction of the market hall.

In addition to the prestigious large-scale projects, however, many inconspicuous revolutions emerged in the last decades of the 19th century. Much of what was driven forward in the second half of the 19th century is part of everyday life today. For the people of the time, however, these things were a real sensation and life-changing. Greil's predecessor, Mayor Heinrich Falk (1840 - 1917), had already made a significant contribution to the modernisation of the town and the settlement of Saggen. Since 1859, the lighting of the town with gas pipelines had progressed steadily. With the growth of the town and modernisation, the cesspits, which served as privies in the back yards of houses and were sold to surrounding farmers as fertiliser after being emptied, became an unreasonable burden for more and more people. In 1880, the RaggingThe city was responsible for the emptying of the lavatories. Two pneumatic machines were to make the process at least a little more hygienic. Between 1887 and 1891, Innsbruck was equipped with a modern high-pressure water pipeline, which could also be used to supply fresh water to flats on higher floors. For those who could afford it, this was the first opportunity to install a flush toilet in their own home.

Greil continued this campaign of modernisation. After decades of discussions, the construction of a modern alluvial sewerage system began in 1903. Starting in the city centre, more and more districts were connected to this now commonplace luxury. By 1908, only the Koatlackler Mariahilf and St. Nikolaus were not connected to the sewerage system. The new abattoir in Saggen also improved hygiene and cleanliness in the city. With a few exceptions, poorly controlled farmyard slaughterhouses were a thing of the past. The cattle arrived at the Sillspitz by train and were professionally slaughtered in the modern facility. Greil also transferred the gasworks in Pradl and the power station in Mühlau to municipal ownership. Street lighting was converted from gas lamps to electric lighting in the 20th century. In 1888, the hospital moved from Maria-Theresienstraße to its current location.

The mayor and municipal council were able to Innsbrucker Renaissance In addition to the growing economic power in the pre-war period, the church could also rely on patrons from the middle classes. While technical innovations and infrastructure were the responsibility of the liberals, the care of the poorest remained with clerically-minded forces, although no longer with the church itself. Baron Johann von Sieberer donated the old people's asylum and the orphanage in Saggen. Leonhard Lang donated the building, previously used as a hotel, to which the town hall moved from the old town in 1897, in return for the town's promise to build a home for apprentices.

In contrast to the booming pre-war era, the period after 1914 was characterised by crisis management. In his final years in office, Greil accompanied Innsbruck through the transition from the Habsburg Monarchy to the Republic, a period characterised above all by hunger, misery, scarcity of resources and insecurity. He was 68 years old when Italian troops occupied the city after the First World War and Tyrol was divided at the Brenner Pass, which was particularly bitter for him as a representative of German nationalism. Although the Social Democrats won their first election in Innsbruck in 1919, Greil remained mayor thanks to the majorities in the municipal council. He died in 1928 as an honorary citizen of the city of Innsbruck at the age of 78. Wilhelm-Greil-Straße was named after him during his lifetime.