|
Vienna | Innsbruck
| Salzburg | Linz
| Graz | Bregenz
| Klagenfurt
|
Innsbruck
|
|
Innsbruck
|
The Inn valley has always been very
important for its geographical and trafficable favourable position.
First settlements date back to the Bronze Age. When the Roman
Empire expanded to the North, the valley became an important
military transportation route. They built a fortified road stop,
Veldidena, which is now Innsbruck's district of Wilten. With
the settlements of the Bajuwaren, the area turned Bavarian and
was later given to the Bishops of Brixen, who lost more and
more control of the area to the native Tyrolean counts. In the
year 1187 the name "Innsbrucke", which means Bridge over the
River Inn, is first mentioned. Soon they built out Innsbruck
as the center of their domain.
In the 15th century the emperor Maximilian I made the city to
his center of his new administration-, culture- and finance
politics. He erected the "Goldene Dachl" in the core of Innsbruck's
now historic center, a renaissance oriole, decorated with gold
painted copper shingles. In 1665 Empress Maria Theresia built
the Triumph Gate and expanded the "Hofburg", the residence of
the Habsburgs in Innsbruck.
Nowadays the architecture of this period still characterises
the cityscape.
In 1805 Napoleon's armies defeated Austria and Tyrol was given
to the Bavarians. The Tyrolean resistance fighter Andreas Hofer
managed to free Tyrol from the German and French troops for
a while an in 1814 it was returned to the Austrians. Andreas
Hofer is a Tyrolean National hero and a large painted round
panorama picture, the "Rundgemälde", was dedicated to his
fight on the Mount Isle.
Nowadays Innsbruck, with its 150.000 inhabitants, is, because
of its favourable position in the Alps, an international center
for winter sports and was the host of the Olympic Winter Games
twice, in 1964 and 1976. It is also kind of an unofficial capital
for snowboarding in Europe.
German Language School
in Innsbruck!
|
|
  |
 |
|
