Innsbruck
Austria
Innsbruck
is the Capital of Tyrol in western Austria and it is the 5th largest
city in Austria. Innsbruck offers an
array of splendid architectural views including Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque
and Neoclassical periods. We did a
walking tour and here are some of the sites as we toured.
There was a huge bicycle race being held in Innsbruck while we were there which blocked many of the roads. Getting around was a bit of a challenge!
The
Golden Roof (Goldenes Dachlhas) has an interesting story; The Golden Roof is
located in the center of Old Town (Altstadt) the historic center of Innsbruck. The
name is resulting from the 2,657 gilded copper shingles that are on the top
giving a radiant light when the sun shines on it. The structure was built in 1500 by Emperor
Maximilian I.
During
World War II Innsbruck suffered from both occupation by Axis powers and aerial
bombing from the Allies. In the mid and late war years, the city was hit on
multiple occasions from Allied bombs which devastated many surrounding
buildings of the Old Town area where the Golden Roof was located. To protect this treasure, the people of
Innsbruck encased the entire Golden Roof structure in a thick bunker to protect
it from damage. At the War’s end, with huge piles of rubble surrounding the
structure, including a deep gash near the top left side of the bunker, the
people of Innsbruck removed the bunker; amidst the surrounding ruins of war the
preserved Golden Roof shone brightly and became a symbol of hope during
Innsbruck’s rebuilding. I had to do a lot of research to try to find a picture of the bunker built around the Golden Roof but finally found one. My thanks to Friedrich Nickel.
Original 1945 Photo Source: Goldenes Dachl mit Luftchutzmauer, Friedrich Nickel, 1945, schwartz-weiss Negativ, Sammlung Walter Kreutz KR/NE-3486.
Source Book: “zur Stadtgeschichte Innsbrucks,” page 120, Ingrid Bubestinger and Gertraud Zeindl.
Innsbruck
and it’s neighboring farming village of Seefeld in Tyrol has hosted many winter
sports events over the years including the Winter Olympic Games in 1964 and
1976, the 1st Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2012,
the Air & Style Snowboard Contest from 1994 to 1999 and 2008 and the
Ice Hockey World Championship in 2005, just to name a few! Although we were there when there was
absolutely no snow we were still able to see some of the Olympic sites
including a Ski Jump, Downhill Ski Run, Toboggan Runs and other buildings for
the Olympic Events. While in Seefeld we
went for a horse drawn carriage ride through the Tyrolian forest and farm
land.
Swarovski Crystal has a magnificent store in Innsbruck
and of course we had to visit! You’ll
see from the photos below that they are very entertaining with their crystals
and the company runs a crystal-themed museum, Swarovski Crystal Worlds, at its
original Wattens site near Innsbruck, Austria. The Crystal Worlds Centre is
fronted by a grass-covered head, the mouth of which is a fountain. Crystal Worlds Centre houses exhibitions
related to, or inspired by, the crystals but do not include explanations of how
the designs are made, produced or finished. The museum is the second most
visited tourist attraction in Austria.
We were not able to go to the Museum but I’ll bet it is amazing!
After dinner we
took in an authentic Tyrolean program including folk music, dancing and
yodeling. The performers all wore
authentic Tyrolean dress. We really
enjoyed the show and here are a few photos from the show.
More coming soon 😊
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