2022 Austria Day 11: Innsbruck Old Town, Nordpark

18 Sep 2022: Day 11

We drove to Innsbruck city. The first thing was to get Innsbruck city card which gave us free entry to 22 museums and attractions, one upward and one downward journey on selected lifts and cable cars in the region and free use of public transport and free use of the Sightseer hop-on hop-off bus.

The Imperial Palace was completed in the year 1500 under Emperor Maximilian I (1459-1519). The Palace is now a world class museum. The museum features an intimate view of the lavish lifestyles and extraordinary wealth of these past rulers and reflects the highest standards of the time.

Innsbruck, the “Bridge over the Inn”, is the capital of Austria’s Tirol and home to one of Europe’s most delightful historic old town centres. Surrounded by the craggy peaks of the Austrian Alps, it scores both as an Alpine playground and as a showcase for Habsburg Empire heritage.

Colourful houses along the Inn River

Innsbruck’s most famous landmark is a roof. But not just any roof. The Goldenes Dachl, the “little golden roof”, is adorned with 2,657 fire-gilt copper tiles that glimmer in the sun and reflect the glory days of Emperor Maximilian I, who made Innsbruck his imperial capital 500 years ago.

Standing more than 51-meter (150-feet) tall, the Gothic structure (Innsbruck City Tower) is an important historical landmark in the Old Town district, which once served as part of the old city hall. The tower was built between 1442 and 1450 as an observation point for sentries who announced the hours of the day. The guards also maintained civic order at night and monitored the city for fires, hostile intruders and other dangerous situations. 

The Court Church is also known by locals as “Schwarzmander Church” thanks to the 28 life-size bronze figures that stand guard, watching over the tomb of Emperor Maximilian I. Strange but true: eight of the “Black Men” (Schwarzmander) are actually women and the Emperor’s tomb is empty. But this beautifully crafted masterpiece is still a work of art and wonderful to behold.

If Innsbruck is the capital of the Alps, the Nordkette mountains are the jewel of the Alps. We took the Innsbruck cable car, called the Nordkettenbahnen to the Alpine mountain peak. We saw snow once again. It was really amazing to see snow on the mountain peak but the city center itself had no snow at all. Although it was not snowing, the snow here was thicker than Hintertux Glacier. 

The Alpine Zoo is the highest themed zoo in Europe. It is directly at the foot of the Nordkette and above the rooftops of Innsbruck. There are many different animals waiting to be seen at the zoo – lynx, eagles, fish, birds as well as wolves and bears. The lovingly laid out zoo covers an area of 4 hectares and is home to around 2,000 animals from 150 different species.