Breathe in pure mountain air…
@olivertomberry
1. 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
SHADOWS 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 bypeaks, it guards one ofthe 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 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 are lined with Old Master paintings and , and its ceilings emblazoned with frescoes that play games with the eye – conjuring curves where none exist, or (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.
