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Innsbruck as Residenzstadt

Helen Coffey

Innsbruck had been the seat of the Tyrolean government since 1420, when Sigmund’s father Friedrich IV of Austria, nicknamed “mit der leeren Tasche” (Frederick with the empty purse) had moved his residence to the town, constructing the palace that would remain central to the administration of ducal power for years to come. The court and palace grew in size as the dukes gained in wealth, this expansion being characteristic of the reign of Sigmund, which commenced in 1446. His income from the region’s salt and silver mines and its trade with southern Germany and Italy enabled him to develop a court of great cultural and intellectual significance, the extravagant festivities of which shaped life within his palace and the surrounding area. Sigmund, a popular figure, often participated in the celebrations of his subjects in Innsbruck or the nearby town of Hall.[11] (» D. Hofmusik. Innsbruck; » D. The Waldauf foundation.)

In the years after 1490 Maximilian developed a particular fondness for the Tyrol, which appealed to the young king on several counts: its location on the Brenner Pass meant that it was an ideal stopping point for those travelling between Italy and northern Europe; the nearby silver, copper and salt mines continued to provide a steady source of income; and the region provided the ideal surroundings for his favourite pastime of hunting (» Abb. Hunting and fishing).

 

 

Despite the king’s frequent and prolonged absences from Innsbruck, the town was not entirely without a court presence under Maximilian. While many of those employed by the royal court accompanied the monarch on his travels, other officials were permanently resident in Innsbruck, which played a crucial role as an administrative centre. And like Sigmund, Maximilian established his own residence there, in the palace which he likewise renovated and extended; the famous golden roof of the king’s treasury (added years later) is a lasting mark of Maximilian’s influence in this respect (» Abb. The Innsbruck palace with its golden roof). Yet Maximilian’s adoption of the Innsbruck palace as his main (though not permanent) residence did not mean that Sigmund was fully to relinquish his former home. Until his death in 1496, he and his wife Katharina of Saxony were to live in the “Neuhof” – the part of the palace that had been built by his father Friedrich back in 1420 – while Maximilian took up residence in the newer “Mitterhof” when visiting the region.[12]

 

 

[11] Drexel 2001, 602-3; Senn 1954, 1-2.

[12] For the Mitterhof, see » Leitbild F. with commentary. Further details of Maximilian’s relationship with Innsbruck are in Senn 1954, 19; Fritz 1968Cuyler 1973Benecke 1982Wiesflecker-Friedhuber 1996 and 2005.