History Of Innsbruck

Innsbruck originally showed evidence of human habitation during the Neolithic era about 4000 BC. Archaeologists have discovered traces of prehistoric cave homes where people hunted, fish, and subsistence farming along the Inn River’s banks. The name Innsbruck comes from the Old High German word “Inprucke,” which means “bridge over the Inn.” Romans built the first bridge in 15 BC as part of their defense mechanism to guard the imperial road Verona-Brenner-Augsburg. This relationship between Italy and Germany was vital for military as well as commercial motives. Furthermore stationed in what is now the Wilten area was a group of Roman troops in a fort called “Veldidena”. Germanic barbarians destroyed the fort when they arrived in Innsbruck in the fifth century AD, therefore eradicating Roman influence there.

Following the fall of the Roman Empire, Innsbruck and the Inn Valley were acquired by Charlemagne for the Frankish Kingdom in 789. The Franks brought Christianity to the area, hence founding several local churches and monasteries. The territory fell under Ottonian-ruled Duchy of Bavaria in the eleventh century. From the year 1180, Innsbruck is first known as “Oeni Pontum,” or “Oeni Pons,” meaning “bridge over the Oeni.” The colony lay on the left side of the Inn, near the Roman bridge from antiquity. In command of the territory was a member of the Andechs family, who also owned the nearby Wilten Abbey. The Counts of Andechs were among the most potent nobles in Holy Roman Empire and Crusade circles. Their fortification, later known as “Neuhaus” or “New House,” located on the other bank of the Inn from the town. The castle had two functions: a fortress against the Hungarian invasion and a residence.

In the thirteenth century, Counts of Gorizia ruled the County of Tyrol including Innsbruck. Under an exchange agreement with Wilten Abbey, the Counts of Gorizia expanded the town in 1281 adding a new area known as “Neustadt,” or “New Town.” The Neustadt lay on the right side of the Inn next to the Neuhaus fortress. Thanks to its walled and guarded design and unique market privileges, the Neustadt became well-known very fast as Innsbruck’s political and commercial center. About 1300, the town also benefited from the paving of the Brenner route, the main connection between Germany and Italy. The flood of traders, artists, and craftspeople attracted to the town’s success brought trade and culture alive. Built in the Neustadt by the town in 1300, one of the largest and oldest hospitals in the region was built.

Innsbruck was included in the domain of the Habsburg dynasty, who ruled Austria for more than 600 years, 1363. Once the Habsburgs relocated their residence there, Innsbruck became into a political and cultural hub of the empire. Duke Friedrich IV, sometimes known as “Friedl with the Empty Pockets,” built the city tower, the Hofburg palace, the Golden Roof, and the Ottoburg stronghold in the fifteenth century. Renowned in Innsbruck, the Golden Roof, sometimes known as the “Goldenes Dachl,” boasts a balcony covered with 2,656 fire-gilded copper tiles. Grandson of Friedrich IV, Emperor Maximilian I would see the plaza from below the balcony. Apart from his tomb and twenty-eight metal monuments of heroes and ancestors, Maximilian I commissioned the Hofkirche, the court church. Many rate the court church among the most remarkable creations of German Renaissance architecture.

Innsbruck was not exempt from the sixteenth and seventeenth century religious conflict and civil wars sweeping Europe. Though the Protestant Schmalkaldic League attacked the city in 1546, Emperor Charles V’s Catholic troops defended it. The Ottoman Turks, who started several raids of Austria and Hungary, also threatened the city. The county divided among the numerous lines of the family after the Tyrolean line of the Habsburgs perished in 1564. The Archduke of Further Austria oversaw the Habsburg domains beyond of Austria from Innsbruck. Originally founded by Jesuits as part of the Counter-Reformation, Innsbruck had a cultural rebirth at this period. Particularly the departments of theology, law, and philosophy thrived at the university. Along with notable baroque buildings like the St. James Cathedral, the Basilica of Wilten, and the Ambras Castle, the city also witnessed construction of

Rising throughout Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries, liberalism and nationalism threatened the authority of the Habsburg monarchy. Innsbruck was involved in many more wars and revolutions including Tyrolean Rebellion, Napoleonic strife, War of the Spanish Succession, and Revolutions of 1848. The city brought significant social and economic changes as industry, commerce, and education all bloomed there. Following Meran’s brief 1849 seat of the province government, the city became Tyrol’s official capital. The city also built several neoclassical and historicist buildings including Congress Hall, the Landhaus, and Triumphal Arch. Once connected to the railway system in 1858, the city become more easily reachable and a popular travel destination. When the city hosted the first Alpine Ski World Championships in 1933, it gained reputation as a winter sports destination.

Over the twentieth and twenty-first century Innsbruck and the world saw significant changes and challenges. Two world wars, the Holocaust, the Cold War, globalization, European integration—all of which the city experienced—had repercussions. The city also produced athletic, scientific, technical, and cultural innovations. The city hosted the Winter Olympics in 1964 and 1976 as well as the Winter Paralympics in 1984 and 1988, therefore proving its variety and quality in winter athletics. The first Winter Youth Olympic Games, which inspired young athletes and disseminated Olympic values, also took place in 2012 in the city. Especially in the fields of medicine, physics, and engineering, the city became well-known as a center of invention and knowledge. Drawing visitors and students from all across the world, the city also developed into a vibrant multicultural center. The city also cared for and valued historic sites like the Old Town, Golden Roof, Hofburg, and Ambras Castle. Innsbruck hosts coexistence of tradition and modernism, culture and environment, local and worldwide points of view.