Schnell & Steiner The Golden Roof in Innsbruck

This building owes its fame to its 2657 gilded tiles. The Golden Roof is the best known building in Tyrol as well as one of the most important structures in the whole of Austria. It has been an essential feature of any publication on Tyrol since the start of Alpine tourism in the early 19th century. It is a landmark which characterizes the centre of Innsbruck's old town even more than the city hall or the Imperial Palace. As a construction it is a “complete work of art”; only a few examples of which remain from the transition period between the medieval and modern ages. The elaborate architecture combines ornamental and figurative sculptures and frescoes. The fame of the gold-covered bay window in the form of a balcony eclipses the whole building to which it belongs, which is known solely by the name of its most prominent component. ...