Hofburg, Innsbruck

The Hofburg in Innsbruck is a former Habsburg palace standing in the city centre beside the old town walls. It forms part of a larger complex that includes the Noblewomen’s Collegiate Foundation, the Silver Chapel, the Hofkirche with Emperor Maximilian’s cenotaph, and the Court Garden. The palace grew from medieval fortifications and towers built when Innsbruck was ruled by the House of Gorizia in the fourteenth century. The building is one of Austria’s three most significant cultural monuments, alongside the Hofburg and Schönbrunn in Vienna. Empress Maria Theresa commissioned major Baroque additions between 1754 and 1773, including the south tract and the main façade. The Giants’ Hall was completed with ceiling frescoes by Franz Anton Maulbertsch, and the Imperial Chapel marks the room where her husband Emperor Francis I died. Inside, five themed museum areas show the palace’s political and cultural history. Maria Theresa’s Rooms and Empress Elisabeth’s Apartment display furnishings from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Furniture Museum, Ancestral Gallery and Painting Gallery hold further imperial treasures. Outside, the Court Garden offers a quiet place to walk among fountains and mature trees.