Innsbruck is the capital city of the federal state of Tyrol (Tirol) in western
Austria. It is located in the Inn Valley at the junction with the Wipptal (Sill River), which provides access to the Brenner Pass, some 30 km (18.6 mi) south of Innsbruck. Located in the broad valley between high mountains, the Nordkette (Hafelekar, 2,334 metres or 7,657 feet) in the north, Patscherkofel (2,246 m or 7,369 ft) and Serles (2,718 m or 8,917 ft) in the south. It is an internationally renowned winter sports centre, and hosted the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics as well as the 1984 and 1988 Winter Paralympics. Innsbruck hosted the first Winter Youth Olympics in 2012. The word bruck comes from the German word Brücke meaning "bridge" which leads to "the bridge over the Inn".
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, Muttereralm, Patscherkofel, Igls, Seefeld, Tulfes and Stubai Valley. The glaciated terrain in the latter makes skiing possible even in summer months.
The Winter Olympic Games were held in Innsbruck twice, first in 1964, then again in 1976, when Colorado voters rejected a bond referendum in 1972 to finance the Denver games, originally awarded in 1970. The 1976 Winter Olympics were the last games held in the German-speaking Alps (Austria,
Germany, or
Switzerland). 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.
Innsbruck hosted the 1st Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2012. Other notable events held in Innsbruck include the Air & Style Snowboard Contest from 1994 to 1999 and 2008 and the Ice Hockey
World Championship in 2005. Together with the city of Seefeld, Innsbruck organized the Winter Universiade in 2005. Innsbruck's Bergiselschanze is one of the hills of the famous Four Hills Tournament.
Innsbruck is home to the football club FC Wacker Innsbruck, which plays in the Austrian Football Bundesliga (first tier) in 2010–11. FC Wacker Innsbruck's stadium, Tivoli Neu, is one of eight stadiums which hosted Euro 2008 which took place in Switzerland and Austria in June 2008.The city also hosted an American Football final, Eurobowl XXII between the Swarco Raiders Tirol and the Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna.The city hosted opening round games in the 2011 IFAF World Championship, the official international American Football championship.
Main Sights
Buildings
- Golden Roof
- Kaiserliche Hofburg (Imperial Court)
- Hofkirche (Imperial Church) with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
- Altes Landhaus (old federal state parliament)
- Alte Innbrücke (The Inn Bridge, spanning the Inn River at the Altstadt, a bridge has existed at this point since at least 1080 A.D.)
- Altstadt (Old Town)
- Annasäule
- Helblinghaus
- Maria-Theresien-Straße (Main Street)
- Tyrolean State Theatre, Innsbruck (Theatre)
- Triumphpforte
- Bergiselschanze, designed by Zaha Hadid.
- New Hungerburgbahn, designed by Zaha Hadid.
- Stadtturm (City Tower)
- Ambras Castle
- Casino Innsbruck
- Leopold Brunnen (Leopold's fountain)
- Büchsenhausen Castle
Museums
- Riesenrundgemälde
- Ambras Castle
- Tyrolean State Museum
- Tyrolean Museum of Popular Art
- The Armoury
- Tyrolean Museum Railways (Tiroler Museumsbahnen)
- Stubaital station
- Kaiserjäger Museum
- City Archives
- Alpine Club Museum
- Bell Museum
Churches
- Ursulinenkirche
- Dom zu St. Jakob (St. James's Cathedral, often wrongly called St Jacob's Cathedral)
- Hofkirche
- Stift Wilten
- Wiltener basilika
- Spitalskirche
- Liebfrauenkirche
- Jesuit Church
Parks and Gardens
