Triumphpforte, Innsbruck

Transformed from the south gate of Innsbruck and reminiscent of a Roman triumphal arch, the Triumphpforte was built on the orders of Empress Maria Theresa to honour the marriage of her son, the Duke of Tuscany, to Maria Ludovica from Spain. One side of the arch symbolises the joyful aspect of marriage whilst the other embodies the sadness surrounding the sudden death of Empress Maria’s husband, Emperor Franz I, who died during the celebrations. The marble friezes were created by Balthasar Moll.

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Triumphforte is the arc of triumph erected by B.Moll on a project of C.W. von Pfeilsberg in 1765. It is formed with three fornicis: the in southern side is adorned with the symbols of the joy and love for the wedding of the greatduke Leopold V of Tuscany, child of Maria Theresa; the north side north is adorned with mourning symbols for the contemporary and sudden death of Francis of Lorena, husband of Maria Theresa.

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Built in 1765 in honor of the Marriage of Emperor Leopold II with Maria Ludovica. At the Wedding celebrations died his father the Emperor Franz I Stephan von Lothringen. As a result one side of the arch symbolises the happy event of the marriage, and the other the greif over the death of his father.

The south gate of Innsbruck was originally built about 750 years ago, when the city was surrounded on three sides by thick defense ramparts.

About 500 years after it was built Empress Maria Theresia noticed how much the gate resembled the ancient Roman triumphal arches. The marriage of her son and heir to the throne, Leopold, to Spanish Princess Maria Ludovica, was rapidly approaching. There was insufficient time to build a monument from scratch to commemorate the happy occasion. The quick thinking empress decided to transform the city gate into an elegant Rokoko monument. Marble sculptures and reliefs were brilliantly crafted all over the gate. Upon completion of the project the gate was renamed Triumphpforte ( triumphal arch ).

The day of the glorious wedding finally arrived in 1765. The entire city was filled with frivolous pomp and pageantry. The wealthy gentry adorned in the sissified garb of the era were all present. At last the great monument was unveiled. Kaiser Franz I ( husband of the Empress and father of the groom ) was so overcome by the excellence of the great monument that he collapsed and expired. ( just kidding about the cause of his expiry ). Immediately the happy and festive atmosphere transformed to one of grief and sadness.

Maria Theresia made some additions to the arch in honor of the events of the day. She transformed the north side of the monument ( the side shown in the photo ) into one of mourning for her late husband. She ordered a marble relief of Franz to be crafted on the east side of the arch and one of herself on the west side.

As an added bonus to the tourist, the monument is surrounded by excellent Renaissance, Baroque, and Rokoko architecture, some of which is shown in the photo.

This triumphal arch, just a little further up from the Annasäule at the end of Maria-Theresien-Strasse, was built a half century later in 1765 to commemorate the betrothal of Leopold II to Maria Ludovica. The death of Francis I Stephen of Lothringen during the celebrations caused the arch to represent sadness and joy on the each side of the arch.

The Triumpfpforte / Triumphal Gate was built for the son of the Austrian empress Maria-Theresia,who married a spanish princess, Maria Ludovica there in 1765.
One side of the Triumphbogen shows the marriage with various marble-reliefs and the other side of the gate shows the grief about the sudden death of Kaiser Franz I - husband of Maria Theresia, who died during the marriage of his son.
The Triumphbogen is close to Hotel Hilton and at the beginning of Maria-Theresienstrasse, one of the most important shopping-streets of Innsbruck..

The triumphal arch (Triumphforte) marks the beginning of the Maria-Theresien-Strasse - entry to the center of the city, it was constructed in 1765 by the order of Maria Theresia, and was errected in memory of the marriage of the Duke of Tuscany (later Emperor Leopold II) and the death of his father - Emperor Franz I.

Unfortunately, the marriage in question was not a joyous one. During the festivities, Emperor Franz Stephan I suddenly died.
So, Empress Maria Theresa ordered it built with a twofold purpose: to honor the marriage of her son and to mourn the death of her beloved husband, Emperor Franz I.

The marble reliefs were created by Balthasar Moll and the south side of the Arch symbolizes the joyful aspect of the event, the north side the sadness.

From this arch southward, the street is called Leopoldstrasse.