page_title: Hofburg, Innsbruck
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Hofburg, Innsbruck / History
caption_attribution_description: English: The Hofburg, Innsbruck before its Baroque reconstruction
context_page_description: The Hofburg is a former Habsburg palace in Innsbruck, Austria, and considered one of the three most significant cultural buildings in the country, along with the Hofburg Palace and Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. The Hofburg is the main building of a large residential complex once used by the Habsburgs that still includes the Noblewomen's Collegiate Foundation, the Silver Chapel, the Hofkirche containing Emperor Maximilian's cenotaph and the Schwarzen Mandern, the Theological University, the Tyrolean Folk Art Museum, Innsbruck Cathedral, the Congress, and the Hofgarten.
  The original Hofburg palace was constructed from several elements under Archduke Sigismund around 1460. This structure included sections of medieval fortifications that ran along the eastern city wall. The building incorporated the Rumer Gate, which was later converted into the Heraldic Tower in 1499 by Jörg Kölderer under Emperor Maximilian I. The palace was expanded several times during the next 250 years. Between 1754 and 1773, the Hofburg palace underwent two stages of Baroque structural changes under Empress Maria Theresia: the south tract was constructed on the Hofgasse according to plans by J. M.
context_section_description: The Hofburg was built on a site once occupied by the fortifications and towers of the medieval city. In the fourteenth century, when Innsbruck was ruled by the Counts of Görz-Tyrol, the city's defensive walls included a section located where the Hofburg main façade stands today on Rennweg. Three structural elements of these early fortifications were retained and integrated into the palace: the South Roundel with its Hofgasse-Rennweg passageway on the eastern side of the palace was once called the Rumer Gate or Saggen Gate or Heraldic Tower, the North Roundel on the northeastern side was once a round tower, and the Corner Cabinet museum room was once a rectangular defensive tower. The town wall ran from the Rumer Gate to the round tower and continued west the rectangular tower, which can still be seen in the Hofburg façade as an irregularly projecting corner block.
  In 1361, the House of Habsburg began its rule of Tyrol. Between 1395 and 1406, Duke Leopold IV of Austria (1371–1411) began purchasing houses and properties in the area of the palace, as well as two gardens that lay outside the town walls—the present-day Court Garden. In 1406, Leopold's brother Duke Frederick IV of Austria (called Frederick with the Empty Pockets) became ruler of Tyrol. Frederick moved the seat of rule from Meran in present-day South Tyrol to Innsbruck, and constructed his New Residence, the building with the Goldenes Dachl west of the Hofburg area.
  In 1446, Archduke Sigismund (1427–1496) became ruler of Tyrol and reigned during a time of prosperity from mining operations in Tyrol. Sigismund expanded the Hofburg area through the acquisition of several houses on Hofgasse and various garden properties near the present-day cathedral. That year, construction of the Hofburg began with the foundations of the main building along the old trench (the southern section of the east wing along Rennweg) and a portion of the south wing (along Hofgasse). Rooms and a chapel in the east wing were completed, and according to tradition, a banquet was held in 1463 in a heated hall. A chancellery was built in the south wing (along Hofgasse). In the Rumer Gate, Sigismund added a room with large windows and a winding staircase where he installed a living room with wall coverings and a large bed. The Harnaschhaus (Armoury) was also added at this time (the present-day Stiftskeller) where suits of armour were produced and stored.
  The Hofburg was enlarged and expanded in the late Gothic style under Emperor Maximilian I (1459–1519), and soon gained the reputation as "the most beautiful building of the late Gothic period". In 1495, the palace was extended to the north of the building complex and was used as the residence of Maximilian's second wife Bianca Maria Sforza, whose dowry may have financed the work. During this phase of construction, the imperial apartments and the banquet hall were moved from the first upper floor to the second upper floor—the present location of the Giants' Hall (Riesensaal) and adjacent rooms. The entrance hall was also added to the north by the drawbridge. Maximilian's court master builder at the time was Nikolaus Thüring the Elder, who also built the Goldenes Dachl. Thüring was responsible for all planning and building construction. In 1499, the remnants of the Rumer Gate, which was destroyed by fire in 1494, were converted into the Heraldic Tower by Jörg Kölderer. The Hofburg inner courtyard is depicted in two watercolor paintings by Albrecht Dürer from 1495 and 1496.
  Between 1520 and 1530, the Hofburg was transformed into an enclosed building complex with walled-in courtyards. Individual structures to the southwest, west, and north were consolidated and formed a single outer façade. The large and small courtyards, as well as the kitchen courtyard, were completed and reflected their current dimensions. These changes were designed by Georg Thüring, the son of Nikolaus Thüring. In 1533, the Hofburg became the permanent residence of Emperor Ferdinand I (1503–1564) and his family. In 1534, a fire destroyed sections of the Hofburg. Ferdinand broug
caption: Hofburg prior to the Baroque reconstruction
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