Book Description

The anthology provides a very first overview of the history of the Innsbruck Court from the 15th century to the end of the Ancien Regime, thus meeting a substantial research desideratum. It is the result of a colloquium that took place on 6 and 7 June 2002 in Innsbruck, organised by the Historic Commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Institute for History at Innsbruck University. No fewer than 13 authors from England, the Czech Republic, Russia, Italy, Germany and Austria analysed the functions, change and appearance of what was largely a residential court that has also had a lasting influence on the visual appearance of the city. The first section analyses standards and representation, the second deals with the festivities at court and forms of symbioses of court and city, a third section examines the role and cultural transfer functions of women at court and a final chapter gives thought to questions of regional integration. The contributions give, for the first time, a greater preciseness to what was known of the Innsbruck court. In particular, it has made it possible to better determine the position of Tyrolean court society as a mediator and, the old topic of the city of Innsbruck as a conveyer of culture and as a transit station on the way to Italy, particularly during the Renaissance, was able to be identified more precisely. The Innsbruck court acted as a significant link in the intra- and inter-dynastic exchange of pre-modern Europe.