The Hofburg in Innsbruck is a residence built and inhabited by the Habsburgs. Originally a castle from the late Middle Ages, it was expanded into a castle in the early modern period and was the seat of the Tyrolean sovereigns as well as the residence of various members of the dynasty until the founding of the republic in 1918. The current state is based on the extensions under Empress Maria Theresa by the Hofbaumeister Johann Martin Gumpp the Younger in rococo style and can partly be visited.
The first hostel on this site was used by Duke Leopold III. These and other properties were bought by his son Friedrich IV, whose son Archduke Sigmund der Münzreich, Count of Tyrol, had a medieval castle built. His successor, the Roman-German King and later Emperor Maximilian I, expanded the complex. In 1534 the ceiling of the giant hall, which was renovated in 1510, was destroyed by fire and then restored by King Ferdinand I. Due to earthquake damage to the walls, the castle facade was reinforced with semicircular towers in 1536.
Only Maria Theresa, who ruled from 1740 to 1780, gave the order for the renovation in the style of courtly Viennese Rococo. This is how the magnificent building still presents itself today. Maria Theresia was only twice in Innsbruck, in 1739 in transit and in 1765 for the wedding of her son Leopold II. To the Spanish Princess Maria Ludovica, which the Triumphal Gate at the end of Maria-Theresien-Straße commemorates. The wedding was overshadowed by the death of her husband Franz Stephan von Lothringen (as a result of a stroke) on August 18, 1765. The death room was converted into a chapel on behalf of the Empress. At that time she also had the aristocratic women's monastery in Innsbruck built there. The canons had to pray for the deceased emperor. Members of the imperial family used the castle until the end of the monarchy in 1918, it was also the seat of the Tyrolean sovereigns and is now owned by the Republic of Austria.
The Innsbruck Hofburg has a built-up area of around 5000 square meters, there are around 400 rooms, including over 30 private apartments. The building has four floors, the chapel and two larger halls are several floors high.
The large castle courtyard is accessed through the southern castle gate, and you continue into the smaller kitchen courtyard to the west. You can also visit the state rooms, including:
Giant Hall (ballroom) with portraits of Maria Theresa, her husband and their 16 children. The room is 31.5 meters long, 13 meters wide and 11 meters high. It bears the name not because of its size, but because of the giants depicted in paintings from the 16th century.
Guard room (reception room for the giant hall)
Imperial apartments (Lothringerzimmer, Kapitelzimmer, Ferdinandzimmer)
Hofburg chapel with anteroom and sacristy
Andreas-Hofer-Saal, Andreas Hofer resided here from August 13th to October 21st, 1809
Yellow Room, White Salon, Pink Salon, Rondel Room, Passage Room, Bedroom, Corner Cabinet, Chinese Room, Audience Room
The Hofgarten, which is diagonally opposite, belongs to the Hofburg.