The Triumphal Arch (german: Triumphpforte) is one of the best known sights in the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n city of

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

. It is located at the southern end of the present Maria-Theresien-Straße, once the southern road out of the city.

History

This

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, crow ...

was built in 1765 on the occasion of the wedding of Archduke Leopold, the second son of

Empress An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

and Francis Stephen of Lorraine, to the Spanish princess,

Maria Luisa Maria Luisa may refer to: People * Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici (1667–1743), last lineal descent of the House of Medici * Maria Luisa Ambrosini (20th century), non-fiction author * Maria Luisa, Duchess of Lucca (1782–1824), Queen of Etruria ...

, on 5 August 1765. Because Leopold’s father, Francis Stephen, died unexpectedly shortly after the wedding on 18 August 1765, a memorial motif was worked into the Triumphal Arch when he died. Its south side portrays motifs of the wedding of the young couple; its north side commemorates the death of the emperor. In

, contrary to normal practice, it was decided to build the Triumphal Arch from stone rather than wood. So

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

s of Höttinger

Breccia Breccia () is a rock composed of large angular broken fragments of minerals or rocks cemented together by a fine-grained matrix. The word has its origins in the Italian language, in which it means "rubble". A breccia may have a variety of di ...

, which originated from the demolished outer city gate at the exit of the old town into today's Maria-Theresien-Straße, were reused. The work was carried out by Constantin Walter and Johann Baptist Hagenauer. In 1774, the reliefs made out by Hagenauer in stucco were worked by

Balthasar Ferdinand Moll Balthasar Ferdinand Moll (Innsbruck, Tirol 4 January 1717 – Vienna 3 March 1785) was one of the most famous sculptors in Vienna during the height of the Baroque era (after Georg Raphael Donner and Lorenzo Mattielli) He came from a Tyrolean fam ...

in Sterzing into marble.

Architecture

The relief ornamentation depicts the state symbols of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

as well as people and events: * The Austrian archducal hat with the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

* The Bohemian Wencelas crown with the Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, patronised by Maria * A portrayal of Empress Maria Theresa and Francis Stephen wearing a

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus''). It is a sy ...

and portrait medallions of the couple * A profile portrait of the wedding couple, Archduke Leopold and Princess

* Portraits of Duchess

Caroline of Lorraine Caroline may refer to: People *Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica *Ca ...

and Duke Charles of Lorraine, cousins of the Emperor

Gallery

File:Triumphpforte.jpg File:2014-05-31 Innsbruck, Triumphpforte 1121.jpg File:Triumphpforte4.JPG File:Triumphpforte bei nacht.JPG File:2014-05-31 Innsbruck, Triumphpforte 1105.jpg

References

6020 Innsbruck, Maria Theresien-Straße - Triumphal Arch
''Burghauptmannschaft Österreich'' {{Coordinate , NS=47/15/45/N , EW=11/23/41/E , type=landmark , region=AT-7 Triumphal arches Baroque architecture in Austria Gates in Austria 1760s architecture Buildings and structures in Innsbruck Triumphal arches in Austria