Ambras Castle is situated upon a rock ca. 100 meters above the valley floor created by the River Inn. News of Ambras, spelled “Amras” or “Omras,” has come down to us from as early as the 10th century. Long before Innsbruck became a city, it achieved more than just local importance as the established seat of the Counts from the House of Andechs, whose original lands lay in Upper Bavaria.

There remains nothing of the original Andechs castle, which was destroyed in 1133. The castle later passed by inheritance from the Andechs family into the possession of the Prince of Tirol. The only evidence of this early, medieval period can be seen in some of the materials that were used to build the Upper Castle.

The Castle of Archduke Ferdinand II.
After the Death of Ferdinand II.
Collection Holdings move to Vienna.
Ambras during the 19th Century
Ambras during the 20th Century