ANCIENT INNS
Amongst the many interesting mediæval buildings which have happily survived in Innsbruck there are several in the immediate neighbourhood of the famous "Goldne Dachl." One of the oldest, if not the oldest, is the Ottoburg of Otto I. standing at the end of the Herzog-Friedrich-strasse close to the River Inn; and, indeed, only separated from it by the Herzog-Otto-strasse. This, the residence of the Andechs, was built in 1234, and was the reputed birthplace of Otto III. A quaint motto concerning it remains, which, roughly translated, runs—
"Here the Ottoburg firmly stands,
A house upheld by God's own hands."
In this ancient building many dramatic scenes of Tyrolese history took place.
Close by is the oldest Inn, the famous and deeply interesting Goldener Adler (Golden Eagle) to which, in former times, before modern hotels and conveniences were esteemed indispensable, every visitor of distinction to Innsbruck came. The "visitors' list" of the Goldener Adler is one long entry of nobles and celebrities.
Indeed, during the time it was the acknowledged resort of the nobility and even monarchs who came to Innsbruck, it sheltered amongst its many distinguished guests and travellers the Emperor Joseph II.; Ludwig I., King of Bavaria; Gustave III. of Sweden; Heinrich Heine, the gifted though melancholy poet; and Goethe, who came to Innsbruck with the Dowager Duchess Amalie of Saxe-Weimar in 1790. In commemoration of this visit a bust of the poet adorns the room which he occupied. And last, but by no means least, the Goldener Adler housed the patriot Andreas Hofer. It was regarding the portraits of the latter, of his enemy Napoleon Bonaparte, and of Ludwig of Bavaria that Heine remarked on seeing them hanging side by side in the dining-room of the Inn that it was strange to see such enemies grouped together even though merely portraits. Tradition has it that it was from the middle window of the famous Goldener Adler that Hofer made his speech to the surging crowd in the narrow street below on August 15, 1809, when he entered the town in triumph after the third battle on Berg Isel. A copy of the speech, which was a modest though stirring oration, has been preserved at the Inn.
One of the most delightful vistas of the old town is to be obtained from the corner where stand the three well-known Inns, the Goldener Hirsch, Rother Adler, and Goldener Löwe; whilst from the balcony of the old Stadtthurm or belfry a fine view over the town and of the environing mountain summits rewards the adventurous climber.
The old-fashioned "lauben" or arcades of the Herzog-Friedrich-strasse in particular, under which are set out tiny stalls often kept by picturesquely attired girls and women, seldom fail to attract the attention of visitors.
On either side of the street these "lauben" stretch under the low arcaded roofs, providing not only a cool promenade in the heat of summer, but a shelter which on wet days can be fully appreciated, for, to speak frankly, Innsbruck in wet weather strikes one if one wanders in the byways as a somewhat muddy though intensely interesting town. In these "lauben" one frequently sees types of the older Tyrolese in the national costume, which in the towns of Tyrol (as in those of other countries) show signs of dying out. Old women in the short skirts, and picturesque aprons, quaint hats and bodices, of the mountain districts and villages, and the old men, wrapped (if the weather be cold) in long, flowing, cloaks of green or russet cloth, smoking their long pipes with painted porcelain bowls, on which are often as not stirring scenes in miniature from the life of Hofer.