Innsbruck, Austria History
Innsbruck, capital of Tyrol, Austria, in the Inn Valley, on the alluvial cone of the Sill which flows here, 574 m above sea level, city with its own statute and administrative seat of the Innsbruck-Land district, 104.8 km 2, (2019) 132 100 residents.
Innsbruck is bordered in the north by the steep northern chain of the Karwendel Mountains (Brandjoch 2,599 m above sea level, Rumerspitze 2,454 m above sea level, Hafelekarspitze 2,334 m above sea level), in the south by the foothills of the central chain (Patscherkofel 2,246 m above sea level) towering above sea level, Glungezer 2 677 m above sea level) and the Saile (2 403 m above sea level).
According to extrareference, Innsbruck is the seat of the regional authorities, the Higher Regional Court for Tyrol and Vorarlberg and a regional court, Telekom Austria AG for Tyrol and Vorarlberg and a federal railway directorate as well as the seat of a Catholic bishop. Innsbruck is the cultural center of Tyrol with the Leopold Franzens University (founded 1669), MCI (Management Center Innsbruck), Medical University (founded 2004), vocational educational academy, higher technical federal teaching and research institute, higher educational institute for tourism and hotel management school, state conservatory and numerous Museums (including Tyrolean State Museum Ferdinandeum, Tyrolean Folk Art Museum, Alpine Association, City Museum, “Goldenes Dachl – Maximilianeum”, Tyrol Panorama, Andechsgalerie), the state, city and diocesan archives, state theater, ORF state studio, botanical garden and alpine zoo.
As the trade and transport center of Tyrol, Innsbruck is also a congress and trade fair city (the Austrian trade fair for tourism and the trade fair for alpine technologies take place every year) and one of the most important tourist destinations in Austria. Trade and industry (especially in an industrial zone in the east of the city) include metal processing, mechanical engineering, electrical, wood, textile and clothing industries, the food and beverage industry (including breweries) as well as printing and bell foundries.
Innsbruck is located on the Westbahn (Vienna – Arlberg – Feldkirch) with a railway bypass (especially for freight transport) and a 12.756 km long Inn Valley tunnel to the Brennerbahn (to Italy). The city is the starting point of the Karwendelbahn (to Mittenwald – Garmisch-Partenkirchen), the Stubaitalbahn (to Fulpmes) and the local low mountain railway to Igls. Innsbruck is touched by the Inntal and Brenner autobahns and has an airport. Cable cars lead to the Hafelekarspitze (in the lower section of the funicular from the banks of the Inn to the Hungerburg) and to the Patscherkofel (from Igls). For the Olympic Winter Games in 1964 and 1976, large sports facilities (including in the neighboring village of Axams) and residential buildings (Olympic Village) were built together with the neighboring villages and their mountain railways and lifts as well as the ski jump on Bergisel, Bobsleigh run and Olympic ice stadium make Innsbruck an important center for winter sports; In 2000 the new sports stadium “Tivoli” was opened.
History
The heights around Innsbruck were already settled in the Bronze Age (finds of the urn field culture of the 13th / 12th century BC in the suburbs of Hötting and Mühlau), in Roman times the Veldidena stage station on the Via Claudia Augusta followed on the southern edge of the valley floor (today’s district of Wilten, since 1904 part of Innsbruck). The foundations of today’s city were laid by the Bavarian Counts of Andechs with the establishment of a market on the left (northern) bank of the Inn (today’s St. Nikolaus district) and the construction of a bridge between 1133 and 1180 (around 1167 first mentioned as Inspruk). After the acquisition of the area south of the Inn from Wilten Abbey (1180), the market was expanded via the bridge (“trans pontem”) and the city elevation between 1187 and 1204 (confirmation document 1239).
After the Andechs became extinct (1248) Innsbruck came to the County of Tyrol and in 1363 came with this to the Habsburgs, who moved their residence from Burg Tirol (near Meran) to Innsbruck around 1420; As the residence of the Tyrolean line of the Habsburgs (1420–90 and 1564–1665), the city received special support from its rulers, including. as the seat of the Upper and Lower Austrian administrative authorities. The university was founded in 1669. 1806-14 the city belonged to Bavaria; In 1809, A. Hofer had his headquarters in Innsbruck during the Tyrolean struggle for freedom. Since 1858 (connection to the European railway network) Innsbruck, officially the state capital again since 1849, has enjoyed a steady upswing as a commercial, administrative and transport center (interrupted by war damage in 1943–45).
