About this place
Standing halfway up Maria-Theresien-Strasse, the Annasäule is at once a war memorial and the most famous photo spot in Innsbruck. It was raised after the War of the Spanish Succession, when Bavarian troops invaded the Tyrol in 1703 and threatened the capital itself. On Saint Anne's Day, the twenty sixth of July, the last of those troops were finally driven out, and a grateful city vowed a monument to mark its deliverance. Designed by the sculptor Cristoforo Benedetti of Trento and carved from the deep red Kramsach marble quarried nearby, the column was consecrated on the same feast day in 1706. At its summit stands the Virgin Mary as the Immaculata, the Woman of the Apocalypse, gazing serenely over the street. Around the base cluster four saints: Saint Anne to the north, who gave the day its name, Saint George the patron of the Tyrol to the south, and the bishops Cassian and Vigilius to west and east. Rising some thirteen metres above the cobbles, the column frames one of the great views of the Alps, drawing the eye straight north along the boulevard to the towering wall of the Nordkette.
Key facts
- 1706 year — The column was consecrated on Saint Anne's Day, the twenty sixth of July
- 13 metres — The height of the red marble column rising from the centre of the boulevard
- 4 saints — Anne, George, Cassian and Vigilius stand guard around the base, one to each direction
📍 Maria-Theresien-Straße 18, 6020, Innsbruck