Maximilian zählt zu den bedeutendsten Persönlichkeiten der europäischen und der Innsbrucker Stadtgeschichte. Über Tirol soll der passionierte Jäger gesagt haben: "Tirol ist ein grober Bauernkittel, der aber gut wärmt." Er machte Innsbruck in seiner Regierungszeit zu einem der wichtigsten Zentren des Heiligen Römischen Reichs. „Wer immer sich im Leben kein Gedächtnis macht, der hat nach seinem Tod kein Gedächtnis und derselbe Mensch wird mit dem Glockenton vergessen.“ Dieser Angst wirkte Maximilian höchst erfolgreich aktiv entgegen. Unter ihm spielten Propaganda, Bild und Medien eine immer stärkere Rolle, bedingt auch durch den aufkeimenden Buchdruck. Maximilian nutzte Kunst und Kultur, um sich präsent zu halten. So hielt er sich eine Reichskantorei, eine Musikkapelle, die vor allem bei öffentlichen Auftritten und Empfängen internationaler Gesandter zum Einsatz kam. Das Goldene DachlThe Hofburg, the Hofkirche and the Innsbruck Armoury were largely initiated by him, as was the paving of the streets and alleyways of the old town. He had the trade route laid in what is now Mariahilf and improved the city's water supply. Fire regulations had already existed in Innsbruck since 1510 and the new water pipeline, which had been laid to Innsbruck 25 years earlier under Maximilian, opened up new possibilities for fire protection. In 1499 Maximilian ordered the SalvatorikapelleHe began to rebuild a hospital for the needy inhabitants of Innsbruck, who had no right to a place in the Brotherhood's city hospital. He also began to chip away at the privileges of Wilten Abbey, the largest landowner in the present-day city area. Infrastructure owned by the monastery, such as the mill, sawmill and Sill Canal, were to come under greater control of the prince.

The imperial court, which was always based in Innsbruck, transformed Innsbruck's appearance and attitude. Envoys and politicians from all over Europe up to the Ottoman Empire as well as noblemen had their residences built in Innsbruck or stayed in the town's inns. Culturally, it was above all his second wife Bianca Maria Sforza who patronised Innsbruck. Not only did her wedding take place here, she also resided here for a long time, as the city was closer to her home in Milan than Maximilian's other residences. She brought her entire court with her from the Renaissance metropolis to the German lands north of the Alps.

Under Maximilian, Innsbruck not only became a cultural centre of the empire, the city also boomed economically. Among other things, Innsbruck was the centre of the postal service in the empire. The Thurn und Taxis family was granted a monopoly on this important service and chose Innsbruck as the centre of their private imperial postal service.

Maximilian was able to build on the expertise of the gunsmiths who had already established themselves in the foundries in Hötting under his predecessor Siegmund. The most famous of them was Peter "Löffler“ Laiminger. Die Geschichte der Löfflers ist im Roman Der Meister des siebten Siegels excellently processed.

The Fuggers maintained an office in Innsbruck. In addition to his favoured love of Tyrolean nature, the treasures such as salt from Hall and silver from Schwaz were at least as valuable and useful to him. Maximilian financed his lavish court, his election as king by the electors and his many wars by pledging the country's natural resources to the wealthy merchant family from Augsburg, among other things.

Maximilian was long unpopular with Tyrolean farmers during his lifetime. Maximilian curtailed the peasants' rights to the commons. Logging, hunting and fishing were placed under the control of the sovereign and were no longer common property. This had a negative impact on peasant self-sufficiency. Meat and fish, which had long been part of the diet in the Middle Ages, now became a luxury. It was around 1500 that hunters became poachers.

Many Tyroleans had to enforce the imperial will on the battlefields. Many of Maximilian's battles took place in the immediate vicinity of Tyrol. The wars demanded a great deal from the men fit for military service. This only changed in the last years of his reign. The skilful political move of the Tyrolean Landlibells from 1511 Maximilian was able to buy the affection and loyalty of his subjects and limit the influence of the bishops of Brixen and Trento. Maximilian conceded to the Tyroleans in a kind of constitution that they could only be called up as soldiers for the defence of their own country.

It is difficult to summarise Maximilian's work in Innsbruck. He is said to have been downright enamoured of his province of Tyrol. Of course, declarations of love from an emperor flatter the popular psyche to this day. His material legacy with its many magnificent buildings reinforces this positive image. He turned Innsbruck into an imperial residence city and pushed ahead with the modernisation of the infrastructure. Innsbruck became the centre of the armaments industry and grew economically and spatially. The debts he incurred for this and the state assets he pledged to the Fuggers left their mark on Tyrol after his death, at least as much as the strict laws he imposed on the ordinary population. In today's popular imagination, the hard times are not as present as the Goldene Dachl und die in der Schule gelernten weichen Fakten und Legenden rund um den einflussreichen Kaiser. 2019 überschlug man sich mit den Feierlichkeiten zum 500. Todestag des für Innsbruck wohl wichtigsten Habsburgers. Der Wiener wurde wohlwollend eingebürgert. Salzburg hat Mozart, Innsbruck Maximilian, einen Kaiser, den Tiroler, ob seiner damals nicht ungewöhnlichen Leidenschaft für die Jagd passend zur gewünschten Identität Innsbrucks als rauen Gesellen, der am liebsten in den Bergen ist, angepasst haben. Sein markantes Gesicht prangt heute auf allerhand Konsumartikeln, vom Käse bis zum Skilift steht der Kaiser für allerhand Profanes Pate. Lediglich für politische Agenden lässt er sich weniger gut vor den Karren spannen als Andreas Hofer. Wahrscheinlich ist es für den Durchschnittsbürger einfacher, sich mit einem revolutionären Wirt zu identifizieren als mit einem Kaiser.

There is hardly an uncrowned person who had a greater influence on the history of Europe until the 20th century than Jakob Fugger (1459-1525). Not only did his lifetime coincide with that of Emperor Maximilian, the fates of the two men were closely linked. The history of Tyrol was also shaped by the most important financial magnate of his time.

An early form of financial capitalism emerged in the region between Florence, Venice and Milan. Banking began its triumphal march through Europe here in the late Middle Ages. Merchants who did not want to carry vast amounts of cash with them needed so-called bills of exchange in order to carry out their transactions. They therefore began to set up branch offices in the major trading cities. Italian financial institutions also had branches in Innsbruck from the High Middle Ages onwards.

Monarchs and aristocrats in Europe financed their courts and warfare through tithes. This tax was paid by the peasants within the feudal system. Warfare in particular had become more expensive, fuelled by modern firearms. Therefore, this tithe was often no longer sufficient. The legitimisation as God's representative on earth had worked for monarchs up to this point, but around 1500, the sounding coin and interest in the form of financial capitalism slowly but surely began to replace God as the ultimate authority.

Jakob Fugger came from a merchant family in Augsburg. He and his brothers traded cotton with northern Italian cities. On his trading trips to Venice, Fugger learnt the art of double-entry bookkeeping and the intricacies of progressive Italian finance. He quickly realised that there was more to be gained from money transactions and loans than from cotton.

Jakob Fugger's relationship with the House of Habsburg, and in particular with Tyrol, began to intensify in 1487. The Tyrolean sovereign Siegmund was defeated in a military conflict with the Republic of Venice. In order to pay his debt of 100,000 florins to the Mediterranean power, he borrowed money from the Fuggers. In return, he issued promissory notes, which he covered by pledging the Schwaz silver mine to his lenders. Schwaz was the largest silver mine in the world before the development of the American silver mines. The Fuggers sold the Schwaz silver to the Hall mint, which they also owned, and in turn lent these coins to Duke Siegmund. A special kind of cycle was born.

However, this was not the end of the Fuggers' political influence - in fact, it was only just beginning. When the Tyrolean estates deposed Siegmund in 1490 due to his disastrous business behaviour, Maximilian I succeeded him as Prince of Tyrol. Fugger was clever enough to back the new ruler. The word credit, which goes back to the Latin credereThe choice shows that he believed in Maximilian. Fugger believed in a powerful Maximilian as his best asset. He financed Maximilian's election as Holy Roman Emperor in 1493, thereby securing his influence. When Maximilian died in 1519, Fugger repeated this and used his financial power to have Maximilian's grandson Charles V elected emperor. It was also Fugger who sponsored the Vienna double wedding, Maximilian's masterpiece of marriage policy, which made Hungary part of the Habsburg Empire.

It is estimated that at the time of his death, Fugger's financial empire handled around 50% of the Tyrol's state budget and 10% of the assets of the Heiligen Römischen Reiches owned. Jakob Fugger was elevated to the nobility as an expression of his solidarity and probably also of his obligations. His officials managed mines in Tyrol, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Spain, financed trading expeditions throughout the then known world and numerous wars in Europe. Some historians consider Jakob Fugger to be the richest man in world history. How high his fortune was is difficult to convert to today's standards. When the FAZ made an attempt in 2016, it came up with 300 billion dollars.

In Innsbruck, the Palais Fugger-Taxis and a small alley between Maria-Theresien-Straße and Landhausplatz are reminders of the Fuggers.

Today, Innsbruck is known as a business centre primarily for its university, hospital, administration and tourism. This was not always the case. The first early form of industrialisation began to develop in Innsbruck in the 15th century. Bell and weapon founders such as the Löfflers set up factories in Hötting, Mühlau and Dreiheiligen, which were among the leading factories of their time. Industry not only changed the rules of the social game with the influx of new workers and their families, it also had an impact on the appearance of Innsbruck. The workers, unlike the farmers, were not the subjects of any master. Capital from outside came into the city. Houses and churches were built. The large workshops changed the smell and sound of the city. The smelting works were noisy, the smoke from the furnaces polluted the air.

The second wave of industrialisation came late in Innsbruck compared to other European regions. Members of the lesser nobility invested the money they had received after 1848 as compensation for their land as part of the land relief in industry and business. Farmers without land travelled from the surrounding area to Innsbruck to find work. In 1838, the spinning machine arrived in Pradl over the Arlberg via the Dornbirn company Herrburger & Rhomberg. H&R had acquired a plot of land on the Sillgründe. Thanks to the river's water power, the site was ideal for the heavy machinery used in the textile industry. More than 20 companies used the Sill Canal around 1900, and the noise and exhaust fumes from the engines were hell for the neighbours, as a newspaper article from 1912 shows:

„Entrüstung ruft bei den Bewohnern des nächst dem Hauptbahnhofe gelegenen Stadtteiles der seit einiger Zeit in der hibler´schen Feigenkaffeefabrik aufgestellte Explosionsmotor hervor. Der Lärm, welchen diese Maschine fast den ganzen Tag ununterbrochen verbreitet, stört die ganz Umgebung in der empfindlichsten Weise und muß die umliegenden Wohnungen entwerten. In den am Bahnhofplatze liegenden Hotels sind die früher so gesuchten und beliebten Gartenzimmer kaum mehr zu vermieten. Noch schlimmer als der ruhestörende Lärm aber ist der Qualm und Gestank der neuen Maschine…“

Just like 400 years earlier, the Second Industrial Revolution changed the city forever. Neighbourhoods such as Pradl and Wilten grew rapidly. While the new wealthy business class had villas built in Wilten, Pradl and Saggen and middle-class employees lived in apartment blocks in the same neighbourhoods, the workers were housed in workers' hostels and mass accommodation.

After the revolutionary year of 1848 and the new circumstances, the everyday lives of many Innsbruck residents became even more bourgeois. Innsbruck experienced the kind of gentrification that can be observed today in trendy urban neighbourhoods such as Prenzlauer Berg in Berlin. In one of his texts, the Innsbruck writer Josef Leitgeb tells us how people experienced the urbanisation of the formerly rural area:

„…viel fremdes, billig gekleidetes Volk, in wachsenden Wohnblocks zusammengedrängt, morgens, mittags und abends die Straßen füllend, wenn es zur Arbeit ging oder von ihr kam, aus Werkstätten, Läden, Fabriken, vom Bahndienst, die Gesichter oft blaß und vorzeitig alternd, in Haltung, Sprache und Kleidung nichts Persönliches mehr, sondern ein Allgemeines, massenhaft Wiederholtes und Wiederholbares: städtischer Arbeitsmensch. Bahnhof und Gaswerk erschienen als Kern dieser neuen, unsäglich fremden Landschaft.“

The change from rural life in the village to the city involved more than just a change of location. While the landlord in the countryside was still the master of the private lives of his farmhands and maidservants and was able to determine their lifestyles up to the point of sexuality by releasing them for marriage, they were now at least somewhat freer individually. Beda Weber wrote about this in 1851:

„Their social circles are without constraint, and there is a distinctly metropolitan flavour that is not so easy to find elsewhere in Tyrol."

The hitherto unknown phenomenon of leisure time emerged and, together with disposable income, favoured hobbies for a larger number of people. Clubs of all kinds emerged. Parks such as the English Garden at Ambras Castle were no longer exclusively accessible to the aristocracy, but served as recreational areas for the general public. New green spaces such as Rapoldipark and Waltherpark were created.

The existing rifts between the city and the surrounding area deepened, which can still be seen to this day. Anyone travelling from the university city of Innsbruck to one of the nearby side valleys will find a completely different world. Starting with the spoken dialect, the Stubai Valley, just a few kilometres south of Innsbruck, is very different from the provincial capital, not to mention the more distant side valleys such as the Ötztal in the west or the Zillertal in the east of Tyrol.