Innsbruck Austria :: Innsbruck Hotels

Innsbruck Austria, the Tirolean capital, and twice home of the Winter Olympics, is the center of another internationally renowned ski complex comprising six major resorts. An 800-year-old university town, it has numerous fine buildings dating from Austria 's cultural Renaissance in the 16th-18th centuries, and a 12th-century castle. When Kaiser Maximilian based the imperial court here in the 1490s, the city became a European center of culture and politics.

Innsbruck 's Old Town is a small area of sturdy medieval houses, many attractively painted in pastel colors and supported by sloping earthquake buttresses. The main thoroughfare of the Old Town is the broad strip of Herzog-Friedrich-Strasse, which eventually opens out into a central plaza lined with arcades. Beyond, a labyrinth of alleyways invites aimless strolling. The Golden Roof was built by Archduke Friedrich IV in the early 15th century as the residence of the Tirolean sovereigns. The Golden Roof actually is the three-story balcony on the central plaza at the heart of the Old Town . The late Gothic oriels are capped with 2,738 gold-plated copper tiles. It was constructed for Emperor Maximilian I to serve as a royal box where he could sit in luxury and enjoy tournaments in the square below. Completed at the dawn of the 16th century, the Golden Roof was built in honor of Maximilian's second marriage, to Bianca Maria Sforza of Milan (Maximilian was a ruler who expanded his territory through marriage, not conquest). Not wishing to alienate the allies gained by his first marriage, to Maria of Burgundy, he had an image of himself between the two women painted on his balcony.

Collection of Alpine art covering two centuries. Exhibits include numerous relief and friezes, examples of Alpine cartography, historic mountaineering equipment and mountain hut models.

Rather than play host to a range of exotic creatures, this haven only contains animals which originate from the Alpine region. Visitors to the ALPINE ZOO can see over 2,000 different animals ranging from the tiny golden cockerel weighing a mere 5 grams, to mammoth bison and the bearded vulture with a wing-span of over 3m. Otters play in the water and various weird and wonderful fish can be viewed in the extraordinary cold-water aquarium.

The Castle of innsbruck austria was built by Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria (1529-1595), Count of Tirol, in the 16th century. It's divided into a lower and an upper castle set in the remains of a medieval fortress. This was Ferdinand's favorite residence and the center of his court's cultural life.

The lower castle in innsbruck austria was planned and constructed by the Archduke as a museum for his various collections, including arms and armor, art, and books, all of which can be seen today. The Wunderkammer (Gallery of Wonders) contains a display of exotic objects like coral, ivory, a rhinoceros' horn and other artifacts brought back to Europe by the early explorers. The upper part of the palace houses the Habsburg's Portrait Gallery, an awe-inspiring collection of works by the likes of Lukas Cranach, Anton Mor, Tizian, Van Dyck and Diego Velasquez. The Castle's most striking and precious feature is the George's Altar of Emperor Maximilian I.

The Nordkettenbahn Cableway whisks skiers and ramblers all the way up Nordpark-Seegrube, 1,905m above sea level. The view over the Inn Valley and Innsbruck austria is breathtaking, particularly from the Seegrube Restaurant. Should those heights not be dizzy enough, there is also the option of carrying on to the 2,334m high Hafelekar Top Terminal, from where there are uninterrupted panoramic views of the Zillertal, Stubai and Otztal Alps. Superb views are provided northward into the Karwendel Alpine Park, the biggest Nature Preserve in the Eastern Alps .

In the summer, you can ride up to the Hafelekar Top Terminal and hike along the scenic Goethe Trail until you reach the quaint Pfeishutte Mountain Hut. In the winter, the Nordpark-Seegrube Resort caters to skiers and riders of all ability levels-from impeccably groomed slopes with views of Innsbruck austria, to the steeps that will keep your head down.