A piece of Innsbruck and European transport history meanders inconspicuously across the Inn in the Höttinger Au. The 104 metre long Karwendel Bridge is part of a technical masterpiece from the turn of the century that connects Innsbruck with the southern Bavarian region. The box girder bridge made of riveted steel trusses requires only one river pier to allow trains weighing several tonnes to cross the river. The bridge was renovated in 2007. You can see the forces acting on the bridge when you stand on the wooden footbridge as a pedestrian while a train thunders across. The best view of the Karwendel Bridge is from the Freiburger Bridge further to the east.

The photogenic steel truss bridge as part of the Mittenwald or Karwendel railway is an impressive testimony to the outstanding engineering achievements of the time, which we take for granted today. The railway runs from Innsbruck via Seefeld and Mittenwald to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The particular challenge lay in overcoming the difference in altitude over a relatively short distance between the Inn Valley and the Seefeld plateau without the use of steam locomotives with a purely electrified railway. Engineer Josef Riehl (1842 - 1917) succeeded in overcoming the 600 metres in altitude to Seefeld thanks to the breathtaking route of the railway line over the Martinswand high above Zirl.

Riehl was a child of the period after 1848. The son of a Bolzano innkeeper, he skilfully exploited the new opportunities offered by technology and finance. As a young man, after studying in Karlsruhe and Munich, he gained his first experience in the construction of the Brenner railway, the Pustertal railway and lines in the east of the empire. In 1870, aged just 28, he founded his own company using his private assets as a basis. He recognised the need for so-called secondary and tertiary railways in addition to the main lines within the vast empire of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Monarchy and the lack of financial resources in the public sector to realise them. With daring and skill, he succeeded in raising capital to build not only railway lines but also the associated infrastructure. Riehl took on the financing and planning of the entire value chain, which he then handed over as complete projects. Roads, railways, power stations and even the necessary railway stations were built under his aegis.

With the Hungerburgbahn, the Pustertalbahn in South Tyrol and the Stubaitalbahn, Riehl opened up the inner-Alpine Tyrolean region for the population, tourism and economy. In total, he realised 250 km of railway line in Tyrol alone. His masterpiece, however, was the Karwendel railway. It took more than 25 years to plan this mammoth project, for which he had to make advance financial contributions without knowing whether he would ever be able to realise it. It was only the state treaty between Bavaria and Austria in 1904 that made the cross-border railway possible. The contract, including all tunnels, viaducts, work on the mountainous terrain and a dedicated power station on the Ruetzbach, was finally completed in 1912 at a package price of over 24 million crowns to everyone's complete satisfaction and is still in operation today.

Die Universität ist einer der größten Arbeitgeber und mit den vielen Standpunkten zwischen Flughafen und Rossau der größte Immobiliennutzer Innsbrucks. Ursprünglich war der Standort der Universität nicht am Innrain, sondern in der Herrengasse in der Nähe der Pfarrkirche St. Jakob. Platzmangel zwang die Studierende und Professoren zum Umzug an den damaligen Stadtrand. Ab 1914 erfolgte beginnend mit der Bibliothek der Umzug. Noch vor ihrer Fertigstellung wurde die Universität zum ersten Mal zweckentfremdet. Während der Kriegsjahre wurden die halbfertigen Räumlichkeiten als Militärspital verwendet.

Over the course of time, the University am Innrain has been continuously expanded to cope with the increasing number of faculties and students. Particularly worth seeing in the library is the old reading room, which is still very popular with students today as a stylish place to study. Today, the entire campus is a self-contained, not uninteresting composition of different architectural styles from the 20th and 21st centuries. The modern Agnes-Heller-Haus blends in surprisingly harmoniously with the neo-baroque buildings next to the GeiWI tower. To the west of this is a student hall of residence.

The forecourt is controversial, with the square designed by Lois Welzenbacher. Memorial, das an die gefallenen Universitätsangehörigen des 1. Weltkriegs erinnert. Welzenbacher fühlte sich wie viele Vertreter der Architektur und Kunst der Moderne der 1920er Jahre vom aufregenden und neuen, das faschistische Bewegungen ausstrahlte, angezogen. Damit war er keine Ausnahme. Eine großdeutsche Grundeinstellung war in der Bevölkerung bis in die 1980er Jahre weit verbreitet. Burschenschafter verschiedener Verbindungen bewegten sich ideell zwischen großdeutschem Nationalismus, konservativ-katholischem Austrofaschismus und Nationalsozialismus. Wissenschaftlicher Antisemitismus sowie Antisozialismus waren salonfähig unter Akademikern der Zeit. Prorektor Theodor Rittler weihte das Denkmal mit den Worten ein: „Deutschland, dein Reich komm!“ Der burschenschaftliche Wahlspruch „Ehre – Freiheit – Vaterland“ wurde erst 2019 jeweils um das Wort „Welche“ erweitert. Mit der Umbenennung des Platzes in Christoph-Probst-Platz wird dem Innsbrucker Medizinstudenten gedacht, der 1943 als Mitglied der Widerstandsgruppe Weiße Rose was executed. A memorial plaque on the Memorial A second plaque commemorates the liberation theologians Ignacio Ellacuría and Segundo Montes, two graduates of the University of Innsbruck who were murdered by the regime in San Salvador in 1989.

Auf der Rückseite zum Inn hin treffen sich junge Menschen in entspannter Atmosphäre. Das Mäuerchen oberhalb des Inns, besser bekannt als Sun deck, wurde in den letzten Jahren zu einem veritablen Diskussionspunkt in der Stadtpolitik. Der studentische Ansatz des konsumlosen Zusammentreffens im öffentlichen Raum trifft auf die Ordnungswut städtischer Beamter und Politiker. Vor allem die Abfallfrage ist zu klären, bevor das Sonnendeck als offizieller Bestandteil des Campus genutzt werden kann.

1669 is considered the official founding year of the University of Innsbruck. On 15 October, Emperor Leopold I granted the Tyroleans the privilege of "Haller Salzaufschlags", which made it possible to tax the coveted commodity more heavily and thus finance university operations. The university emerged from the Latin school, which had been founded by the Jesuits under Ferdinand I just over a hundred years earlier. Latin and Greek were the main subjects taught. Academic books were still written in Latin in the early modern period. Latin was also a prerequisite for higher positions in the civil service. The first faculty to start teaching was philosophy. Theology, law and medicine followed shortly afterwards. When Pope Innocent XI gave the university his blessing in 1677, it was already in full swing.

By 1665, Innsbruck had lost its status as a royal seat and thus its prestige and splendour. The university made up for this demotion somewhat by retaining the aristocracy, at least in the form of students. Many sons of aristocratic families were among the initial 300 students. Despite their social standing, the students were not necessarily ambitious model pupils, but rather boys who were used to a certain lifestyle and status. In January 1674, for example, "nit allein zu nächtlicher Zeit sich Ungelegenheiten, Rumores und ungereimte Handlungen“ und es wurden „Studenten der Universität angetroffen, die allerlei verbotene Waffen wie Feuerrohr, Pistolen, Terzerol, Stilett, Säbel, Messer…" had with them. Teenagers from the upper classes were used to carrying and using weapons. In the aristocracy, the concept of honour was of immense importance. As in the military, breaches of honour could also lead to duels in student circles. Fighting fraternities symbolically continue this tradition to this day. The encounters between privileged young people and burghers, servants and tradesmen did not always run smoothly either. This created the problem that although students were able to mingle with the city's inhabitants, they were subject to university law, which was separate from city law.

For a long time, women and sons of artisan families were not allowed to study at university. The first female doctor of law at the university was only celebrated in the press on 11 December 1923.

„Am kommenden Samstag wird an der Innsbrucker Universität Fräulein Mitzi Fischer zum Doktor iuris promoviert. Fräulein Fischer ist eine gebürtige Wienerin. In Wien absolvierte sie auch das Gymnasium. Nach der Reifeprüfung oblag sie dem juristischen Studium der Universität Innsbruck. Die zukünftige Doktorin hat sämtliche Prüfungen mit Auszeichnungen absolviert, müßte also nach dem früheren Brauche sub auspiciis imperatoris promovieren. Jedenfalls ist Fräulein Fischer die erste Dame, die sich an der Innsbrucker Universität den juristischen Doktortitel erwirbt.“

The university has always been a political issue. The name Leopold Franzens University goes back to the two emperors Leopold and Franz, under whom it was founded. The university was downgraded or closed twice before Emperor Franz I re-established it in 1826. The changes in the economy and society in the early years of industrialisation also had an impact on the university. In keeping with the spirit of the time, the opening speech by the Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy, Prof Dr Joachim Suppan (1794 - 1864), dealt with a practical problem of physics, namely "eine genauere Kenntnis der so wichtigen und nützlichen Erfindung der Dampfmaschine auch für die vaterländische Industrie, wo dieselbe bisher noch keine Anwendung hat" would be achieved. The fact that Supan was also an ordained priest in addition to his degrees in philosophy and mathematics shows the influence that the church had on the education system in the 19th century. Supan's final exhortation to the students shows how closely the university was linked to the state authorities alongside the church, „dereinst dem Vaterlande durch Kenntnis und Tugend ersprießliche Dienste zu leisten“.

With the annexation to the German Reich in 1938, the university was renamed once again. After the war, the German Alpine University again the Leopold Franzens University.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, teachers and students have repeatedly made sensational achievements in research. Victor Franz Hess was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics during his time at the University of Innsbruck for his achievements in cosmic ray research. Quantum physicist Anton Zeilinger also worked at the University of Innsbruck, although not in 2022 when he was awarded the prize. The Nobel Prize for Chemistry was also awarded to Professors Fritz Pregel, Adolf Windaus and Hans Fischer, although they too were no longer working in Innsbruck.

The university is not only important for the city in intellectual and economic terms. 30,000 students populate and characterise life between the Nordkette and Patscherkofel mountains. You only realise how much the students enliven Innsbruck when the foreigners return home between semesters. Tens of thousands not only enliven the nightlife and ski slopes, but also give the small town an international flair and hip urbanity.

The narrow building with the eye-catching façade in Josef-Hirn-Straße is home to Innsbruck's largest student fraternity, the Austria. Next to the entrance is a bronze plaque commemorating the date the association was founded on 9 June 1864. Its motto "In Veritate Libertas" (Note: Freedom lies in the truth) is recorded here. The "Bude" the  Austria itself is of more recent date. The house was built by the Boys Financed and built in 1902. Old pictures show that it was initially a detached house and was only gradually surrounded by other houses. With its distinguished appearance, turrets and bay windows, it stands out among the residential buildings. During the First World War, it served as a military hospital. Today there are several parlours, bars and rooms for learning and celebrating together in the fraternity house.

How did the foundation of the Austria? In the 19th century, liberal, nationalist desires also became increasingly popular among students and professors at Innsbruck University. University members demanded civil liberties, a free press and a constitution. The traditional feudal order was increasingly shaken in favour of a modern state modelled on France and England. It was mainly students who were in favour of the tame revolution in Innsbruck in 1848. While conservative subjects formed paramilitary organisations in the Schützen, the fraternities enjoyed great popularity among academics.

Within the fraternity system, there were various forms that have survived to this day. The majority of Austrian fraternities have a Catholic background. However, there are also fraternities that are politically far to the right. Most of them still do not accept women into their ranks. They are organised hierarchically and function according to their own rituals. The four principles of the Austria are the Catholic faith (Religio), Fatherland (Patria), science (Scientia) and friendship (Amicitia).

From the 19th century onwards, Catholic student fraternities formed the connecting element between the church, politics and the university. Although a strong, centralised state similar to the one in France was to replace the fragmented system of small states, the Catholic student fraternities were not the only ones to do so. Heiligen Römischen Reiches Deutscher Nation or the German Confederation, a democratic republic was rarely called for. Catholicism, monarchy, multi-ethnic state, German nationalism - the definitions of fatherland were diverse within the various student societies. The entrance area of the fraternity house of the Austriaon which the Habsburg double-headed eagle and the Tyrolean eagle are depicted, gives an indication of the orientation of this connection.

Student fraternities are powerful networks. If you take a look at the list of former members of the AustriaOver the decades, bishops as well as leading politicians from the conservative camp have been members. Several provincial governors, mayors of Innsbruck and Federal Chancellor Julius Raab were members. The behaviour with sabres, ribbons and caps at events and processions may seem ridiculous at first glance to uninitiated observers. The customs, traditions and practices are certainly antiquated and not everyone's cup of tea. For outsiders, the world of thought of the connections is also difficult to understand and contradictory. The motto above the Austria portal reads "I am built for the protection & refuge of human rights & free speech". Members of the Austria were involved in the Catholic resistance against National Socialism. On the other hand, Engelbert Dollfuß and Kurt Schuschnigg were both chancellors of the period, who as Austrofascism members of the Austrian Parliament, which was to go down in Austrian history. Austria.

From the 16th century onwards, the Innrain, today a busy thoroughfare, was mainly populated by the civil service, which was growing as part of the princely administrative apparatus. In order not to leave the salvation of the new inhabitants unattended, construction of St John's Church began in 1728 in the High Baroque style according to plans by Georg Anton Gumpp. Visitors are greeted by the onion-shaped towers typical of the Baroque style. The temple-shaped entrance area of the church is decorated with a beautiful ceiling fresco. In classic baroque style, the picture shows the Providentia Divinadivine providence. While the cornucopia pours wealth and prosperity onto the righteous, the lower section on the right shows hell, where sinners experience God's punishment for their dissolute existence on earth. The interior is also richly decorated and enchants with its dazzling white colour.

St John's Church is not dedicated to St John the Baptist, but to St John of Nepomuk. According to legend, St John Nepomuk did not want to break the seal of confession when the King of Bohemia questioned him about his wife's confession. As a result, King Wenceslas IV had him tortured in Prague and then drowned in the Vltava. He is considered the patron saint of bridges and confession. The square in front of the church commemorates Bishop Reinhold Stecher, who died in 2013 and is still very popular in Tyrol today, and provides a beautiful view of the free-standing church. Until 1985, this small, inner-city oasis was a car park. The rededication as a car-free zone was relatively early by Innsbruck standards, considering how long it took to turn Maria-Theresien-Straße into a pedestrian zone.

Bekannt ist die Johanneskirche auch als Neue Universitätskirche. When the university emerged from the Jesuit College in 1669, this powerful order in Innsbruck was in charge of higher education in the city. For a long time, university services were held in the Jesuit church. When the main university moved to the Innrain, St John's Church was closer to the students, at least in terms of location. Bishop Stecher, to whom the square in front of the church is dedicated, elevated St John's Church to university church status in 1993. A memorial plaque on the north side of the outer façade of St John's Church commemorates the members of the Catholic student fraternity Leopoldina who died in the world wars.

In 1939, the property developer New home in Wilten, Pradl, der Reichenau und dem Saggen mehrere Wohnanlagen, die bis heute als Südtirolersiedlungen are known. The most impressive of these estates was built between Egger-Lienz-Straße and Franz-Fischer-Straße under the direction and realisation of Theodor Prachensky and Jakob Alberts. At first glance, the architecture may appear monotonous and unspectacular, but if you consider the dimensions and significance of the project from the perspective of the 1930s and 40s, you quickly realise that it was not a housing estate that was created here, but an entire district.

The two to three-storey buildings are grouped around spacious, interconnected courtyards. Those who have the opportunity to Südtirolersiedlung The dimensions and size of this ensemble can be seen from above, for example from the Ferrari bend on the Brenner main road. The individual inner courtyards are bordered by low, stone walls that give the entire ensemble the character of an inner-city fortress. The entrance to the estate from Stafflerstrasse to Speckbacherstrasse with its neo-Romanesque columns represents a small city gate through which one enters the estate. As with the Pembau block, Prachensky probably also wanted the bay window with the balconies above it to represent a connection to Innsbruck's history, as the composition is very reminiscent of the Goldene Dachl in the old town centre. The building material used for the passageway was the Höttinger Breccie also used a speciality of Innsbruck. To understand the contrast Prachensky created, you have to think back to Wilten in the late 1930s. To the east and north, the middle-class Wilhelminian style houses bordered the South Tyrolean estate, to the south the Südring had not yet been built and to the west towards Zollerstraße the area was still more or less unpopulated and empty.

After the First World War, the historic province of Tyrol was divided at the Brenner border. The German-speaking population of South Tyrol suffered more and more reprisals under Mussolini's fascist regime. This led to disagreements between Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. Mussolini wanted to Italianise the German-speaking South Tyroleans, whereas Hitler had promised to unite all German-speaking ethnic groups. In 1939, the two dictators agreed to give the German-speaking population of South Tyrol the opportunity to resettle from Italy to the German Reich. The propaganda in favour of the resettlement under the motto "Home to the realm" had an effect. The majority of German-speaking South Tyroleans chose to emigrate northwards.

"South Tyroleans, confess yourselves! A difficult but proud hour calls on you to confess for your blood and your people, to decide whether you will finally renounce your German nationality for yourselves and your descendants or whether you will proudly and freely confess your German identity. You are not choosing between your homeland and Galicia, but between a South Tyrol that has become alien to us and the land that the Führer will assign to us in the German Reich. The decision is difficult, but not in doubt for a moment, because we know what we owe to the call of our German blood, the German people and our Führer. We sacrifice the clod to the great goal, the great, holy German Reich."

As the capital of the Reichsgau, Innsbruck was to fulfil many of the so-called Optants aufnehmen. Es wurde mit 20-50.000 neuen Bürgern gerechnet. In vielen Randgebieten des damaligen Stadtgebietes wurde in vorauseilendem Gehorsam bereits im August 1939 mit dem Bau der Siedlungen begonnen. Um die Resettler möglichst schnell „nach Hause“ holen zu können, wurden trotz des Krieges alle Hebel innerhalb des immense Mittel freigemacht. Die DAF, die Deutsche Arbeitsfront, übernahm die Organisation und gründete dafür die Wohnbaugesellschaft New home.

In einer ersten Bauphase der Special measure South Tyrol the city of Innsbruck planned 1000 flats, with almost 2000 more to be built by 1944. In addition to flats, shops, restaurants, schools, kindergartens and offices were to be built. As the war continued, money, building materials and labour became scarce, but despite this, just over 2000 flats were completed across the city.

When the blocks between Egger-Lienz-Straße and Franz-Fischer-Straße were ready for occupation in 1942, the situation was completely different from when the South Tyrolean population had been surveyed a few years earlier. The fortunes of war had turned and with them the enthusiasm for the Home-in-Reich movement. There were now too many flats for too few "returnees" who dared to make the move from their Italian homeland to the north. Many of the flats were therefore not allocated to South Tyroleans, but to "deserving" subjects of the Nazi system.

During Allied air raids between December 1943 and December 1944, some of the houses in Speckbacherstraße were hit. None of them had to be demolished and the building fabric was basically preserved. In the 1960s, the houses were raised by two storeys, followed later by renovations and a change of colour from dull grey to various more vibrant colours. Between the blocks is the traffic park, where Innsbruck's children can obtain their cycling licence under the watchful eye of the police.

On the corner of Speckbacherstraße and Franz-Fischer-Straße, you can see a silent witness to the construction of the Südtirolersiedlung to admire. There is a stone statue at the height of the first floor. It was made by the South Tyrolean sculptor Alexander Lanner, who also created the Führer bust in the Wedding Hall in the Golden Roof and the Princess with frog prince in the fountain in the courtyard garden. The tightly and resolutely heading north into the Altreich The looking man is supposed to represent a typical South Tyrolean in traditional Merano costume, a symbol for the optants who Blood and soil ideology of the German people and left their homeland to do so.

When the Innsbruck municipal council decided in 2016 to "The pasture" to be felled, a storm of indignation broke out. Every trained Innsbruck resident immediately knew which tree it was. The city council for urban planning was inundated with emails in which outraged citizens gave free rein to their emotions over the loss of the tree. All the shouting and screaming did not help. The tree was decrepit and diseased and posed a safety risk due to its imposing size.

The willow in question stood on Sonnenburgplatz, a small inner-city roundabout in Wilten. It covered a stone fountain consisting of two intertwined dolphins spouting water into two shell basins. The square offered neither a cosy bench nor did it commemorate a special event in the city's history. No famous artist had designed it and the once customary title of the fountain Salt and pepper fountain was hardly known to anyone. It was only with the imminent disappearance of the pasture that the people of Innsbruck consciously rediscovered the place, which had long gone unnoticed and overlooked in everyday life.

The fountain was installed on the square in front of the railway station in 1886 to welcome arriving guests to the up-and-coming tourist city of Innsbruck. The two dolphins, symbolising peace and harmony, were the inspiration for the design. When Baron Johann von Sieberer realised his plan in 1905 to celebrate the unification of Innsbruck and Wilten with his much more grandiose Unification fountain the dolphin fountain was moved to Wilten to its current location near the Wilten state railway station, which opened in 1883 and is now the Westbahnhof. The two coats of arms of Innsbruck and Wilten were probably engraved in one of the basins at a later date.

From the 1880s, Sonnenburgplatz developed into Wilten's posh neighbourhood. The name recalls the sovereign jurisdiction of Sonnenburg, which had its origins in the Middle Ages above Mount Isel. Similar to Claudiaplatz in Saggen, residential buildings for the wealthy bourgeoisie were built in the style of the time in Wilten, which was still an independent neighbourhood at the time. A picture postcard from 1910 shows the expanse and splendour of the square, where a cyclist presents her modern sports equipment, without a willow, mind you.

The architectural highlight of the ensemble is the 1902 historicist-style Sonnenburg on the south-west side of the square with its presidential balcony and rich decorations. The Wilhelminian style houses in the side streets are also worth seeing. The statues of bare-breasted ladies and bearded gentlemen at Sonnenburgstraße 17 and the beautiful facades of the colourful buildings in Stafflerstraße to the west of the square allow you to travel back in time. Belle Époque.

By the way: the newly planted tree is growing vigorously and will soon be a worthy, stately successor. What is more exciting is whether it will be possible to upgrade Sonnenburgplatz by freeing it from traffic so that it once again becomes a postcard-worthy motif in Innsbruck's cityscape.

An imperial wedding and an imperial death within a few days of each other in the summer of 1765 once again made Innsbruck the centre of Europe for a short time. The Triumphal Gate commemorates the events that took place in Innsbruck. 

Am 5. August heiratete Maria Theresias Sohn Leopold in Innsbruck die spanische Prinzessin Maria Ludovica. Für die aus Südwesten und dem Osten Europas kommende Hochzeitsgesellschaft war Innsbruck ein idealer Treffpunkt, um das Geschäft zu beschließen und die Verbindung offiziell zu machen, hatte die ehemalige Residenzstadt doch bereits Erfahrung mit königlichen und fürstlichen Hochzeiten. Die Feierlichkeiten wurden aber von mehreren Unglücksfällen getrübt. Das kulturelle Programm im kleinen Innsbruck konnte trotz aller Bemühungen nicht an den Geschmack der noblen Gesellschaft angepasst werden. Wechselhaftes Wetter und eine Magen-Darm-Grippe des Bräutigams trübten die Stimmung. Die Nachricht vom Tod eines Onkels der Braut trug auch nicht dazu bei, die Stimmung zu heben. Das böse Ende kam aber kurz nach der Hochzeit. Am 18. August starb der Vater des Bräutigams, Kaiser Franz Stephan I. von Habsburg-Lothringen, an einem Schlaganfall.

Eigentlich war die vorab hölzerne Pforte nur als temporär festlich geschmückter Eingang zur Stadt während der Hochzeit geplant. Diesen römischen Brauch des Triumphbogens bei wichtigen Events der kaiserlichen Herrscherfamilie wiederauferstehen zu lassen war nicht ungewöhnlich. Maria Theresia ließ 1774 ihren Triumphboten aber dauerhaft in Stein nach Vorbild des antiken Kaisers Constantin bauen, um sowohl an den Tod ihres Gatten wie auch die Hochzeit des Sohnes für immer zu erinnern. Der südliche Teil der Triumphpforte hin zur Leopoldstraße, drückt die Freude über die Hochzeit des späteren Kaisers Leopold II. aus. Das Porträt des Herrscherpaares wird flankiert von den Figuren der Providentia Divina, der göttlichen Vorsehung, und der Constantia, der Beständigkeit. Diese beiden Eigenschaften sahen die Habsburger als ganz entscheidend für ihre Dynastie an. Sie legitimierten die Macht ihres Hauses über ihre Untertanen durch das Gottesgnadentum, der Vorsehung, auf der die Beständigkeit der Geschicke des Landes zum Wohl aller aufbaute. Am nördlichen Teil hin zur Maria-Theresien-Straße thront in barockem Pathos der Todesengel, der die Trauer über den plötzlichen Tod des Kaisers zeigen soll. Als Baumaterial dienten die Reste der Stadtmauer und das Abbruchmaterial des Vorstadttors am heutigen südlichen Altstadteingang, die 1765 der Modernisierung der Stadt unter Maria Theresia zum Opfer fielen.

Besonders mit der Nordkette von Süden aus oder von Osten mit dem Winklerhaus im Hintergrund ist die Triumphpforte ein wunderbares Motiv. Früh aufzustehen, lohnt sich, ist der Verkehr unter Tags für Fotoenthusiasten doch recht störend.

The Winklerhaus often goes unnoticed as a small sight in the city by locals and tourists alike. Wrongly so, as it is one of the few Art Nouveau buildings in Innsbruck. Built in 1902, the Winklerhaus Two buildings in two streets. From Leopoldstraße, you can admire the façade with its rich and sweeping ornamentation. The animals, mythical creatures and masks on the capitals are typical of the playful Art Nouveau style. The part of the Winklerhaus in Maximilianstraße is less colourful, but no less worth seeing. The bay window decorated with two mythical creatures in particular is evidence of an imaginative and creative builder:

"Let each man do as he pleases,
Let everyone see where they stay,
And who stands,
that he does not fall."

Art Nouveau was an expression of a new bourgeois self-image around the turn of the century. It was a kind of rebellion against traditional values, which the aristocracy still embodied despite the changes after 1848, especially in the Austrian monarchy. Enlightened citizens increasingly saw themselves as individuals outside of Catholic-orientated hierarchies and the new technocracy. Sensuality and nature against rationality and class thinking, body awareness as a sign of a new era. Life reformers abhorred the new synchronisation of time and having to submit to the galloping technologisation and rationality in every respect. Man, body, mind and soul in connection with nature were to take centre stage. Art Nouveau as an art movement was based on this trend. Similar to Romanticism in the 18th and 19th centuries, a form of mysticism away from structured and sober reality was to return to life. The splendour hinted at a new, better time, a golden age. The clear forms of classicism and the pure reason it represented were to be overcome by the playfulness of Art Nouveau. The Winklerhaus represents a contrast to the majority of buildings erected in Innsbruck around 1900. This becomes clear when one compares the architecture of the Winklerhaus with the austere main post office in Maximilianstraße opposite, which was planned in the typical style of the k.uk. Official buildings were planned in 1908. Unlike in Vienna, where Art Nouveau by artists such as Otto Wagner and Gustav Klimt began its triumphal march, this style never really caught on in Tyrol. The upper floors of the Winklerhaus now house flats. There is a stationery and office supplies shop on the ground floor.

On the corner of Leopoldstraße and Dr.-Karl-von-Grabmayr-Straße, a mural from the 1950s commemorates the Roman military camp of Veldidena. It was located directly on the driveway to the Via Raetia Today it is bordered by the Sill to the east, the Südring to the north and Stafflerstraße to the west. Four mighty watchtowers and a wall over 2 metres thick surrounded the castle, where more than 500 soldiers were stationed. A trading post, a village with a tavern, armourers, brickworks and craftsmen's workshops grew up around the military camp. The land around Veldidena had to be cleared for the livestock. Equipment and clothing had to be made and repaired, and the men had to be fed and entertained. 

The village of Wilten around the monastery with its centre at today's Haymon Inn grew briskly towards the city of Innsbruck even after the Bavarian takeover of the Inn Valley. Long before Innsbruck's main transport axis, the Südring, mercilessly cut through the city centre from the 1960s onwards, a kind of medieval Bacon beltwhich in the 19th century, thanks to the businesses on the Little Sill was to become the fastest growing part of today's city of Innsbruck.

With the Lower village square A second town centre was already established in the Middle Ages. While in the monastery and the Leuthaus the official administration took place here, where today Wiltener Platzl und Kaiserschützenplatz The city's economic and civil life was centred around the Brenner Pass. Traders and travellers moved from the Brenner Road to Innsbruck to pay their toll at the customs station at the Triumphal Gate. Over time, the farmhouses that had settled around the village fountain developed into bourgeois residences, aristocratic residences, craft businesses and shops along this main thoroughfare. The variety of architectural styles still bears witness to the lively hustle and bustle over the centuries.

Today's house at Leopoldstraße 27 has been home to a blacksmith since 1428 at the latest. Together with house number 25, it is a marvellous example of residential buildings from the first half of the 19th century and the architecture of the Biedermaier period.

The core of the building opposite at Leopoldstraße 30 and 32 can be traced back as far as the 12th century. Where today there is a hip fashion boutique and flats, traders were able to sell their goods before the city limits of Innsbruck. Materialists Ladele and thus reduce the load to be expected at the customs station at the Triumphal Gate.

The square building at today's Liebeneggstraße 2, decorated with Baroque paintings, developed together with the Welsbergschlössl at Leopoldstraße 35 in the 15th century from a farmhouse to a Liebenegg residence. In 1601, the two houses were confirmed as an open-air residence, which also included a farmhouse with a meadow. In 1824, the k.k. Gubernial registrar had the Liebenegg residence to four storeys and convert it into a block of flats.

A little further towards the city centre is one of Innsbruck's most traditional inns. In 1901, Heinrich and Maria Steneck from Trentino opened the Wine restaurant Steneck. Both the Italian Prime Minister Alcide de Gasperi as a young student and Benito Mussolini are said to have enjoyed specialities and wine from their homeland during their time in Innsbruck. The people of Innsbruck were Wallschen for a long time, the exceptionally good catering was nevertheless gladly accepted. Generations of Innsbruckers have enjoyed the Stennias the now ageing pub is affectionately known, enjoyed schnitzel, sausages and chips at affordable prices. When Heinrich Steneck passed away on 22 December 1953, Innsbrucker Nachrichten bid a touching farewell to the founder of this institution on behalf of the entire city.

The increase in traffic since the 1980s took away the charm of the former village centre. Only with the recent redesign of the Wiltener Platzls has succeeded in making this historic square more attractive again. The modern village square with its fountain and seating area is a popular meeting place for residents and walkers alike. Between the two buildings of Ansitz Liebenegg is the modern building in which the Wilten neighbourhood meeting place, a service provided by the Innsbruck Social Services is housed here. The Leopoldstrasse and the Leopoldstraße continue their tradition as a commercial centre outside the city centre. Wiltener Platzl continues to this day. Unlike other main streets in the peripheral neighbourhoods, shops of all kinds flourish here. Boutiques, studios and other small shops manage to establish themselves in the latest hip neighbourhood. Grätzel as well as long-established and new eateries on Wiltener Platzl. The weekly market and a small Christmas market in Advent also enliven the urban zone.

Der Platz des heutigen Stifts Wilten zählt zu den am frühesten besiedelten Teilen des Stadtgebietes. Die Römer, deren Castell Veldidena north of the abbey, also brought the Christian faith to the region. A church dedicated to St Laurentius was mentioned at this location as early as 565 AD.

During the conquest of Tyrol by the Bavarians from the 7th century onwards, the Castell Veldidena destroyed. The transition from Roman to Bavarian rule was less sudden and warlike and much more gradual and, with the exception of a few battles, fluid. The cultures of the new and old inhabitants intermingled after the collapse of the Roman structures. The Christian institutions and structures were retained for administrative purposes. Dioceses and monasteries were important keepers of order in the Middle Ages, as it was mostly churchmen who could read and write. The everyday language was a form of Germanic, but Latin had established itself early on as the written language, even among the "barbarians".

According to legend, Wilten Abbey was founded by a giant. The giant Haymon, an immigrant, is said to have slain the giant Tyrsus, who lived in Wilten. As penance for his deed, Haymon founded the monastery. However, a dragon that lived in the Sill gorge repeatedly destroyed the building and the surrounding area. Haymon killed the beast, cut off its tongue and gave it to Wilten Monastery. The statue of Haymon in the collegiate church and the two stone statues at the entrance to the church are reminders of the two giants and their battle. This legend may not have a well-founded historical background, but it can serve as a parable for the change of power in the Middle Ages. Haymon symbolises the Bavarian conquest of the Inn Valley, while Tyrsus stands for the local population.

The Bavarians were Christianised from the 8th century at the latest. At this time, the duchy was feudal to Emperor Charlemagne. The Heilige Römische Reich gave the Central European region a certain structure, but this was hardly noticeable in remote areas such as Tyrol. The church was the most important structuring administrative body of both the old and the new rulers. In Wilten, a small community of pastors ran the affairs.

In 1135, the Bishop of Brixen handed over this monastery to the then newly founded Premonstratensian Order. The document confirming the takeover of the monastery by the Premonstratensian Order in 1138 is still preserved in the archives of Wilten Abbey. Considering that the parent monastery in Premontre in France was only founded by the order's founder Norbert of Xanten in 1121, the expansion to Tyrol took place very quickly. Starting in France, the order managed to be represented throughout Europe within just a few decades. The Premonstratensians were well received by the powerful. The idea of poverty was not as pronounced among the Premonstratensians as it was among the Franciscans or Dominicans, who emerged at the same time. Although Norbert, who was venerated as a saint from 1582, was a church reformer, he could not deny his origins in the nobility and his political role as Archbishop of Magdeburg and advisor to the king, despite his spirituality. This tradition continued in Tyrol. The abbots were represented in the provincial parliament until 1914.

This takeover was associated with lands that the monastery could dispose of. The powerful Bavarian duke Heinrich der Löwe donated a hereditary farm from his estate to the monastery. The monastery had lower jurisdiction over these lands, which included everything that was not subject to the blood court. The church was regarded as a strict feudal lord. It is therefore no wonder that during the uprising of 1525, Wilten Abbey was the Innsbruck institution that came under the most pressure. In 1180, it was Wilten Abbey that Counts of Andechs the areas south of the Inn on which the town was founded. Part of the deal was the takeover of the parishes of Wilten, Ampass and Patsch by the Premonstratensians.

The monastery near Innsbruck was built with great vigour. A Romanesque church was built as well as the foundations of today's monastery. A monastery school in Wilten was mentioned in 1313.

The buildings partially collapsed in 1644. Like so many 17th century Baroque buildings in Innsbruck, today's Witten basilica was built according to plans by Christoph Gumpp. The lavish church furnishings and many of the paintings were added in the following centuries. The gleaming white stone figures on the gable depict the patron saints Laurentius and Stefanus as well as St Mary. Inside, frescoes depict the handing over of the monastery to St Norbert, the stoning of St Stephen and St Anne, the patron saint of Wilten, who protects the monastery from approaching Bavarian troops. The black side altars and the main altar are particularly splendid in contrast to the rest of the church's white colour scheme. Parts such as the chapter house and the cross vault have been preserved and date back to the Gothic period. The reopening of the monastery in 1665 was an imperial affair, with Emperor Leopold I attending in person.

In 1939, Wilten Abbey was dissolved by the National Socialists and all associated associations and organisations were incorporated into the party structure. Large parts of the monastery were damaged in an air raid in 1944. The reopening after successful renovation was celebrated at Christmas 1952.

Today, Wilten Abbey looks after 21 parishes in and around Innsbruck. The Premonstratensians are one of the most influential orders in the city. After the First World War, youth centres for pastoral care were founded in Pradl, Hötting and Wilten to support single mothers and working-class families. Above Mentlberg Castle, on the grounds of the monastery, the Waldhüttl for the Vincentian community, where migrants provide for themselves and run an open church. The monastery is still a centre of art and culture today. Particular pride is taken in the Wilten Boys' Choirwhich were first mentioned in 1235. The collections, archives and library of Wilten Abbey can be visited as part of a guided tour. Concerts are regularly held on the premises of the monastery. The sumptuous interior furnishings are also very impressive. In the collegiate church there is a collection of icons with works dating back to the 13th century, which show the similarities and differences between the Catholic and Orthodox faiths. In the area of the monastery gate you can see Klosterladele buy small local delicacies and gifts.