Innsbruck

Innsbruck has got many names: Olympic City, Alpine City, City of Culture.

Altitude: 575 m asl

Innsbruck is located at the Inn river (see pic) and this is also what the emblem of the city illustrates. “Bruck” comes from the German word “Brücke”, which means bridge, that is to say the “bridge over the Inn river”. Its beneficial location and the possibility to cross the Alps has already been appreciated by Romans, who built the important commercial road Verona-Brennero-Augsburg in the 4th century. Nowadays Innsbruck is the fifth largest city of Austria and features about 130,000 inhabitants. The city is surrounded by the Karwendel mountain chain in the north and the Patscherkofel mountain in the south.

Here you are in a city of culture! One of the highlights in the historical centre is the “Goldene Dachl” (Golden Roof), slated with 2,657 fire-gilded copper shingles. Another sight is the “Zeughaus”, the former weapon stockpile, that today serves as museum, as well as the Imperial Court, the former seat of the Counts of Tyrol, with the Hofkirche church and the tomb of Maximilian I. Out-of-town, there is the renaissance castle Ambras, which is really worth a one-day visit…

Sport is, and has always been, very important in Innsbruck. The Berg-Isel ski jump reminds on the Olympic Winter Games of 1964 and 1976. And in 2008 the Tivoli stadium has been venue of several football matches of the European Football Championships. However, it is not only possible to watch, but also to be active, as the “Olympia SkiWorld Innsbruck” offers about 270 km of ski slopes in 8 skiing areas. In summer you can explore the surrounding mountains on a large number of hiking paths, or visit the “Alpenzoo”, in case one day you might not want to climb a peak! ;-)

Our tip: All year round there are several interesting events, for example the Easter Festival Tyrol, the “Tanzsommer”, an international dacing event, the Alpine Folklore Contest, the Four Hills Tournament in ski jumping and the popular New Year’s Eve celebration.