Stadtturm

The Stadtturm stands in the heart of Innsbruck’s old town, beside the Gothic town hall in Herzog-Friedrich-Straße. Its six-storey stone base rises from the row of houses, marking the skyline with a slender octagonal lantern and onion dome. The tower is built entirely from Höttinger Breccie, a local Nagelfluh stone, with plain plaster covering the upper section. The tower’s history reflects the city’s growing confidence in the 15th century. Between 1442 and 1450 the citizens added it to the old town hall to defend their rights. Watchmen climbed the 148 steps each day to call the hours and warn of fire or danger until the last Türmerin left in 1967. The lower floors once held a prison, and the iron grilles remain in the first two storeys. In 1560 city builder Caspar Schäbl replaced the Gothic spire with the present onion dome, and Erasmus Melchior installed the first clock in 1603. Visitors enter through the town hall and climb to a viewing platform 31 metres above the street. The platform is surrounded by an iron railing reached after the climb. Above it the octagonal lantern rises another 20 metres, capped by a lantern that glows at night. The tower’s plain stone surfaces and simple ironwork contrast with the richly decorated town hall next door. From the platform the rooftops of the old town stretch away, with the distant Nordkette mountains framing the view.