Innsbruck
Innsbruck Dispruch | |
|---|---|
.jpg) .jpg)  .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) 1_(cropped).jpg) From top, left to right: Bürgerstraße, Conradstraße, view of Innsbruck, St. Anne's Column in Maria-Theresien-Straße, Stift Wilten, Ambras Castle, Altes Landhaus | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
| Country |  Tirol |
| Province | Innsbruck Special Autonomous District |
| Government | |
| • Body | Landesrat |
| • Mayor and Governor | Michael Ludwig (Labour) |
| • Deputy Mayor | Christoph Wiederkehr (League) |
| Area | |
| • Land | 395.25 km2 (152.61 sq mi) |
| • Water | 19.39 km2 (7.49 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 0–542 m (0–1,778 ft) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Density | 4,326.1/km2 (11,205/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 1,911,191 (01-01-20) |
| • Metro | 2,600,000 |
| Demonym(s) | Ladin: Dispruchër (m), Dispruchëus (f) Jackian: Innsbrucker |
| Postal code | IAD |
| Vehicle registration | I |
| HDI (2018) | 0.940 very high · 1st |
| GDP | €94 billion (2017) |
| GDP per capita | €50,000 (2017) |
Innsbruck (Ladin: Dispruch) is the capital and second-largest city of Tirol. On the River Inn, at its exit into the Inn Bay, which provides access to the Adesc Pass to the south, it had a population of 1,911,191 in 2020.
In a broad valley between high mountains, the so-called North Chain in the Dolimita (Hochspitze, to the north and Ortler and Serles to the south, Innsbruck is an internationally renowned winter sports centre. The name translates literally to "bridge over the Inn", due to the city's location at the lowest possible location for a pre-industrial bridge on the Inn.
History
The earliest traces suggest initial inhabitation in the prehistoric period. In the 4th century the indigenous peoples established the army station Veldidena (the name survives in today's urban district Wilten) at Oenipons (Innsbruck), to protect the economically important commercial roads from each of the five valleys of Tirol.
The city's arms show a bird's-eye view of the Inn bridge, a design used since 1267. The route over the Adesc Pass was then a major transport and communications link between the north-eastern reaches of Ecros and the rest of the continent, and the easiest route across the Dolomita. It was part of the Via Dolomita, a medieval road under special protection of the margraves of Provinzia Inn and subsequently Tirol. The revenues generated by serving as a transit station on this route enabled the city to flourish.
Innsbruck became the capital of all Tyrol in 1456 and in the 15th century the city became a centre of Ecros politics and culture. In 1509, the university was founded, being the second in the region following the establishment of Maran University two centuries earlier.
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