Technically the oldest museum in the world and most definitely the loveliest castle in Tyrol, the Ambras Castle is Innsbruck’s one of the top attractions. Framed against the statuesque mountains, the Rennaissance style castle was painstakingly conceptualised by Ferdinand II (the culturally brilliant scion of the Habsburg dynasty) for his beloved wife Philippine Wesler.
Room after room of paintings now beckons visitors while Ferdinand’s collections of exotica are displayed in the beautiful Archduke’s chamber of Art and Commerce. The 141 feet long outstandingly decorated Spanish Hall, the Portrait Gallery bearing more than 200 portraits and the rare collection of the armoury in the lower Castle are not the only attractions here. The renaissance castle has a tripartite garden with peacocks, duck ponds, bonsai, a playground, cascading waterfalls and woods other than a café and a gift shop. The Castle is a destination that families, couples, historians, art lovers and almost everyone else loves.
Background
The Ambras castle started as the seat of the counts of Andechs and the Dukes of Merania in the 12th century though it was almost completely rebuilt by Archduke Ferdinand II later. Ferdinand the 2nd was hailed to be the most cultured and artistic member of the house of Habsburg and he secretly married an equally kind-hearted untitled lady named Philippine Welser (a rare royal weds non-royal scenario).
Two Italian architects were summoned in the early 16th century to turn the medieval style Ambras into a gorgeous renaissance style castle as a gift for Philippine Wesler. The part which is known as ‘Upper Castle’ held the royal couple’s residence. Later in the 16th century, a building called Heldenrüstkammer was made to hold Ferdinand II’s considerable collection of weapons, art, precious objects and memorabilia…this was the first version of the Ambras museum.
It’s this part of the building that later became Schloss Ambras Innsbruck (or Ambras Castle) and a part of the Kunsthistorisches Museum family. Philippine Wesler gained immense popularity later and became known as the ‘merciful miss’ but it was after the royal couple’s death that the palace fell into disrepair and neglect.
Many valuable books and objects from the Ambras collections were moved to Vienna by Emperor Leopold where they can be viewed at Austrian National Library… it’s said that even the French invader conqueror Napoleon respected the worth and sanctity of the collection.
The later changes and restoration of the Ambras castle were the work of Archduke Karl Ludwig and the castle’s English garden and pretty ivy-clad entrance area were his idea. Between 1919 to 1981, the administration of the Ambras castle passed into the hands of the Republic of Austria, gained recognition as a federal museum and its collections were reorganised and refurbished.
Upper Castle
Spanish Hall
Arguably, the most picturesque part of the castle, the Spanish Hall is recognised to be the best freestanding hall representative of the Renaissance movement. The 141 feet long hall has 27 marvellously crafted full-sized portraits of the important rulers of Tyrol with paintings of Albrecht III (1349 to 1395) to Emperor Franz (1768 to 1835). The portraits stand against a landscape background and in conjunction with the window, it seems like the room is open on all sides.
Note the north and east walls… they have bull’s eyes with their surfaces reflecting skies and the clouds. The doors are made of a combination of woods and adorned with gilt while the wooden ceiling is also artistically coffered. The Hall now hosts classical concerts and events like the Innsbruck Early Music Festival.
Portrait Gallery
The Portrait Gallery in the Upper Castle has about 200 pieces of work of famous artists of that era like Lucas Cranach, Peter Paul Rubens, Titian, Anthonis van Dyck and Diego Velásquez. The subjects are all royalty and all members of the Habsburg clan… now recognised to be the most impactful and influential royal race of Europe.
Look at the portraits of Emperor Maximilian I, Emperor Charles V, and Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, King Phillip II of Spain. Some paintings like those of young Maria Theresia and 3-year-old Eleonora Gonzaga (made by Reuben’s) are of special interest. A walk through the Portrait Gallery is a walk through history as well as a study of the art of portraiture.
Glass Collection
The Glass collection at Ambras castle is officially recognised as one of the most important of this category in the world. Exquisitely curated by Professor Rudolf Strasser between the years 1919 and 2014, the collection showcases glass art from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. There are representations of glasswork of all regions right from Venice, Bohemia, Netherlands, Innsbruck, Germany and Tyrol.
Though this marvellous Glass collection was first displayed at Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, after 2014 it has been gracing the Upper Castle of Ambras. Browse through around 200 goblets, chalices, beakers and tankards…many of them are worth millions. There are different kinds of work like glass engraving, diamond point decoration, copper wheel engraving, gold ruby colouring, copper wheel engraving etc.
Incidentally, Ferdinand II had been very fond of glass art and the Innsbruck glass making culture was incepted in his rule. Items of Ferdinand’s glass collection are however displayed in the Chamber of Art and Wonders.
Collection of Goth Sculpture
Since 1996, a collection of Goth Sculpture has been housed on the ground floor of the medieval section of the castle…this was earlier the defence tower and a hiding place during sieges. The collection housed here now comprises of high-quality Goth style pieces that date from 1880 and later… they are primarily works of Tyrol though Germany and Lower Austrian styles have also influenced them.
The most significant piece here is St George Altar that was commissioned by Maximillian I and created by Sebold Bocksdorfer. The wings of the altar have paintings of saints like Barbara, Catherine, Florian and Christopher… the beautiful altar was housed in St Georges Chapel in the castle (now destroyed).
Archduke’s Chamber of Art and Wonders
It was the tradition of conquerors of lands to plunder the collections painstakingly put together by the vanquished kings and this is how similar Kunstkammer in Munich and Prague were looted. The Chamber of Arts and curiosities at the Ambras was mercifully spared and inside it, everything seems frozen in time. Corals stand proudly displayed in their cabinet boxes and exotic silk paintings are displayed on the walls while ivory turnery rests on panels.
The focus of this area is both on rare objects related to art and commerce which is why you will even see complicated scientific equipment, rare musical instruments, bronze sculptures, gold filigree work, precious glass etc. all represented here. The Hall still stands in faithful obedience to the 16th-century style of Ambras inventories.
Courtyard
The courtyard of the upper castle has grisaille paintings and very well preserved frescoes that depict royal muses, princely values, heroes and heroines and many kinds of heroic acts. Archduke Ferdinand II and the Habsburg clan are commemorated by these representations. The Ambras courtyard is similar to Litomysl castle and the archbishop’s palace/ Palais Martinez in Prague.
The west wall is the most beautiful and has Bacchic processions with satyrs, carts in the space between the first and second floors while Orpheus playing music is shown in the space between the 2nd and 3rd floors. The north wall has images of the liberal arts that include music, astronomy, arithmetic, rhetoric and dialectic etc. The east wall has a Trompe-l’œil window with a stag and old testament heroines like Judith, Vael, Esther.
There is a Bacchic procession plus Judith dressed with the head of Holofernes here too and there is a battle scene and knights are dressed in magnificent armour. The south wall (falls left to the entrance) has prudence, faith, charity, justice, fortitude, temperance and wisdom. There are 9 muses above too along with heroes from antiquity and new heroes like Judas Maccabeus, Joshua, and Godfrey of Bouillon, Alexander the Great, David, Arthur, Charlemagne, Hector and Julius Caesar
Phillippine Wesler’s Bathing Chamber
The bathing chamber is remarkable by the fact that it possesses lots of modernisation, there is a sweat bath and the bathtub is sunk 1.6 meters into the floor besides being clad with copper sheeting. Even the floorboards have grooves in them so that the water could drain away and there are pipes to transport hot water from boiler to tub while cold water comes in from prison gardens. The frescoed frieze has artworks by Albrecht Dürer, Georg Pencz, Virgil Solis, Hans and Sebald Beham along with 5000 copper engravings.
St Nicholas Chapel
Saint Nicholas Chapel is oriented eastward and is spanned by a net vault while two large arches connect it to a vestibule. Once you enter inside you will be awed by the lovely artwork… most of it was commissioned by Archduke Ferdinand II.
The original 16th-century decoration was iconographically retained by Innsbruck painter August Worndle who repainted it and he made marvellous depictions of the birth of Christ, Crucification and Christ teachings below the nave while on the south wall he painted the resurrection, ascension, sending of Holy Spirit.
Note the prettily painted gabled niches on the choir arch… they show St Joseph and the Immaculate Conception. The Neuhauser brothers (proponents of Innsbruck Glass painting school) worked on the windows while the neo-Gothic altar has St Nicholas’s statue in the Baldachin niche. Even the blind arcade (front of Predella) has figures of saints.
Lower Castle
Heroes Armoury
Ferdinand’s collection conceptualisation began with heroes’ armoury i.e. original armours that were owned by famous personalities of his time as well as the past few centuries. More than 120 armours lay in his collection and they included military commanders, knights etc. who played a heroic role in the Habsburg dynasty. The armours were methodically collected and displayed in the correct museum-style in high wooden cabinets… 8 of these cabinets still exist today.
Tournament of Arms
Tournament arms and armoury were collected by Ferdinand from his ancestors Archduke Sigmund, Emperor Maximilian and they displayed forms of knightly contests. Tournament procedures and weapon use as demonstrated in Emperor Maximilian’s book ‘Freydal’ are displayed here
Note: all throughout the Upper and lower castle there are signs in English and German, pointing towards exhibits and providing a brief description. Don’t miss a look out of the windows as you will get to see the excellent city and mountain views. Exploring the castle will mean climbing 3 floors worth of stairs and it’s not really suitable for the differently-abled.
Ferdinand Café and Bistro
The café Ferdinand is at the second level courtyard. Here there is a viewing platform that you can look into and gain a bird’s eye view of the entire castle grounds and Innsbruck. There is a mini library and the seating room has Goth décor with modern accents. Round tables, vaulted ceilings and a lovely frescoed courtyard all add charm to the traditional Austrian snacks and coffee served here.
Gift / Book Shop
This stands near the entrance and has a nice collection of books about history, culture, gardening etc. apart from reasonably priced souvenirs and collectables.
Park of Ambras Castle
The park of the Ambras castle is almost as big an attraction as the castle itself. It’s a game park with mixed forests, swerving paths, artificial waterfalls, rock formations, canyons and bridges. The Ambras Park changed designs multiple times and unfortunately Ferdinand II’s vineyards and garden houses exist no more. The latest design of the park was created in 1997 in Renaissance style by Maria Aubock and represents a fully developed 16th-century garden.
Some of the beautiful features of the park include a pond with bonsai, huge rotundas and cascading falls, peacocks and other birds and even an English style duck pond other than a nice children’s playground. A lovely place to walk, play with your kids, nature watch and photograph and afterwards go for a picnic lunch! The luxuriant woods hide the castle somewhat but from the north of the valley… the floodlit castle and its domineering position over Innsbruck can be clearly seen.
Timings, Tickets & Tours
The Ambras Castle is open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. But it’s closed for the whole of November. The Portrait Gallery is only open from April to October. The last admission is offered to the castle at 4.30 p.m.
From April to October, the entry fee per adult is 12 euro while a family ticket is 22 euro. From December to March entry fee per adult is 8 euro while a family ticket is 14 euro. Kids and teens under the age of 19 get free entry.
The entry fee for the castle includes a multilingual audio guide but you can only take it after you have deposited some ID. The guide is quite clear and comprehensive and offers a better understanding of the castle’s history and its exhibits.
You can book Ambras castle tickets online through Viator.
The Collection of Goth Sculpture can be viewed even without taking the museum ticket from April to October.
The Ambras garden parks are open from 6.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. from October 22 to 10th February and from 6.00 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. from February 11th to March 25th. From 26th March to 8th April the park is open till 8 pm and from 9th April to 1st May it’s open till 9.00 p.m. Thereafter till August, the park is open till 9.30 p.m. After this, the closing hours shift progressively earlier each month and the park closes earliest during the months between October to February.
You can take pets inside Ambras Park but not inside the castle.
How to Reach
Getting to Ambras Castle is super easy for tourists… the sightseer bus stops here and bus 4134 (Postbus) takes them from Hauptbahnhof to Ambras castle in 9 minutes. If you are availing of the IVB then tram line 6 (Igls) will let you down at the Tummelplatz stop (about 7 minutes walking from Ambras castle).
Otherwise, you can take Bus Line C and then get down at Luigenstrabe and then take a short but steep uphill walk through the castle park to the Ambras castle. Another option is to take Tram Line 3 and then get down at Philippine Welser Strabe that’s about a 20-minute walk away from the Ambras.
The Schlossstrabe has paid parking and there is only a single car park ticket machine in the area near the castle portal. It accepts only coins and charges 70 cents per half hour till 5 hours after which it’s 7 euros for the whole day.
Schlossstraße 20, 6020 Innsbruck
Phone: +43 1 525 24– 4802
[email protected]
One of Innsbruck’s best shopping zones i.e. the DEZ Einkaufszentrum is nearby (less than 1 km away), so maybe after sightseeing at the castle, you could head off there. Olympiaworld is also nearby, so maybe that could fit inside your day’s sightseeing schedule too.
A travel addict. Still celebrating the day when he quit his high-profile corporate job to pursue his passion for travel writing.