My third visit to Innsbruck, always intriguing.
My third visit to Innsbruck? Even more intriguing and interesting!
Perhaps because I immersed myself even more deeply in the spirit, in the soul of this wonderful exciting city. And certainly because I could see in the smiling eyes of my wife Sandra and my children, Giorgio and Gabriele, the joy of discovering, in every corner of its magical historic center, the Imperial Innsbruck and the grandeur of a glorious past.
Who doesn’t know Princess Sissi who later became Empress Elisabeth?
Empress Maria Theresa, and especially Emperor Maximilian I, have left indelible marks in the city area.
The “Habsburg Walk” is a very special route specifically designed to touch all the main tourist attractions with a historical-imperial background, starting from the Golden Roof, the symbol of the Tyrolean city, commissioned by Emperor Maximilian I: it was he who ordered a grandiose bow window (a particular type of window) with a gleaming roof covered with 2,657 golden copper shingles, sparkling.
The gigantic bronze figures, known as “black men,” however, guard an empty tomb: the body of Maximilian I was buried in Wiener Neustadt, a city south of Vienna, with its splendid ducal castle and the Gothic chapel with the tomb, precisely, of the Habsburg emperor.
The Imperial Palace Hofburg in Innsbruck is one of the most significant cultural buildings in Austria. Here, the spiritual heritage of Maria Theresa is somehow preserved, as it was the empress herself who initiated, in the 18th century, the renovation that transformed the palace into a magnificent baroque castle.
Particular attractions of the Imperial Palace Hofburg are the “Gardesaal” (Guard Room), the so-called “inner apartment,” luxuriously furnished to accommodate Empress Elisabeth, better known as Sissi, and, above all, the enchanting “Riesensaal,” the renowned Hall of Giants.
On an inviting hill to the south of Innsbruck stands the Ambras Castle. A true labor of love in stone. Archduke Ferdinand II of Habsburg had it erected for his morganatic wife (a non-noble woman excluded from any dynastic succession rights) Philippine Welser.
The fantastic castle awaits guests with its incredible halls, art rooms, and wonder rooms, which house the Renaissance world enclosed in prestigious collections of curiosities, precious objects, and wonders of various kinds. A particular and colorful attraction: the Spanish Hall, one of the most beautiful and spacious halls, measuring an impressive 43 meters in length and covered by a prestigious coffered ceiling partially gilded.
Foto:
Giornalista detentore dal 2015 del Guinness World Records TV e Ambasciatore Borghi più Belli d’Italia.
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