Innsbruck Attractions

The Hofkirche (Court Church) in Innsbruck is a Gothic church built 1553–1563 by Ferdinand I as a memorial to his grandfather Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459–1519), whose cenotaph within boasts a remarkable collection of German Renaissance sculpture. It also contains the tomb of Andreas Hofer, Tirol's national hero. Although Maximilian's will had directed that he be buried in the castle chapel in Wiener Neustadt, it proved impractical to construct there the large memorial whose plans he had supervised in detail, and Ferdinand I as executor planned construction of a new church and monastery in Innsbruck for a suitable memorial. In the end, however, Maximilian's simple tomb remained in Wiener Neustadt and the Hofkirche serves as a cenotaph.

Ambras Castle is a renaissance style castle that was built on behalf of archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol. Situated in the hills above Innsbruck, the Castle of Ambras is one of the most important sights of the city. Its cultural and historical importance and was the residence of Archduke Ferdinand II from 1563 to 1595. In the lower part of the castle there are two rooms containing arms and armour, on the first floor a valuable art collection and in the upper part of the castle, the bathroom of Ferdinand's wife Philippine Welser. The Spanish hall between the lower and upper part of the castles is a notable example of German Renaissance architecture and is adorned with frescoes on the walls. Interesting things to see are the portrait- and armour-collections, art and curiosity cabinets, the spanish hall and the palace garden. Open 10AM - 5PM April to October: €8. December to...

Bergiselschanze is a ski jumping hill located in Bergisel in Innsbruck, Austria. It is one of the more important venues in the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, annually hosting the third competition of the prestigious Four Hills Tournament. Its first competitions were held in the 1920s using simple wood constructions. The larger hill was first built in 1930 and was rebuilt before the 1964 Winter Olympics for the individual large hill event. Twelve years later, the venue hosted the same event. The hill in its current form was finished in 2003 and was designed by the British Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid. Because of its design and prominent location (on Bergisel, south of Innsbruck) it is considered a new city landmark. There is a cafe on top, which offers views of Innsbruck and the surrounding mountains. During sporting events, the jumping tower is not accessible, and a ticket is needed ...

The alpine zoo is Europe's highest situated zoo (727 m), and is specializing in alpine animals. It contains outdoor enclosures, terrariums, aviaries, aquariums (world's biggest collection of alpine fish species) and a barnyard with old farm animal races. The zoo is in hillside situation, so there's a certain altitude difference to cover. Free entrance with the Innsbruck-Card.