One of the most majestic structures in Innsbruck – the Triumphal Arch – is located at the southern end of Maria Theresa Street. It was erected not in honor of any military victory, as is usually the case, but solely to embody human emotions.
In 1765, Empress Maria Theresa was celebrating the long-awaited wedding of her son Leopold II to the Spanish princess Maria Luisa. But in the same year, Maria Theresa's beloved husband, Franz I, died suddenly.
A combustible mixture of joy and grief overwhelmed the ruler and prompted her to erect a monument that would simultaneously express these two opposite feelings. Thus the Triumphal Arch appeared, which on the northern side demonstrates joy over the wedding of her beloved son, and on the southern side, boundless sorrow for her deceased husband.
The design of the Innsbruck arch, which has survived to this day almost in its original form, was created by architect Constantin Walter, while Johann Baptist Hagenauer was responsible for the decorative elements. Hagenauer's plaster stucco was replaced in 1774 with identical marble sculptures by Balthazar Moll. The relief images on the surface of the arch are dedicated to the royal Habsburg dynasty and the symbols of its greatness.
