Ambras Castle and its chamber of art and wonders

What it is

Ambras Castle, on the hill south-east of Innsbruck, is one of the world's first museums. Documented since the 10th century, it was the seat of the Counts of Andechs and in 1564 became the residence of Archduke Ferdinand II of the Tyrol, who came to live here with his wife, Philippine Welser, and their two children. Ferdinand gathered armour, weapons, paintings, works of art, natural history pieces, scientific and musical instruments and a library, and had the lower castle, the Unterschloss, built to house them: the first building constructed as a museum.

Since 1919 it has belonged to the Republic of Austria and is run by the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

What you see

• The lower castle. Around a pentagonal courtyard are the armour rooms and the chamber of art and wonders (Kunst- und Wunderkammer), with the rare and curious objects the archduke collected, and the Antiquarium.
• The upper castle. The medieval core, remodelled in the Renaissance as a residence. It has an inner courtyard, the Chapel of St Nicholas, Philippine Welser's bath, the Strasser glass collection and the Habsburg portrait gallery, which opens only from 1 April to 31 October.
• The Spanish Hall. The great hall of the complex, built under the residence; in the 19th century it received a new west facade.
• The park. The castle is surrounded by gardens; the Gothic sculpture collection, open from April to October, can be visited without a museum ticket.

Allow at least an hour; with the portrait gallery and the park, two.

Opening hours

Open every day from 10 to 17. Closed all of November. Tickets are valid until 17:00 on the day of purchase.

Tickets

• Adults: €16 online, €18 at the ticket office.
• Concession: €12 online, €14 at the ticket office.
• Children and young people: free.

The audioguide costs €5 per person, €7 for two and €9 for a family; it covers the armour rooms, the chamber of art and wonders, the Spanish Hall and the portrait gallery. There are public guided tours daily for €6, but only in German. Buy your ticket on the castle's website to save €2.

Getting there and parking

• By bus. Bus M goes direct to the Schloss Ambras stop. Bus 540 takes about 10 minutes from the central station.
• By tram. Line 3 to Philippine-Welser-Straße and 1.2 km uphill, about 10–15 minutes. Or line 6 to Tummelplatz or Schönruh and 400 m downhill.
• By car. There is little room. On the Schlossstraße you pay from 9 to 19: €1 per half hour and €8 maximum per day. Spaces for people with disabilities are next to the entrance.

Accessibility

Being a historic building, it is not fully accessible. In the lower castle, the ticket office, the armour rooms, the chamber of art and wonders, the Antiquarium and the small armoury (with lift) are barrier-free. In the upper castle the courtyard, the chapel, Philippine Welser's bath, the portrait gallery and the café are also barrier-free. The Spanish Hall is reached by stairlift. Wheelchairs are lent if you ask.

With children and dogs

It works better with teenagers than with small children: the armour and the strange objects in the chamber of wonders are what hooks them most. On Saturdays at 14:30 there is a tour for children, in German. Dogs may walk on a lead in the park, but in the museum they only enter if carried or if they are assistance dogs.

The Ferdinand café and bistro opens at the same hours as the museum. The cloakroom is free.