An Alpine City of Cultural Wealth

All important eras – from the Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance to the k+k monarchy – take the visitors on a journey back in time. Lovers of modern art will find plenty of galleries and special exhibitions here for a rewarding visit. It’s the diversity that makes Innsbruck interesting. Innsbruck’s Old Town is a small area of sturdy medieval houses, many attractively painted in pastel colors and supported by sloping earthquake buttresses. The main thoroughfare of the Old Town is the broad strip of Herzog-Friedrich-Street, which eventually opens out into a central plaza lined with arcades. Beyond, a labyrinth of alleyways invites aimless strolling.

Innsbruck was two-time host of the Olympic Winter Games (1964 and 1976) and has a history of 800 years. The city offers art treasures and is famous for buildings such as the Golden Roof, the Hofburg and Ambras Castle. It combines tradition and modernity: city strolls and mountaineering, Baroque operas and folklore music, Tuxedos and Lederhosen.

The Imperial Palace was erected by Archduke Siegmund the Rich in late Gothic style around 1460. It was rebuilt in the Baroque style (but with rococo detailing) between 1754 and 1773 on orders of Empress Maria Theresa. The Palace, flanked by a set of domed towers, is a fine example of Baroque secular architecture. The structure has four wings and a splendid two-story Riesensaal (Giant´s Hall), painted in white and gold and filled with portraits of the Hapsburgs.

Amidst the charming Old Town, a classic Austrian hybrid of Gothic and Baroque, you will find Innsbruck's greatest tourist attraction and certainly its most characteristic landmark: The Golden Roof.
Innsbruck’s Old Town is a small area of sturdy medieval houses, many attractively painted in pastel colors and supported by sloping earthquake buttresses. The main thoroughfare of the Old Town is the broad strip of Herzog-Friedrich-Street, which eventually opens out into a central plaza lined with arcades.