In the 1990s, an Austrian television series caused a scandal. The Piefke Saga written by the Tyrolean author Felix Mitterer, describes the relationship between the German holidaymaker family Sattmann and their hosts in a fictitious Tyrolean holiday resort in four bizarrely amusing episodes. Despite all the scepticism about tourism in its current, sometimes extreme, excesses, it should not be forgotten that tourism was an important factor in Innsbruck and the surrounding area in the 19th century, driving the region's development in the long term, and not just economically.

Initially, it was the mountain peaks of the Alps that attracted visitors. For a long time, the area between Mittenwald in Bavaria and Italy was only a kind of transit corridor. Although Innsbruck's inns and innkeepers were already earning money from merchants and the entourage of the court's aristocratic guests in the Middle Ages and early modern times, there was still no question of tourism as we understand it today. In addition to a growing middle class, this also required a new attitude towards the Alps. For a long time, the mountains had been a pure threat to the people. It was mainly the British who set out to conquer the world's mountains after the oceans. From the late 18th century, the era of Romanticism, news of the natural beauty of the Alps spread through travelogues.

In addition to the alpine attraction, it was the wild and exotic Natives Tirols, die international für Aufsehen sorgten. Der bärtige Revoluzzer namens Andreas Hofer, der es mit seinem Bauernheer geschafft hatte, Napoleons Armee in die Knie zu zwingen, erzeugte bei den Briten, den notorischen Erzfeinden der Franzosen, ebenso großes Interesse wie bei deutschen Nationalisten nördlich der Alpen, die in ihm einen frühen Protodeutschen sahen. Die Tiroler galten als unbeugsamer Menschenschlag, archetypisch und ungezähmt, ähnlich den Germanen unter Arminius, die das Imperium Romanum herausgefordert hatten. Die Beschreibungen Innsbrucks aus der Feder des Autors Beda Weber (1798 – 1858) und andere Reiseberichte in der boomenden Presselandschaft dieser Zeit trugen dazu bei, ein attraktives Bild Innsbrucks zu prägen.

Nun mussten die wilden Alpen nur noch der Masse an Touristen zugänglich gemacht werden, die zwar gerne den frühen Abenteurern auf ihren Expeditionen nacheifern wollten, deren Risikobereitschaft und Fitness mit den Wünschen nicht schritthalten konnten. Der German Alpine Club eröffnete 1869 eine Sektion Innsbruck, nachdem der 1862 Österreichische Alpenverein wenig erfolgreich war. Angetrieben vom großdeutschen Gedanken vieler Mitglieder fusionierten die beiden Institutionen 1873. Der Alpenverein ist bis heute bürgerlich geprägt, sein sozialdemokratisches Pendant sind die Naturfreunde. The network of trails grew through its development, as did the number of huts that could accommodate guests. The Tyrolean theologian Franz Senn (1831 - 1884) and the writer Adolf Pichler (1819 - 1900) were instrumental in surveying Tyrol and creating maps. Contrary to popular belief, the Tyroleans were not born mountaineers, but had to be taught the skills to conquer the mountains. Until then, mountains had been one thing above all: dangerous and arduous in everyday agricultural life. Climbing them had hardly occurred to anyone before. The Alpine clubs also trained mountain guides.

From the turn of the century, skiing came into fashion alongside hiking and mountaineering. There were no lifts yet, and to get up the mountains you had to use the skins that are still glued to touring skis today.

The number of guests increased slowly but surely. In addition to the number of travellers who had an impact on life in the small town of Innsbruck, it was also the internationality of the visitors who gradually gave Innsbruck a new look. New hotels, cafés, inns, shops and means of transport were needed to meet the needs of the guests. The working world of many people changed. In June 1896, the Innsbrucker Nachrichten:

„Der Fremdenverkehr in Innsbruck bezifferte sich im Monat Mai auf 5647 Personen. Darunter befanden sich (außer 2763 Reisenden aus Oesterreich-Ungarn) 1974 Reichsdeutsche, 282 Engländer, 65 Italiener, 68 Franzosen, 53 Amerikaner, 51 Russen und 388 Personen aus verschiedenen anderen Ländern.“

Mit dem Grand Hotel Europa hatte 1869 auch in Innsbruck ein Haus ersten Ranges geöffnet und löste die oft in die Jahre gekommenen Gasthöfe in der Altstadt als die Unterkünfte erster Wahl ab. 1892 folgte mit dem Reformhotel Habsburger Hof ein zweiter großer Betrieb, der mit der Nähe zum Bahnhof warb. Was heute eher als Wettbewerbsnachteil angesehen würde, war zu dieser Zeit ein Verkaufsargument. Bahnhöfe waren die Zentren moderner Städte. Die Bahnhofsplätze waren keine überfüllten Verkehrsknotenpunkte wie heute, sondern mondäne und gepflegte Orte vor den architektonisch anspruchsvoll gestalteten Hallen, in denen die Züge ankamen. Der Habsburg Court konnte seinen Gästen auch bereits elektrisches Licht bieten, eine absolute Sensation.

Innsbruck and the surrounding villages were also known for spa holidays, the predecessor of today's wellness, where wealthy clients recovered from various illnesses in an Alpine environment. The Igler Hof, at that time Grandhotel Igler Hof and the Sporthotel Igls, still partly exude the chic of that time. Michael Obexer, the founder of the spa town of Igls and owner of the Grand Hotel, was a tourism pioneer. There were two spas in Egerdach near Amras and in Mühlau. The facilities were not as well-known as the hotspots of the time in Bad Ischl, Marienbad or Baden near Vienna, as can be seen in old photos and postcards, but the treatments with brine, steam, gymnastics and even magnetism were in line with the standards of the time, some of which are still popular with spa and wellness holidaymakers today. Bad Egerdach near Innsbruck had been known as a healing spring since the 17th century. The spring was said to cure gout, skin diseases, anaemia and even the nervous disorder known in the 19th century as neurasthenia, the predecessor of burnout. The institution's chapel still exists today opposite the SOS Children's Village. The baths in Mühlau have existed since 1768 and were converted into an inn and spa in the style of the time in the course of the 19th century. The former bathing establishment is now a residential building worth seeing in Anton-Rauch-Straße.

1888 gründeten die Profiteure des Fremdenverkehrs in Innsbruck die Commission for the promotion of tourism, den Vorgänger des heutigen Tourismusverbands. Durch vereinte Kräfte in Werbung und Qualitätssicherung bei den Beherbergungsbetrieben hofften die einzelnen Betriebe, den Tourismus weiter anzukurbeln. Ab 1880 sorgten neben Werbung in Zeitungen auch Messen dafür, dass Innsbruck und Tirol international Bekanntheit erlangten.

„Alljährlich mehrt sich die Zahl der überseeischen Pilger, die unser Land und dessen gletscherbekrönte Berge zum Verdrusse unserer freundnachbarlichen Schweizer besuchen und manch klingenden Dollar zurücklassen. Die Engländer fangen an Tirol ebenso interessant zu finden wie die Schweiz, die Zahl der Franzosen und Niederländer, die den Sommer bei uns zubringen, mehrt sich von Jahr zu Jahr.“

Postkarten waren die ersten massentauglichen Influencer der Tourismusgeschichte. Viele Betriebe ließen ihre eigenen Postkarten drucken. Verlage produzierten unzählige Sujets der beliebtesten Sehenswürdigkeiten der Stadt. Es ist interessant zu sehen, was damals als sehenswert galt und auf den Karten abgebildet wurde. Anders als heute waren es vor allem die zeitgenössisch modernen Errungenschaften der Stadt: der Leopoldbrunnen, das Stadtcafé beim Theater, die Kettenbrücke, die Zahnradbahn auf die Hungerburg oder die 1845 eröffnete Stefansbrücke an der Brennerstraße, die als Steinbogen aus Quadern die Sill überquerte, waren die Attraktionen. Auch Andreas Hofer war ein gut funktionierendes Testimonial auf den Postkarten: Der Gasthof Schupfen in dem Andreas Hofer sein Hauptquartier hatte und der Berg Isel mit dem großen Andreas-Hofer-Denkmal waren gerne abgebildete Motive.

1914 gab es in Innsbruck 17 Hotels, die Gäste anlockten. Dazu kamen die Sommer- und Winterfrischler in Igls und dem Stubaital. Der Erste Weltkrieg ließ die erste touristische Welle mit einem Streich versanden. Gerade als sich der Fremdenverkehr Ende der 1920er Jahre langsam wieder erholt hatte, kamen mit der Wirtschaftskrise und Hitlers 1000 Mark blockThe next setback came in 1933, when he tried to put pressure on the Austrian government to end the ban on the NSDAP.

It required the Economic miracle in the 1950s and 1960s to revitalise tourism in Innsbruck after the destruction. After the arduous war years and the reconstruction of the European economy, Tyrol and Innsbruck were able to slowly but steadily establish tourism as a stable source of income. Tourism not only brought in foreign currency, but also enabled the locals to create a new image of themselves both internally and externally. The war enemies of past decades became guests and hosts.

The railway came to Europe at breakneck speed. In 1830, the world's first railway line was opened between Liverpool and Manchester. Just a few decades later, the Tyrol, which had been somewhat remote from the main trade routes for some time, was also connected to the world with spectacular railway constructions across the Alps. While travelling had previously been expensive, long and arduous journeys in carriages, on horseback or on foot, the ever-expanding railway network meant unprecedented comfort and speed.

In 1858, Innsbruck was connected to Munich by railway. Twenty years earlier, Alois von Negrelli (1799 - 1858), whose work on the Suez Canal is considered one of the greatest technical achievements of the 19th century, had already built a "Expert opinion on the railway from Innsbruck via Kufstein to the royal Bavarian border at the Otto Chapel near Kiefersfelden“ vorgelegt. Negrelli hatte in jungen Jahren in der k.k. Baudirektion Innsbruck Dienst getan, kannte die Stadt also sehr gut. Als Platz für den Hauptbahnhof hatte er die Triumphpforte und den Hofgarten ins Spiel gebracht. In einem Brief äußerte er sich über die Bahnlinie durch seine ehemalige Heimat mit diesen Worten:

"...I also hear with the deepest sympathy that the railway from Innsbruck to Kufstein is being taken seriously, as the Laage is very suitable for this and the area along the Inn is so rich in natural products and so populated that I cannot doubt its success, nor will I fail to take an active part in it myself and through my business friends when it comes to the purchase of shares. You have no idea of the new life that such an endeavour will awaken in the other side..."

From 1867, the railway also ran over the Brenner Pass. Until then, Innsbruck was a terminus station for trains arriving from the east. The station forecourt became one of the new centres. Engineer Carl von Etzel (1812 - 1865), who did not live to see the opening of the Brenner Railway due to his early death, had achieved a minor miracle of modernisation with the planning of the project.

With the opening of the Arlberg railway in 1884, Innsbruck had once again become a transport hub between Germany and Italy, France, Switzerland and Vienna.

The Stubai Valley railway was opened in 1904 and the Mittenwald railway in 1912. The steel truss bridge as part of the Mittenwald railway, which crosses the Inn at the Karwendelbögen in the west of the town, is an impressive testimony to the outstanding engineering achievements of the time, which we take for granted today. Josef Riehl planned both projects with the company he founded in 1870 (1842 - 1917). Born in Bolzano, Riehl had gained his first experience on the Brenner railway under Etzel. He was later involved in the Pustertal railway in what is now South Tyrol and railway projects in the east of the monarchy. The Karwendel railway, including all the tunnels, viaducts, work on the mountainous terrain and his own power station on the Ruetzbach, was his masterpiece. He invested his private fortune in the groundwork for this huge project, which could only be realised with the Austrian-Bavarian state treaty.

The railway was probably the most directly perceptible feature of progress for a large part of the population, and not just from a purely technical perspective. It brought immense social change. Innsbruck, which had been remote for some time due to its location in the middle of the inaccessible Alps. Labourers, students, soldiers and tourists flocked to the city in large numbers, bringing with them new lifestyles and ideas. By 1870, Innsbruck's population had risen from 12,000 to 17,000, partly due to the economic stimulus provided by the railway. It was now possible to reach the remote and exotic mountain world of the Tyrolean Alps. Health resorts such as Igls and entire valleys such as the Stubaital benefited from the development of the railway. For subjects who did not belong to the upper class, the railway made excursions into the surrounding area possible.

The Die Bundesbahndirektion der K.u.K. General-Direction der österreichischen Staatsbahnen in Innsbruck was one of only three directorates in Cisleithania. New social classes were created by the railway as an employer. People from all walks of life were needed to keep the railway running. Workers and craftsmen were able to climb the social ladder at the railway, similar to the state administration or the military. New professions such as railway attendant, conductor, stoker or engine driver emerged. Working for the railway brought with it a certain prestige. Not only were you part of the most modern industry of the time, the titles and uniforms turned employees and workers into respected figures.

With the development of the railway, goods could be transported more cheaply. New foods changed people's diets. The first department stores emerged with the appearance of consumer goods that were previously unavailable. The appearance of the people of Innsbruck changed with new, fashionable clothing, which became affordable for many for the first time. The transport of goods on the River Inn received its final death blow. In the 1870s, the city's last raft unloading site, where Waltherpark in St. Nikolaus is located today, was closed.

Die Bahn war auch von großer Bedeutung für das Militär. Schon 1866 bei der Schlacht von Königgrätz zwischen Österreich und Preußen war zu ersehen, wie wichtig der Truppentransport in Zukunft sein wird. Österreich war bis 1918 ein Riesenreich, das sich von Vorarlberg und Tirol im Südwesten bis nach Galizien, einem Gebiet im heutigen Polen und der Ukraine im Osten erstreckte. Um die unruhige Südgrenze zum sich neu konstituierenden Königreich Italien zu verstärken, musste die Brennerstrecke ausgebaut werden. Auch später im Ersten Weltkrieg waren Tiroler Soldaten in den ersten Kriegsjahren bis zur Kriegserklärung Italiens an Österreich in Galizien im Einsatz. Als es zur Öffnung der Frontlinie in Südtirol kam, war die Bahn wichtig, um Truppen schnell bewegen zu können.

Carl von Etzel is commemorated today by Ing.-Etzel-Straße in Saggen along the railway viaducts. Josef Riehl is commemorated by Dr.-Ing.-Riehl-Straße in Wilten near the Westbahnhof railway station. You can get a good impression of the golden age of the railway by visiting the ÖBB administration building in Saggen.

One of the most important figures in the town's history was Wilhelm Greil (1850 - 1923). From 1896 to 1923, the businessman held the office of mayor, having previously helped to shape the city's fortunes as deputy mayor. Due to an electoral system based on the right to vote via property classes, large mass parties such as the Social Democrats were not yet able to assert themselves. The second half of the 19th century was characterised by the struggle between liberal and conservative forces in Innsbruck city politics. In contrast to the rest of Tyrol, the conservatives had a hard time in Innsbruck, whose population had been in favour of liberal ideas since the Napoleonic era.

Greil belonged to the "Deutschen Volkspartei", a liberal and national-Great German party. What appears to us today as a contradiction, liberal and national, was a politically common and well-functioning pair of ideas in the 19th century. Pan-Germanism was not a political peculiarity of a radical right-wing minority, but rather a centrist trend, particularly in German-speaking cities of the Reich, which was important in varying forms through almost all parties until after the Second World War. Whoever issues the liberal Innsbrucker Nachrichten of the period around the turn of the century, you will find countless articles in which the common ground between the German Reich and the German-speaking countries was made the topic of the day.

Greil was a skilful politician who operated within the predetermined power structures of his time. He knew how to skilfully manoeuvre around the traditional powers, the monarchy and the clergy, and how to come to terms with them. Under him, the city purchased land with foresight in the spirit of the merchant in order to make projects possible. Under Wilhelm Greil, Innsbruck expanded considerably. The politician Greil was able to rely on the civil servants and town planners Eduard Klingler, Jakob Albert and Theodor Prachensky for the major building projects of the time. In addition to the villas in Saggen, residential buildings were also built in the eastern part of the neighbourhood. Infrastructure projects such as the new town hall in Maria-Theresienstraße in 1897, the Hungerburg railway in 1906 and the Karwendelbahn were realised. Other projects included the renovation of the market square and the construction of the market hall.

Much of what was pioneered in the second half of the 19th century is part of everyday life today. For the people of that time, however, these things were a real sensation and life-changing. The four decades between the economic crisis of 1873 and the First World War were characterised by unprecedented economic growth and rapid modernisation. The city's economy boomed. Businesses were established in Pradl and Wilten, attracting workers. Tourism also brought fresh capital into the city.

His predecessor, Mayor Heinrich Falk (1840 - 1917), had already contributed significantly to the modernisation of the town and the settlement of Saggen. Since 1859, the lighting of the city with gas pipelines had progressed steadily. Between 1887 and 1891, Innsbruck was equipped with a modern high-pressure water pipeline, which could also be used to supply flats on higher floors with fresh water. Wilhelm Greil arranged for the gas works in Pradl and the electricity works in Mühlau to be taken over into municipal ownership. The street lighting was converted to electric light.

Greil was able to secure Innsbrucker Renaissance on patrons from the town's middle classes. Baron Johann von Sieberer donated the old people's asylum and the orphanage in Saggen. Leonhard Lang donated the building, previously used as a hotel, to which the town hall moved from the old town in 1897, in return for the town's promise to build a home for apprentices.

In his last years in office, Greil accompanied Innsbruck through the transition from the Habsburg Monarchy to the Republic, a period characterised above all by hunger, misery, scarcity of resources and insecurity. He was 68 years old when Italian troops occupied the city after the First World War and Tyrol was divided at the Brenner Pass, which was particularly bitter for him as a representative of German nationalism.

In 1928, former mayor Greil died as an honorary citizen of the city of Innsbruck at the age of 78. Wilhelm-Greil-Straße was named after him during his lifetime.