The Imperial Palace in Innsbruck numbers, together with the Schönbrunn Palace and Hofburg Palace in Vienna, among the three most important cultural buildings in Austria, as disclosed in the official register published by the National Antiquities and Monuments Office. The concept of ‘revitalizing’ the Imperial Palace in Innsbruck had been explored since 2003 by the Austrian Monuments Office as a result of an order from the National Economic and Labor Ministry. The architectural offices of Noldin & Noldin were assigned with the general planning. This undertaking comprised an all-encompassing overhaul of the first floor rooms, which had been utilized for adult education, and the second floor imperial apartments.

The complete makeover of the first floor rooms was begun in 2006 and is now completed. The spacious enfilade on the first floor was newly configured for purposes of providing space for presentations and changing exhibits. At the end of 2007, a large special exhibition of the Alpine Club Museum was installed in these newly adapted, refashioned and technically outfitted rooms entitled ‘Mountains, The Incomprehensible Passion’.

Based on thoroughgoing explorations which assured protecting all the qualities of the historic core of the building, the first floor rooms in the east wing were submitted to a ‘gentle overhaul’. The individual rooms were restored to their original configuration, the basic structure of the building thoroughly restored. The most significant intervention in the fabric of the building was to give it modern building technology. Included in that were high quality heating and electrical systems, as well as technical facilities fulfilling fire protection requirements, area monitoring, room cooling and a multi-functional lighting system.

In the newly adapted spaces, exhibitions of multifarious types and sizes can now be presented. In connection with the museum rooms on the second floor, and the small art gallery on the ground floor, the Gothic Cellar and the Baroque Cellar on the ground floor, the east wing of the Imperial Palace of Innsbruck is now a first class centre of art and culture.