Ambras Castle

Ambras Castle is a Renaissance castle and palace located in the hills above the city of Innsbruck. Considered one of the most popular tourist attractions of the Tyrol, Ambras Castle was built in the 16th century on the spot of an earlier 10th-century castle, which became the seat of power for the Counts of Andechs.
The cultural and historical importance of the castle is closely connected with Archduke Ferdinand II (1529-1595) and served as his residence from 1563 to 1595. Ferdinand was one of history's most prominent collectors of art. The princely sovereign of Tyrol, son of Emperor Ferdinand I, ordered that the mediaeval fortress at Ambras be turned into a Renaissance castle as a gift for his wife Philippine Welser. The cultured humanist from the House of Habsburg accommodated his world-famous collections in a museum built specifically for that purpose, making Castle Ambras Innsbruck the oldest museum in the world.
The Lower Castle contains armouries feature masterpieces of the European armourer's art from the time of Emperor Maximilian I to Emperor Leopold I. As the only Renaissance Art Chamber of its kind to have been preserved at its original location, the Chamber of Art and Curiosities represents an unrivalled cultural monument.