I made it to Innsbruck and I have to say half the fun was the bus and train ride to get here. The bus meandered thru these small little alpine villages that were so pretty with the Alps towering behind them. We even had to stop because a herd of cows was being moved and one had stopped right in the road and was staring our bus down! These were real country roads! The train ride was also beautiful hugging the mountains and going thru various tunnels. Very scenic!
As I usually do the first day in a new city, I took a tour given by the local TI. It was really informative.
I learned that Innsbruck is Austria’s 4th largest city (population 150,000 but 30,000 are students so it has a younger college vibe) and is a famous ski resort and hiking haven. It’s named for a place where a bridge (“Brucke”) allowed the trade route of salt and silver to cross the Inn river which runs next to the city (Inns-Brucke). By the way, that trade route was called the Via Claudia Augusta and was laid out in 15 B.C. and went over the Brenner Pass connecting Rome and Venice with Austria and Germany. The city has the Alps all around it as you’ll see in the pics and if it’s a clear day tomorrow I plan to take the cable car up to the top of the mountain.
One of the pics I included was called the Triumphal Arch. Most Roman style arches in Europe celebrate heroic victories but this one was for both a wedding and a funeral. The Empress Maria Theresa was marrying off her son Leopoldo II, the archduke of Tuscany, to a Spanish princess. (Maria Theresa had 16 kids and had them all marry VIPs across Europe to shore up her dynasty’s influence… they called her the “mother-in-law of Europe! Lol). Well on the night of the big wedding Maria Theresa’s husband Franz had a heart attack and died. So the arch commemorates the wedding on one side and Franz’s death on the other. Bizarre.
I also included a pic, which was on a wall of one of the buildings, of St Christopher who I just learned is the patron saint of travelers so I’m keeping this pic close at hand! Lol
One of the main attractions here is the Golden Dome (Goldenes Dachl) (pic) built by Emperor Maximilian I. He adorned a balcony of his residence with 2,657 gilded (gold plated) copper tiles. This balcony allowed Maximilian an impressive spot to see and be seen. As a side note, his first wife died in a hunting accident and the royalty forced him to marry again but he wasn’t into it. He actually sent a proxy to his wedding to Princess Bianca Maria Sforza of Milan! And Leonardo Da Vinci was the wedding planner. Crazy!
I also included a pic from the view Maximilian would look at from his balcony. It’s pretty much the same view except one modern exception… if you look down the pedestrian street closely (you may have to zoom in) just to the left of the green dome you’ll see the futuristic Bergisel ski jump aptly nicknamed “The Cobra”.
This too is a somewhat medieval city and I included a pic of the elaborate gold and metal signs that hang high from the buildings either showing a business or family name. Very cool.
Then finally I of course had to visit a church (is it feeling like I’m on some spiritual journey??). This town too has a cathedral dedicated to St James. This being a crossroads town it was not only on the Via Claudia Augusta but also on the medieval Camino de Santiago (Way of St James) pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain. The pic I included from the high Altar of the church was one of Mary and baby Jesus called Mariahilf (Madonna and Child) by Lucas Cranach. The interesting thing is this is a Protestant depiction of Mary, shown not as a crowned deity but as an everyday mother, in a Catholic Church.
Hope everyone had a great Tuesday!
Jeff
The Wandering Italian 