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'Innsbruck' is the capital city of the federal state of Tyrol in western Austria. It is located in the Inn Valley at the junction with the Wipptal (Sill River), which provides access to the Brennerpass, some 30 km south of Innsbruck. Located in the broad valley between high mountains, the Nordkette (Hafelekar, 2,334 m) in the north, Patscherkofel (2,246 m) and Serles (2,718 m) in the south, it is an internationally renowned winter sports centre. The name translated from German means "the bridge over the Inn" (''Brücke'' meaning "bridge")

Contents

History

Demography

Climate

Main sights

Buildings

Museums

Churches

Parks

Cultural events

Sports

Economy and education

Tourism

Transport

Education

Politics

Miscellaneous

Twin cities

References

See also

External links

History

Earliest traces suggest initial inhabitation in the early Stone Age. Pre-Roman place names show that the area has been populated continuously. In the 4th Century the Romans established the army station Veldidena (the name survives in todays urban district Wilten) to protect the economically important commercial road from Verona-Brenner-Augsburg. This road was destroyed during the Völkerwanderung in the 4th century. The first mention of Innsbruck dates back to 1187 (''Oeni Pontum'' or ''oeni pons'' which is Latin for bridge (pons) over the inn (oenus)), which was an important crossing point over the river Inn. The city's seal and coat of arms show a bird's-eye view of the Inn bridge, a design used since 1267. The route over the Brenner Pass was then a major transport and communications link between the north and the south, and the easiest route across the Alps. The revenues generated by serving as a transit station enabled the city to flourish.
Innsbruck became the capital of all Tyrol in 1429 and later in 15th century the city became a centre of European politics and culture as emperor Maximilian I moved the imperial court to Innsbruck in the 1490s.
During the Napoleonic wars Tyrol was ceded to Bavaria, ally of France. Andreas Hofer led a Tyrolean peasant army to victory on the Berg Isel against the combined Bavarian and French forces, and then made Innsbruck the centre of his administration. The combined army later overran the Tyrolean militia army and until 1814 Innsbruck was part of Bavaria. After the Vienna Congress Austrian rule was restored. The Tyrolean hero Andreas Hofer was executed in Mantua; his remains were returned to Innsbruck in 1823 and interred in the Franciscan church.
Main articles: Bombing of Innsbruck in World War II

In 1938 Austria was annexed by Hitler's Germany. Between 1943 and April 1945, Innsbruck experienced 21 bomb attacks and suffered heavy damage. The KZ Innsbruck-Reichenau concentration camp was located here.^[1]

Demography

A majority of Innsbruck's people are of Tyrolean ancestry.
However, as with many European cities, there are small yet thriving minorities that co-exist with the European majority. These include Turkish, North Africans, Indians, Roma, and even Chinese and Nepali. Many of aspects of their culture can be found throughout the city, such as markets, restaurants, and shops; some even still speak their traditional language in everyday life. They, too, have had a lasting effect on the city of Innsbruck.

Year	1900	1951	1961	1971	1981	1991	2001	2007
Population[2]	49,727	95,055	100,959	116,104	117,287	118,112	113,392	117,916

Climate

Innsbruck's climate is hemiboreal : the coldest month (January) has an average temperature of -3°C, while the warmest month (July), has an average temperature of 19.5°C.
Innsbruck's altitude contributes to make its nights quite cold, even in the summer where the temperature occasionally dips below 9°C during nighttime.
In summer the weather is very variable : one day can be hot and sunny with a maximum temperature over 30°C, while the next can be cold and rainy, with abundant fog and temperatures not going over 15°C.
The average annual temperature is 9°C.

'Climate Table'

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum temperature (°C)	1	4	11	16	21	24	26	24	21	14	8	2	14.3
Mean daily minimum temperature (°C)	-7	-4	-1	4	8	11	13	12	9	4	0	-4	3.8
Mean monthly rainfall (mm)	53	40	42	57	75	104	121	116	77	61	57	53
'Source:' The Weather Channel

Main sights

Buildings

★ Golden Roof

★ ''Kaiserliche Hofburg'' ''(Imperial Court)''

★ Bergiselschanze, designed by Zaha Hadid.

★ The tomb of Emperor Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor

★ Altes Landhaus (old federal state parliament)

★ Altstadt (Old Town)

★ Annasäule

★ Helblinghaus

★ Maria-Theresien-Straße (Main Street)

★ Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck (Theatre)

★ Triumphpforte

Museums

★ Riesenrundgemälde

★ Schloss Ambras (A Castle)

★ Tiroler Landesmuseum

★ Tiroler Volkskunstmuseum

★ Zeughaus

★ Tiroler Museumsbahnen

★ Kaiserjägermuseum

Churches

★ Ursulinenkirche

★ Dom zu St. Jakob (St. Jacob's Cathedral)

★ Hofkirche

★ Stift Wilten

★ Wiltener basilika

★ Spitalskirche

★ Liebfrauenkirche

Parks

★ Alpenzoo (Alpine Zoo)

★ Rapoldipark

★ Hofgarten

★ Schlosspark Ambras
As a very popular tourist destination, Innsbruck organises the following events every year:

Cultural events

★ Vierschanzentournee (Four Hills Tournament)

★ Innsbrucker tanzsommer

★ Bergsilvester (New Years Eve)

★ Festwochen der Alten Musik (Weeks of Classic Music)

★ Christkindlmarkt (Christmas fair)

Sports

Due to its location between high mountains, Innsbruck serves as an ideal place for skiing in winter, and mountaineering in summer. There are several ski resorts around Innsbruck with the Nordkette served by a cable car and additional chair lifts further up. Other ski resorts nearby include Axamer Lizum, Igls, Seefeld, Tulfes and Stubai Valley. The glaciated terrain in the latter makes skiing possible even in summer months.
The Olympic Winter Games were held in Innsbruck twice, first in 1964, then again in 1976, when the Denver, Colorado voters rejected a bond referendum to finance the games.
Along with St. Moritz, Switzerland and Lake Placid, New York in the United States, it is one of three places which have twice hosted the Winter Games. It also hosted the 1984 and 1988 Winter Paralympics.
Other notable events held in Innsbruck include the Air & Style Snowboard Contest from 1994 to 1999 and the Ice Hockey World Championship in 2005. Together with the city of Seefeld, Innsbruck organized the Winter Universiade in 2005. Innsbruck is also one of the host cities for Euro 2008 which is to be held in Switzerland and Austria.

Economy and education

Innsbruck is the cultural and economic center of western Austria and is one of the most famous and substantial tourist centres, with more than a million overnight stays. It is also a university city.
In Innsbruck there are some 78,000 employees and about 8,000 places of work. 35,000 people shuttle every day into Innsbruck.

Tourism

Tourism is the most important source of income for the city authority, largely because of Innsbruck's beautiful town centre with its historic buildings, the friendly ambience and the extensive sport facilities both in winter and in summer.

Transport

Innsbruck is located along the A12/A13 corridor, providing freeway access to Verona, Italy and Munich, Germany. The A12 and A13 converge near Innsbruck, at which point the A13 terminates.
Innsbruck's main station is one of the most frequented railway stations in Austria. The Austrian east-west railway crosses the south-west route through the Brenner pass, connecting northern Italy and southern Germany.
Innsbruck Airport provides services includes Frankfurt, London, and Vienna.
The town's tram-network consists of two city-lines and two lines serving the surrounding area — the Innsbrucker Mittelgebirgsbahn to Igls and the Stubaitalbahn into the Stubaital. The network will be enlarged during the coming years to reach Hall in Tirol in the east and Völs in the west. The trolleybus service will be abandoned as the tram network is enlarged. Numerous bus lines serve the inner city and transport to surrounding areas.

Education

Innsbruck is home to the oldest Gymnasium in western Austria, the "Akademisches Gymnasium Innsbruck". The school was founded in 1562 by the Jesuit order and was the precursor of the university, founded in 1669.
Innsbruck hosts several universities. The most well-known are the University of Innsbruck (Leopold-Franzens-Universität), the Innsbruck Medical University, and the Management Center Innsbruck (MCI).

Politics

The results of the 2006 'local elections' were:

★ Für Innsbruck 26% (conservative)

★ SPÖ 19% (left)

★ Austrian Green Party 18,5% (left)

★ ÖVP 15,5% (conservative)

★ Freie Liste Rudi Federspiel 9% (right)

★ FPÖ 5% (right)

Miscellaneous

★ The international headquarters of SOS Children's Villages, one of the world's largest charities, is located in Innsbruck.

★ Innsbruck has two universities, the Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck and the Innsbruck Medical University. The Innsbruck Medical University has one of Europe's premier ski injury clinics.

★ Douglas Adams claimed that he got his idea for the novel ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ''during a visit to Innsbruck in 1971, lying drunk in a field looking up at the stars.

★ ''Künstlerhaus Büchsenhausen'', an international fellowship programme for visual and new media arts, is located in Innsbruck.

★ The international headquarters of MED-EL, one of the largest producers of cochlear implants, is located in Innsbruck.

★ Innsbruck boasts two large lakes, Baggersee and Lagersee. These lakes are popular hangouts for locals during the spring and summer.

★ Innsbruck is the known as the home of Austrian crystal because the world famous Swarovski Crystal is made here. In the center of Innsbruck, you will find the Swarovski Crystal Gallery where you can buy almost anything you can think of out of crystal.


Panoramic view to west.

Twin cities

Innsbruck is twinned with:

★ Freiburg, Germany, since 1963

★ Grenoble, France, since 1963

★ Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, since 1980

★ Aalborg, Denmark, since 1982

★ Tbilisi, Georgia, since 1982

★ Omachi, Japan, since 1985

★ New Orleans, United States, since 1995

★ Cracow, Poland, since 1998

References

1. Christine O'Keefe. ''Concentration Camps.'' [2]
2. Statistik Austria [3], City of Innsbruck Website [4]

See also

★ Music of Innsbruck

★ Innsbruck, Ich Muss Dich Lassen

External links

★ Official homepage

★ Virtual tour Tirol/Innsbruck

★ Map of Innsbruck

★ Innsbruck Airport

★ Congress (convention centre)

★ Nordkette picture gallery

★ Innsbruck Tourist Board

★ Tourist attractions in Innsbruck

★ State of Tyrol and Innsbruck