Innsbruck Travel guide

Southeast from the center of Innsbruck in the midst of a large park is situated the famous Castle Ambras in Renaissance style. The Tirolean Sovereign, Archduke Ferdinand II (1529 - 1595), gave instructions to finish it as both his residential castle and a museum. The present Art and Historical Museumnow display the collections of this generous patron of the Habsburger.

You can see three armouries, as well as a chamber for art and "curiosities". In the "Hochschloss" you can find the portrait gallery of the "Habsburger" with the portraits beginning from Duke Albrecht III (1349-1395) up to Emperor Franz I (1768-1835) and those of their relatives of the European dynasties. On the ground floor is situated the collection of late mediaeval images (sculptures, paintings etc.), of which the most important and the showpiece is the Georgsaltar of Emperor Maximilian I (1459-1519).


The central court is decorated with ornate mural paintings; a rarity is the bathroom of Philippine Welser. At the foot of the "Hochschloss" Ferdinand II had the Spanischen Saal built. In this 40 m long representation hall the "Ambraser Schlosskonzerte" takes place every summer.

As many British enjoy the Dracula-myth, I want to mention that among the portraits there is one of the Count Vlad Tzepesch IV (15th century), the impeller, son of Count Vlad Dracul, and notorious for his atrocities. This painting from the 16th century is a copy of the oldest original (15th century).

That's what you can admire, when you are visiting the Castle Ambras. But nevertheless you can find a lot of things, which initially are not to be discovered with the unaided eye. You don't believe me? I am speaking of several nice and interesting creations by Nature and not by human beings, which are living on an ivy-covered wall of this park, which Archduke Karl Ludwig had built in the 19th century: some landshells.