Description of the attraction
Duke Friedrich Street is one of the main streets of the Tyrolean city of Innsbruck. It starts at the Innbrücke Bridge and moves east towards the Old Town. At the famous house with the Golden Roof, she makes a sharp turn to the right and goes in a southerly direction. It then crosses Marktgraben and Burggraben streets and flows smoothly into another popular tourist street, Maria Theresia. It is only 300 meters long.
Duke Friedrich Street was known in the XII century and took its modern form in the XIII century. However, its appearance has changed over the centuries. The old wooden buildings were all destroyed by a large city fire that happened at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. Therefore, the oldest buildings on this street are burghers' houses, built no earlier than 1500. They are made in an unusual architectural style, as their appearance mixes the distinctive features of both the late Gothic and the early Renaissance, supplanting the Gothic style. Subsequently, these houses were repeatedly completed on one floor, since there was not enough land for the construction of new structures. The lower floors of these buildings were often converted into open arcaded galleries with painted interior walls.
For a long time this street was the main city thoroughfare and was called so - Hauptstrasse (Main street). Subsequently, already in 1873, it was renamed in memory of the Duke of Austria Frederick IV, also known as the Empty Pocket. He ruled Tyrol in the first half of the 15th century. It was he who moved the capital of this region from Meran to Innsbruck and in many ways contributed to the development of trade and industry in the region.
Earlier, knightly tournaments were held in the city square opposite the famous building with the Golden Roof. During the 1964 and 1976 Olympic Games, the winners were awarded here. And on Christmas Day, this square hosts the famous fair with a huge New Year tree.
In addition to the house with the Golden Roof, on Duke Friedrich Street there is the Old Town Hall with the city tower, the bright Katzunghaus and Helblinghaus houses and other city attractions popular with tourists.
