Innsbruck’s Golden Roof is a late-Gothic (medieval, 12th-15th century) balcony of 2,657 fire-gilded copper tiles built by Emperor Maximilian I in 1500 as a royal viewing box for tournaments held in the street below. It was commissioned to celebrate his second marriage, to Bianca Maria Sforza. During the Second World War, citizens encased it in concrete to survive Allied bombing; when the bunker came down, the gold shone against the ruins. The small museum inside the oriel documents Maximilian’s life and political strategy. One unexplained detail: a carved figure on the facade shows its naked backside. No one has ever figured out why. The Golden Roof sits in the heart of Innsbruck’s Altstadt (old town) on Herzog-Friedrich-Strasse, 5 minutes from the Hauptbahnhof. Exterior viewing is free.
monument in Innsbruck
Golden Roof
Also known as Goldenes Dachl
Innsbruck's most recognizable monument is a balcony covered with 2,657 fire-gilded copper tiles, built for Emperor Maximilian I in 1500 as a royal box from which to watch jousting tournaments in the street below.
- Type
- monument
- Destination
- Innsbruck
- Cost
- Paid entry
- Founded
- 1500
- Era
- Gothic
- Address
- Herzog-Friedrich-Strasse 15, 6020 Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck
- Coordinates
- 47.2686, 11.3933
- Official website
- Visit website