Stadtturm (Town Tower), Innsbruck (must see)

For nearly 450 years the Town Tower (Stadturm) has watched over the city of Innsbruck. It is 166 feet high. It affords an incomparable view of the town. The observation deck is lower (98 feet) but the view is still great. The Town Tower was meant to serve as a watch tower for the Old Town Hall. There were guards who were paid to sit and watch all day.

The earliest date available for the building is 1444. Master builder Caspar Schab rebuilt the roof using onion shaped domes in 1560. Four wrought iron gargoyles and the first tower clock built by Erasmus Melchior were installed in 1603. Guards were trained to warn of any danger to the town. The guards were called Turners.

The main challenge at the tower is to climb it. It is 131 steps to reach the 98 foot high observation deck. The stairs are narrow but they are made in the form of a DNA double helix. The result is there are separate one-way stairs to go up or down. The wooden walkway of the deck is narrow. It can support only a limited amount of people at a time.

On the way up, on the first floor, there is a statue of Archduke Sigismund des Munzreichen. He was a count of Tyrol and the predecessor to Maximilion. Also on the first floor is the clock of the tower manufactured by Johann Mannchardi of Munich in 1878.