IMPERIAL
PALACE - INNSBRUCK
Hofburg Court Palace of the Habsburgs
The
Innsbruck Imperial Palace is one of the most important historical
buildings in Austria.
The seat of the Tyrolean provincial rulers under
the Habsburg Archduke Sigmund “The Rich” and expanded under
the Emperor Maximillian I, the court palace of the Alps historic capital
remains in its original shape, though only a few of the major rooms can
be viewed in renovated form as a massive project is underway to restore
the entire palace to its days of glory. The palace in its current form
is mostly of the late Viennese baroque style from the mid-1700s favored
by the Empress Maria Theresa. Outside the city is the Renaissance era palace of Ambras (see Castle Ambras).
The
great rooms which can be seen at the Innsbruck Hofburg Imperial Palace
are the Giant’s Hall, the ballroom with glorious painted
ceiling frescoes by court painter Anton Maulpertsch depicting Habsburg
triumphs and a portrait gallery of imperial personages, Maria Theresa
and her family on the ornate walls above the glistening parquet marble
floor. Selected state rooms with representative furnishings from the
Empire, Regency and Rococo periods illustrate life in the palace under
the Habsburgs. The Heraldic Tower with its gothic style origins is devoted
to Maximilian I. The Palace Chapel, was originally just a ceremonial
hall where Maria Theresa’s husband Emperor Francis I died suddenly
during the wedding of their son Leopold II to Spain’s Maria Ludovica
(see Smallest Shop of the Stiftgasse). The widowed empress
had the room converted to a chapel to honor her husband’s
memory and then never set foot herself again in the Innsbruck Palace
(see Maria
Theresa Habsburg Tomb Vienna). The palace is still used
today for Austrian federal and Tyrolian state events and concerts.
Visiting the Innsbruck Hofburg Palace
The Innsbruck
Hofburg Imperial Palace is open every day from 9am to 5pm with the
last admission
at 4:30. Admission for adults is 5.50€ and
1.10€ for kids. The palace is across the street from Innsbruck’s
Hofkirche with its magnificent collection statuary of the kings and queens
of Habsburg history and fancied lineage (see Innsbruck Hofkirche
Kings and Queens). The palace has a café and is included with the Innsbruck
Card. Guided tours of Innsbruck can
be taken for 10€ starting at 12:15pm from the tourism office. © Bargain
Travel Europe
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Hofburg
Palace
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SEE ALSO:
LINZ - CAPITAL OF CULTURE ON THE DANUBE 09
SCHONBRUNN IMPERIAL PALACE - VIENNA
