Ambras Castle
Ambras Castle, located above Innsbruck in Tirol, can be seen far and wide—and it is one of the provincial capital’s most important sites. Its cultural and historical significance is inseparably linked with the personality of Archduke Ferdinand II (1529–1595), a true “Renaissance prince” who was an enthusiastic patron of the arts and sciences. He founded the Ambras collections, which became world-famous during his own lifetime, and had a specially conceived museum complex built for them—something like a prototype of the present-day museum.
The display at the Lower Castle attempts to reconstruct the Archduke’s museum: his Chamber of Art and Curiosities, the Chambers of Armour and the Antiquarium.
The Upper Castle contains the exceptional Portrait Gallery of the Habsburgs with its over 200 paintings, including ones by artists such as Lukas Cranach, Titian, Van Dyck and Velázquez.
On the ground floor of the Upper Castle is the Collection of Late Medieval Sculptures.
