It is impossible for one to study the latter nine in number, which depict patriotic events connected with the campaign of 1809, without appreciating the vigour of their execution and the charm of their colour, at the same time realizing something of the stirring nature and significance of the events to which they refer. Three are originals, and the remaining six are copies made by pupils of Defregger under his own personal supervision, and supposed to have in some cases been finished or touched up by him. The following are the subjects of the originals:—
(1) The Three Patriots—Andreas Hofer, Joseph Speckbacher, and Joachim Haspinger; (2) Speckbacher and his son Anderl at the Bear Inn, St. Johann; (3) The Innkeeper's Son. The last named is the son of the Tharer Wirth at Olang in the Pusterthal. The copies are of the following subjects: (1) Speckbacher's Call to Arms; (2) The Last Summons, the original of which is in the Imperial Art-History Museum in Vienna; (3) The Mountain Forge, the original of which is in the Dresden Gallery; (4) The Return of the Victors, the original of which is in Berlin; and (5) Andreas Hofer in the Castle at Innsbruck, the original of which belongs to the Emperor Francis Joseph; (6) Andreas Hofer being led to Execution, the original of which is in Konigsberg. These are all distinguished by beauty of colouring, strength of drawing, and dramatic appeal.
There are many other treasures in this Museum, which is national in the true sense of the word. And amongst them is the fine and almost priceless collection of pictures by Dutch masters which has been principally acquired through bequests of wealthy Tyrolese. In it are examples of the work of Van Dyck, P. Paul Reubens, Paul Potter, R. Ruysch, Adrian von Ostade, A. Cuyp, Rembrandt and others. There is also a most comprehensive and valuable Library of works relating to Tyrol, and also the archives of both the Austrian and German Alpine Clubs.
Each year sees important additions made to the various departments of the Ferdinandeum, and so the returning visitors to Innsbruck find an ever new interest in the country and its National Museum awaiting them.
THE HOFBURG
The remaining objects of supreme interest at Innsbruck are the Hofburg or Palace; and the Hofkirche or Church of the Franciscans. They are easily reached from the Ferdinandeum along Museum-strasse and the Burggraben, which may be said to form the boundary line dividing the old town from the new. The archway, through which one reaches both the Palace and the Church, formed, in mediæval times, one of the city gates; and in those far-off times was crowned by a watch-tower upon which the many escutcheons of the Habsburgs were emblazoned. It was taken down in the time of Maria Theresa, as its condition had become too dangerous to permit it to remain standing.
The Hofburg stands at a right angle with the Hofkirche to the north-west. Of the original building erected by the Emperor Maximilian not very much now remains; for after being seriously damaged it was ultimately reconstructed by Maria Theresa. On the exterior are traces of the original baroque style favoured at the time it was built; still also to be found in several of the larger, older, and more important houses in the town. The state apartments are chiefly distinguished for the decorative paintings of the well-known artist A. F. Maulbertsch, principally in the large salon known as the Riesensaal. It was in the chapel, which connects the Palace with the Damenstift or Ladies' Home, that the Emperor Francis I. of Germany, husband of Maria Theresa, died so tragically on August 18, 1765, while the wedding festivities in connection with the marriage of Prince Leopold (afterwards the Emperor Leopold II.) with the Infanta Maria Ludovica were in progress.
It is not the Hofburg, however, but the famous Hofkirche—which has by several writers and antiquarians been called "The Tyrolean Westminster Abbey,"—that attracts most visitors, and has the greatest charm for all who are either interested in Tyrolese history or antiquities. This church was built during the decade from 1553-63 by the Emperor Ferdinand I., then King of Rome, as a memorial to his grandfather the Emperor Maximilian I., who was buried underneath the high altar in the Castle Chapel of Wiener-Neustadt. Tradition states that the building had been contemplated by Maximilian, and was ultimately brought into being in accordance with his will. The architect of the church, which is in the Italian Renaissance style, was Thuring of Innsbruck,[11] and the ground plan follows the lines of a columnar basilica. Lübke, however, states that it was the tomb and not the building which Maximilian himself planned in collaboration with Gilg Sesselschreiber, a Munich artist, who occupied the position of painter to the Court.
The first impression made upon the mind by the famous Hofkirche is one of lightness and elegance, wedded to a somewhat flamboyant decorative scheme, rather than impressiveness or age. The lofty and slender-looking columns which support the roof on either side of the nave are of red marble, and the ceiling itself is elaborately decorated in rococo. The vista on entering is extremely fine, including as it does the wonderful tomb of Maximilian, the organ loft, and the huge crucifix in the centre, and the handsome pulpit on the left of the tomb. The impression of magnificence and beauty grows upon one, thus carrying out what was doubtless the design of the architect and the Emperor who was instrumental in its erection.
MAXIMILIAN'S TOMB