AUSTRIAN ALPS
S
HADOWS SLANT OVER
Innsbruck’s cobbles as the
city shakes off its slumber
and wakes for another day. In
its cafés, locals gather for
their morning constitutional – a cup of
black coffee and a slice of apple strudel,
baked at dawn and served piping-hot. As
they tuck into breakfast, sunlight creeps
along pavements and onto façades
painted in pastel pinks, mustard yellows
and duck-egg blues. North of the Altstadt
(Old Town), cable cars buzz up the
hillsides, ferrying walkers to an early
start among the spiked summits of the
Nordkette range.
More than 200 miles west of the
Austrian capital Vienna, Innsbruck is a
city where life is framed by the mountains.
Hedged north and south by peaks, it
guards one of the most ancient trading
routes over the Alps, the Brenner Pass.
For centuries, pilgrims, pedlars, traders
and troopers have travelled through here
on their way across the mountains, using
Innsbruck’s namesake bridge to cross the
Inn River en route to Italy and the
Mediterranean beyond.- Innsbruck
A waypoint across the Alps since ancient times, the stately city of Innsbruck is steeped
in imperial history, yet also serves as a launchpad for mountain activities
Innsbruck grew rich by controlling the
flow of trans-mountain traffic. As capital of
Tyrol, it served until 1665 as an alternative
seat of power to Vienna for the Habsburg
dynasty. Even now, long after its imperial
star has waned, the town still cheekily
bills itself as the ‘Capital of the Alps’.
Habsburg influence dominates the
elegant Altstadt. Boulevards lined by
mansions and merchants’ townhouses
radiate from the city’s heart, and many
buildings are richly decorated: swashes,
scrolls and curlicues embellish their
Baroque façades, like flourishes on a
wedding cake. Often, the architecture
contains echoes of old glories: the imperial
double-headed eagle is a common motif,
adorning everything from shop signs to
door knockers.
Inevitably, it’s the city’s royal buildings
that impress most. The hallways of the
Hofburg Palace are lined with Old Master
paintings and objets d’art, and its ceilings
emblazoned with frescoes that play
games with the eye – conjuring curves
where none exist, or seeming to open into
the heavens. Nearby, on Herzog-
Friedrich-Strasse, stands the Goldenes
Dachl (Golden Roof), built for Emperor
Maximilian I in 1500 as a royal box from
which to watch festivities in the square
below. Crowned with 2,657 copper tiles
that flash and shimmer like fish scales in
the sunlight, it’s a striking reminder of
Innsbruck’s glorious past.
One man who has an unusual insight
into the city’s history is Peter Grassmayr,
whose family owns Austria’s oldest bell
foundry, founded in 1599, just south of
the city centre. Grassmayr bells have
been chiming out from the city’s church
towers for four centuries, and are now
shipped to temples, chapels and
sanctuaries across the globe.
‘We make bells for eight different
religions and 50 countries,’ Peter explains,
as he strolls around the foundry’s bell
garden, where a collection of the
company’s historic bells now reside in
hushed retirement. ‘We might be in the
middle of the mountains, but our bells
can be heard as far away as Jerusalem,
Australia and Japan!’
For all its architectural pomp, these
days Innsbruck is a place that’s more
popular for the outdoor pursuits that take
place beyond its urban core. It has hosted
the Winter Olympics twice – in 1964 and1976 – and few cities have such a main
line to the mountains. A futuristic
funicular, designed by star architect Zaha
Hadid, joins up with two cable cars to
whisk hikers, skiers and snowboarders
from the Altstadt’s squares into the heart
of the Nordkette range at more than
2,000m, taking 20 minutes in all.
At the top, a viewing platform overlooks
the city’s rooftops – a sea of spires, domes
and terracotta tiles, backed by black peaks.
But there is a price for such a view: as the
cable car glides to a halt and its doors
whoosh open, a blast of wind whips up
from the valley below, sending hats and
gloves flying as it howls across the
summits. Most people are prepared,
tightening hoods and zipping up fleeces as
they begin the trek back down towards the
city. In an hour or two, they will be
rewarding themselves with mugs of hot
chocolate and slices of torte in one of the
Altstadt’s old-world cafés.The Grand Hotel Europa was built in 1869.
Its bedrooms are modern, with neutral colour
schemes and spacious bathrooms, though some
suites have a more Alpine feel, with wood-
panelled walls and rustic furniture. Reminders
of the hotel’s 19th-century heyday remain –
ask at reception to have a peek into the grand
ballroom, glittering with antique chandeliers
(from US$157; grandhoteleuropa.at).
Find more tips at innsbruck.info. Pick up an
Innsbruck card, which covers admission to
most museums, and includes travel on buses and
cable cars (US$34/42/49 for 24/48/72 hours).Essentials
From Innsbruck, follow the A12 autobahn east along
the Inn Valley before turning south for rock-climbing
and hiking around Mayrhofen in the valley of the
Zillertal – an hour’s drive in total.