Goldenes Dachl (Golden Roof)

Goldenes Dachl (Golden Roof) Review

Any walking tour of Innsbruck should start at the Goldenes Dachl, which made famous the late-Gothic mansion whose balcony it covers. In fact, the roof is capped with 2,600 gilded copper tiles, and its refurbishment is said to have taken nearly 31 pounds of gold. Legend has it that the house was built in the 1400s for Duke Friedrich (otherwise known as Friedl the Penniless), and that the indignant duke had the original roof covered with gold to counter the rumor that he was poor. In truth, the 15th-century house was owned by Maximilian I, who added a balcony in 1501 as a sort of "royal box" for watching street performances in the square below. The structure was altered and expanded at the beginning of the 18th century, and now only the loggia and the alcove are identifiable as original. Maximilian is pictured in the two central sculpted panels on the balcony. In the one on the left, he is with his first and second wives, Maria of Burgundy and Bianca Maria Sforza of Milan; on the right, he is pictured with an adviser and a court jester. The magnificent coats of arms representing Austria, Hungary, Burgundy, Milan, the Holy Roman Empire, Styria, Tirol, and royal Germany are copies. You can see the originals (and up close, too) in the Ferdinandeum. The Golden Roof building houses the Maximilianeum, a small museum that headlines memorabilia and paintings from the life of Emperor Maximilian I. The short video presentation about Maximilian is worth a look.