Thetraveljunkie.org – Today we bring you the photos which we took at Ambras Castle in Innsbruck, Austria. Home of the Habsburgs. Towering high above Innsbruck, the beautifully preserved romantic Renaissance-style Ambras Castle includes Europe’s oldest collection of arts and armories, the Spanish Hall, and the Portrait Gallery.
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 First mentioned in a historical document in the 11th century, the castle passed into the hands of the Habsburg Dynasty in 1363.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.
Krisses can still be studied in many European art collections. For Javanese, the kris with its straight or wavy blade until today is more than just a weapon. They are sacred heirlooms, accessories and lucky charms. A kris has to be handeed down from one generation to next or it has to be a gift. The blade is covered with damascene patterns; the wooden hilts represent mythological figures.
Stay tuned for more of our adventures in Innsbruck, Austria.
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