Austria – Tyrol, Vorarlberg (Innsbruck) Sept 21-22, 2019
BREGENZ/DORNBIRN
Bregenzerwald (Bregenz Forest) (01/08/1994)
Austrian Lake Constance (Bregenz area)
After Bregenz, I returned to Germany, driving 150kms there to see The Pilgrimage Church of Wies and Neuschwanstein Castle. I then continued south to reenter Austria and Innsbruck.
Highline179. Located near Reutte on the Bavarian-Austrian Border, it extends for 403m at an altitude of 114 meters (374 ft) above the Ehrenburg castle and connects the Ehrenburg ruins with Fort Claudia. The location of the bridge was chosen so that they could build it with a span of 403 meters (1,322 ft).
The 1.20 m wide pedestrian bridge consists of a grating on crossbars, which are attached to the four supporting 60mm cables with a diameter of 60 mm each by means of vertical hangers. The supporting ropes are fastened on both sides of the bridge with a total of 16 anchors that extend into the rock to a depth of 17 m. The weight of the bridge is about 70 tons.
One end of the bridge is 9.85 m higher than the other end. The load-bearing capacity is 1000 people, but for safety reasons only 500 people can be on the bridge at the same time, which is ensured by turnstiles at both ends.
It was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the “longest pedestrian bridge in the Tibet style”. The Guinness World Records Certificate confirmed “The longest Tibet-style footbridge is a catenary-shaped walkway” which brought the distinction to the now opened, approximately 440 m long bridge in the Skypark of Sochi, which is constructed differently with fixed walkways suspended under a tension belt.
INNSBRUCK (pop 133.000)
Located in a broad valley between the Karwendel Alps, it is a world renowned winter sports center and hosted the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics.
History. Had stone age remnants, a 4th century Roman army station (Veldidnea) that protected the Verone-Brenner-Augsburg road – Brenner Pass was then a major transport and communications link between north and south Europe. The road generated significant revenues as a transit station. The name originates from the bridge over the Inn River.
Emperor Maximilian I reside in Innsbruck in the 1490s when he built the cathedral and palace. It was under Hapsburg control until the 18th century. During the Napoleonic Wars, it was ceded to Bavaria, an ally of France. After 1814, it was controlled again by the Austrian monarchy.
In WW I, it saw limited action near the end of the war when it was occupied by 22,000 Italian soldiers. It was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938 and between 1943-5, suffered heavy damage from 22 air raids.
Innsbruck Card. Free admission to all Innsbruck museums, all cable cars and public transport. 24 hours-€43, 48 hours-€50, 72 hours-€59.
Europa Bridge (Europabrücke bungee). About 8kms south of Innsbruck, this has a bungee jump. Unfortunately it is a swing and not that exciting.
Bergisel Ski Jump. whose stadium has a capacity of 26,000, is a ski jumping hill located in Bergisel in Innsbruck. It is one of the more important venues in the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, annually hosting the third competition of the prestigious Four Hills Tournament.
Its first competitions were held in the 1920s using simple wood constructions. The larger hill was first built in 1930 and was rebuilt before the 1964 Winter Olympics for the individual large hill event. Twelve years later, the venue hosted the same event. The hill in its current form was finished in 2003 and was designed by the British Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid.
Flea Market. In a large gravel lot on the far east of Innsbruck, I actually hit a flea market on a Saturday when it was open. The usual stuff.
Cultural Landscape of “Innsbruck-Nordkette/Karwendel“. A tentative WHS (23/01/2002). Innsbruck was founded at the junction of several trade routes and was the residence of several dukes, German kings and emperors since the Late Middle Ages. Includes Golden Roof, cathedral, Castle Ambres, several abbeys and convents in the area and the Hofburg Palace.
Innsbruck also gives access to several high alpine areas with several alpine pastures in the Nordkette Mountains that rise virtually out of the city and the southernmost of the four mountain chains in the Karwendel. The Nordkette Funicular climbs 2,256m from the city centre. The Karwendel Alpine Park has 11 different protected areas and has supplied the city’s drinking water since 1486.
Golden Roof. Built by emperor Maximilian I in about 1500, it has a wonderful façade of coloured statues, a balcony and the gilded copper roof.
Taxipalais. Holding the Kunstmuseum, a contemporary art museum (typical blah).
Hofburg Palace. This cream 4-story palace encloses a large empty cobble square. One side of the entrance has the expensive Sacher Café and the other the Hofburg Museum with the Imperial Palace apartments (25 rooms from 18th and 19th centuries with the Giant’s hall the highlight, a special exhibit on Maximilian I. €9.50, 7 reduced
Innsbruck Cathedral (Dom St Jacob). A single nave church, this is another over-the-top Rococo masterpiece with lavish painted ceilings (three in the nave, one in the dome over the chancel), pink marble columns and altars and pink stucco decoration. The huge altar appears to be solid gold and silver. Free
Hall in Tyrol – The Mint. Tentative WHS: (01/02/2013). Located in the Burg Hasegg, it had a 300-year history as a mint for silver Thalers (coins, the root of the modern word ‘dollar’). The Hall Mint Museum has several coin presses, showcases many coins and relates the mining history of the town. Climb 186 steps to the 5th floor of the 10-sided tower for panoramic views of Hall and the Inntal Valley. €8, 6.50 reduced, €11.50 combined with the tower.
The castle was originally built to protect the salt mines in the early 1300s. The mint was established in 1477 making the first dollar-sized coin in 1486. The old mint in Sparberegg was transferred to Hasegg in 1567 resulting a significant boom in the economy. 17 million Thalers were eventually produced and was the silver coin used throughout Europe for almost 400 years. The mint ceased production in 1806 due to the Napoleonic Wars and the lack of local silver.
Swarowski Kristalwelten, Watten. In the NM “Bizzarium”, this is truly bizarre. OMG people actually buy this stuff! I can’t think of more gaudy unattractive jewelry and useless coffee table knick-knacks that you need to pay an arm and a leg for. But once I had a girlfriend who had a house full of it.
This is a mini-theme park for Swarowski with several “attractions”: The Chamber of Wonder is the store (€2.50 to enter) set into a “hill” with a giant head on the outside, garden of the Giant, Crystal Cloud (800,000 crystals floating above a mirror pond and Playtower and Playground (5-story glass building).
The highlight for me was the dome in the store that amplified all sound. €19
NOMAD MANIA Austria – Tyrol, Vorarlberg (Innsbruck)
Tentative WHS
Bregenzerwald (Bregenz Forest) (01/08/1994)
Cultural Landscape of “Innsbruck-Nordkette/Karwendel” (23/01/2002)
Hall in Tyrol – The Mint (01/02/2013)
Sights (Temporarily Reinstated)
Golden Roof, Innsbruck
Kitzbühel
St. Anton ski resort
Borders
Austria-Germany
Austria-Italy
Austria-Liechtenstein
Austria-Switzerland
XL
Austrian Lake Constance (Bregenz area)
Hinterriss
Jungholz
Kleinwalsertal (Riezlern, Hirschegg, Mittelberg)
Tyrol exclave (Lienz area)
European Cities
BREGENZ/DORNBIRN
Tentative WHS: Bregenzerwald (Bregenz Forest) (01/08/1994)
XL: Austrian Lake Constance (Bregenz area)
Railway, Metro, Funiculars, Cable Cars: Pfänderbahn, Bregenz
Museums:
Bregenz: Voralberger Museum
Dornbirn: City Museum
Dornbirn: inatura natural spectacle Gmbh
Vehicle Museums: Dornbirn: Rolls Royce Museum
INNSBRUCK World City and Popular Town
Tentative WHS: Cultural Landscape of “Innsbruck-Nordkette/Karwendel” (23/01/2002)
Airports: Innsbruck (INN)
Railway, Metro, Funiculars, Cable Cars: Innsbruck Trams, Hungerburgbahn
Museums
AUDIOVERSUM – ScienceCenter
Golden Roof
Grassmayr Clock Museum
Museum of the Tyrolean Imperial Infantry
Tyrol Panorama Museum
Tyrolean Folk Art Museum
Tyrolean State Museum
Castles, Palaces, Forts
Ambras Castle
Hassegg Castle
Hofburg Palace (Museum)
Innsbruck: Taxipalais
Religious Temples: Innsbruck Cathedral
Modern Architecture Buildings:
Bergisel Ski Jump
BTV City Forum
Congresspark Igls-Convention Centre
Haus der Musik
Hungerburgbahn
Entertainment/Things to do
Alpenzoo Innsbruck
Europabrücke bungee
Audioversum
Zoos: Innsbruck: Alpenzoo
Botanical Gardens: Innsbruck Botanical Gardens
Hospitality Legends: Hotel Goldener Adler
Markets: Innsbruck: Flea Market
Railway Museums: Tyrolean Railway Museum
World of Nature: Kaunergrat
Villages and Small Towns
Alpbach
Bezau
Brand
Heinfels
Kufstein
Lienz
St. Christoph am Arlberg
Waidring
HALL IN TYROL
Tentative WHS: Hall in Tyrol – The Mint (01/02/2013)
Railway, Metro, Funiculars, Cable Cars
Achenseebahn
Ellmau: Hartkaiserbahn
Gondelbahn Hartkaiser
Lower Inn Valley Railway (Kufstein-Innsbruck)
Mittenwald Railway (innsbruck-Mittenwald)
Muttereralm Cable Car
Nordkette Cable Car
Oberperfluss Bergbahnen
Patscherkofel Cable Car
Railjet
Salzburg-Tyrol Railway (Salzburg to Innsbruck via Bischofshofen)
Tyrolean Zugspitze Cable Car
Zillertalbahn steam railway
Museums
Frastanz: Voralberg Museum
Kitzbuhel: Townmuseum
Koblach: Museum of Prehistory
Kufstein: Sewing Machine Museum
Lustenau: Galerie Hollenstein
Rattenberg: Augustinian Museum
Reutte: Museum im Grünen Haus
Schwaz: Museum der Völker
Solden: 007 Elements
Söll: Tyrolean Bee World
Castles, Palaces, Forts
Feldkirch: Schattenburg
Jenbach: Tratzberg Castle
Kufstein: Kufstein Fortress
Landeck: Landeck Castle
Kaunergrat
Festivals
Innsbruck Festival of Early Music
Schubertiade Schwarzenberg
Snowbombing
Summer Festival at Lake Constance
Zoos: Feldkirch: Wildpark
Theme Parks: Söll: Witches’ Water
Caves
Spannagel Cave
Tischofer Cave
Ski Resorts
Ischgl
Kitzbühel
Lech am Arlberg
Mayrhofen
Obergurgl
St. Anton ski resort
Religious Monuments: Sankt Jakob in Haus: Jakob Cross (Jakobskreuz)
Pedestrian Bridges: Reutte: Highline179
Open-Air Museums: Kramsach: Museum of Tyrolean Farms
Vehicle Museums: Hochgurgl: Top Mountain Motorcycle Museum Crosspoint
Bizzarium: Wattens: Swarowski Kristalwelten