The life of Emperor Maximilian

Emperor Maximilian I was the son of Emperor Friedrich III and his wife Eleonore of Portugal and he was born in 1459. In 1486 Maximilian became German king. In 1490 Tyrol was handed over to him by a relative, Archduke Sigmund of Tyrol, since he was heavily in debt. Maximilian enjoyed coming to Tyrol to hunt and to climb. He held the mountains and the extensive stock of wild animals in particularly high regard. Yet since Tyrol was also rich in mineral resources, it was also useful for him in his various endeavours. In 1508 in Trento he took the title "Elected Roman Emperor" after the Venetians prevented his onward journey to Rome. Emperor Maximilian died in 1519, his grave in Innsbruck‘s chapel royal lay empty since he wanted to be buried in Vienna’s new town.

The Emperor and his Innsbruck

In Emperor Maximilian’s time Innsbruck had around 5000 inhabitants and was an important point in his kingdom. He had many houses in what is today’s Old Town area, including the building where the Kaiser Max Appartements are today. The building was first mentioned in documents dating from 1390, with the core building dating from the 15th century. The five-storey building with its extensively unadorned facade has a three-storey wide bay and a curved Baroque gable and ogival-roofed pergola on the ground floor. The most famous landmark of Innsbruck, the Goldenes Dachl, with its 2657 gilded copper shingles, was commissioned by Emperor Maximilian. The Wappenturm tower at the Old Town exit to the chapel royal is attributed to him.