Ambras Castle in Innsbruck

Picturesquely perched on a hill high above Innsbruck, Ambras Castle is the focal point of a delightful English landscape garden with duck pond and playground. First mentioned in a historical document in the 11th century, the castle passed into the hands of the Habsburg Dynasty in 1363. Archduke Ferdinand II had the medieval Ambras castle converted into the present Renaissance castle to display his collections of world-wide fame. The beautifully preserved romantic Renaissance-style castle includes Europe’s oldest collection of arts, armouries and books. The renowned Portrait Gallery features over 200 paintings of outstanding historical and artistic value, reflecting the reign of the Habsburg Dynasty. Works by Lucas Cranach, Peter Paul Rubens, Anthonis van Dyck and Diego Velásquez are on view in the gallery. The castle is divided into a lower and an upper castle set in the remains of a medieval fortress. The ground floor of the upper castle houses a collection of late-medieval paintings and the Saint George Altar of Emperor Maximilian I.