Skywatch Friday #29: old town Innsbruck in Austria

Breath taking quiet night in Innsbruck, looking up the blue sky after rain…

Innsbruck is the capital city of the federal state of Tyrol in western Austria. A lovely place which sightseeing highlights include the lovely old town, the permanent presence of the Alps, palaces, churches, museums, castles, and winter sport facilities.
I am able to have a short taste of Austria when we stayed in Innsbruck for a night. Our hotel is just 5 minutes walk to the semi-circular quarter of the Old Town, which enclosed by a ring of streets known as the Graben ("Moat"), it is now a pedestrian precinct making it easy for tourists to go on foot and explore. We were walking along the old street in cold and rainy morning while there was still a bit dark around us and all the shops are close…I have taken some pictures, I wish I could have more time to walk around in this lovely town, I hate traveling by group, followed the tour and rushing to finish all the itinerary listed on the paper...But again, I am not sure if I dare to walk around freely on my own in such a place when I don’t understand German at all.
I posted some pictures here for the beautiful memory of Austria, and I wish I could come back again here one day.

The famous Golden Roof or called The Goldenes Dachl, the landmark here, it was completed in 1496, is a three-story balcony on the central plaza at the heart of the Innsbruck Old Town. This magnificent Late Gothic oriel window roofed with 2,657 gilded copper tiles (Not Gold!) was built in 1494 to commemorate the second marriage of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I to Bianca Maria Sforza of Milan.  Maximilian is known to expand his territory not through conquests but by marriages. In the frescos and reliefs,  he had an image of himself between the two women painted on his balcony. 
For many years, the balcony served as a royal box where the emperor could sit in state and enjoy tournaments in the square below. Since January 2003, the Golden Roof has been housing the International Alpine Convention’s Office.

In the lovely Old Town of Innsbrück - the Helblinghaus with its fussy rococo ornamentation

Right across from the famous roof, the building painted in a pretty pink, is the Rococo Helblinghaus. The building is decorated with Middle Baroque plasterwork as well as front oriels. The ornamental screen façade is highly embellished with sculpture and decorative elements such as lavish acanthus, busts, masks and shells. It is an outstanding example of bourgeois grandeur.
    

Walking in old town, quiet street in the morning…

Innsbruck Clock Tower

The area seemed relatively small, but as usual in these Germanic areas, the place is clean, organized…You feel safe. :)

There are many beautiful sign along the street, I will post my collection soon…

 

Innsbruck and the Swiss Alps

Beautiful and colorful houses with the alps in the background…Imagine waking up every morning to the Austrian alps. magnificent! But I don’t think I want to stay there for long, it is just tooooooo cold for me. :)