Sight of Innsbruck

Innsbruck lies in the valley of Inn, in the immediate foothills of Alps, about 30 kilometres north of the Brenner Pass, the most feasible path to Italy. This river gave the city not only its name (because Innsbuck is a compound meaning bridge over the river Inn), but also predestined its importance. This place was populated for its strategic location for the first time about 3,000 years ago, which was proven by the finds from the Neolithic period and urns with the remains from the Bronze Age. In the 4th century BC, a Roman fortress Vedildena was built here to protect the Roman path connecting Verona with the Brenner Pass and Regensburg. After its destruction, a Premonstratensian monastery Wilten was founded here, which operated a ferry over the river Inn, and later also a colony, which obtained municipal rights in 1205 and whose influence and importance quickly grew, because it controlled a trade route to Italy.

The imperial chateau (Hofburg) connected with the court church (Hofkirche) was established before 1500 by the emperor Maximilian I. of Habsburg as a main residence, in around 1760 the chateau with the park were extended in late Baroque style. In Hofkirche, the emperor Maximilian I. set up a marble mausoleum with wrought iron grilles, surrounded by bronze statues of standing Roman emperors, beginning with Charlemagne, followed by the conquerors of the Holy Land, and ending with the Habsburg monarchs and their wives.

The Premonstratensian monastery Wilten with a Baroque church from the years 1751–1756 was built on the place of an early Christian church from the 5th century and a Romanesque monastery from the 12th century, which was preceded by a Roman fortress Vedildena.

Ambras is a Renaissance chateau, which was built by archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol on the hill southeast of the city. To the chateau he relocated his art collections from Křivoklát, which are still housed here up to this day under the administration of the Viennese art history museum.

Bergisel – Ski bridge on Bergisel was constructed for the Winter Olympics 1964, when the ski jumper Dalibor Motejlek obtained the only (bronze) medal for the Czech Olympic team on it; nowadays the bridge is known thanks to the annually organized Four Hills Tournament.

Restaurants recommended

Alfred Miller‘s Schoneck
A Michelin star restaurant.
6 Weiherburggasse, Innsbruck, tel. +43 512 272728

Chez Nico
Small first-class vegetarian restaurant.
Maria-Theresien-Strasse 49, Innsbruck , tel. +43 6504510624

Lichtblick/360°
Glass rooftop restaurant with a 360° view of the town and mountains and an outside panorama terrace.
Maria-Theresien-Strasse 18, Innsbruck, tel. +43 512566550

Wilten