Innsbruck, located in the broad valley between…
1420 CE
Innsbruck, located in the broad valley between high mountains, the so-called North Chain in the Karwendel Alps to the north, and the Patscherkofel and Serles to the south, is located in the Inn Valley at the junction with the Wipptal (Sill River), which provides access to the Brenner Pass, some thirty kilometers (18.6 miles) to the south.
Earliest traces suggest initial inhabitation in the early Stone Age.
Surviving pre-Roman place names show that the area has been populated continuously.
In the fourth century the Romans established the army station Veldidena (the name survives in today's urban district Wilten) at Oenipons (Innsbruck), to protect the economically important commercial road from Verona-Brenner-Augsburg.
The first mention of Innsbruck dates back to the name Oeni Pontum or Oeni Pons, which is Latin for bridge (pons) over the Inn (Oenus), which is an important crossing point over the Inn river.
The Counts of Andechs had acquired the town in 1180.
In 1248 the town had passed into the hands of the Counts of Tyrol.
The city's seal and coat of arms show a bird's-eye view of the Inn bridge, a design used since 1267.
The route over the Brenner Pass is at this time a major transport and communications link between the north and the south, and the easiest route across the Alps.
The revenues generated by serving as a transit station have enabled the city to flourish.
Innsbruck becomes the ducal residence of the Habsburgs in 1420.
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