Wilten: The village in the city

The Innsbruck district of Wilten was and is a little peculiar: The church was built by a giant, a dragon lived in the Sill Gorge, the choirboys warble in the monastery, and up on the Bergisel a full-bearded Tyrolean wine merchant once sent a small French commander home. In addition, people know and greet each other here as they usually only do in the country. Nevertheless, Wilten has become quite a hip hotspot - creative, curious and colorful. When I walked through my childhood there the other day, it was also three decades of city history. An astonishing look back and an urgent recommendation.

The small Neurauthgasse is located in Wilten at the large intersection just behind the Grassmayr bell foundry. The place where there used to be a big pile of scrap metal is clean and tidy, flowers are blooming everywhere, it's much more colorful here now. But I still remember exactly when Dad found my first bicycle there, purple and with white handles. He was pretty much the same age then as I am now. I cautiously squint into the garden, everything is still exactly as it was then, even the sandbox, as if I had been sitting there only yesterday. I continue via Frauenanger to the Wilten Collegiate Church, where the two mighty giant statues still watch over the entrance. My mother used to tell me about the dragon in the Sill Gorge and how the two giants had terrible fights with each other in the mountains. Another story is also told today on the forecourt by an elaborate metal sculpture by Christian Moschen, which throws St. Norbert out of the saddle with a divine thunderbolt.

Bergisel and Sillschlucht I leave today on the left, even if I sat in the Kulturgasthaus Bierstindl already many beautiful hours in the sun. My parents at the beer, I a dripping ice cream, and my dad Andreas had to tell again about the Hofer Andreas, who fought at the Bergisel against the French and was actually a very ordinary wine merchant. Only the giant circular painting, which today commemorates the victorious battles right here on the spot, still stood down by the Inn River until 2010. The ski jump also used to look a bit different, but the somewhat macabre flight direction to the Wilten cemetery is still true. From above, the Roman Castellum Veldidena can still be sensed, neatly arranged plan cadastres, which today are called Wilten. It was not until 1904 that the village of Wilten was united with Innsbruck, and the former Wilten city train station was henceforth called Innsbruck Westbahnhof.

However, the people of Wilten have retained their warm village character and their likeable peculiarities with a certain pride. Even among "city dwellers" people greet each other with a friendly nod of the head, neighbors like to help each other and meet at the Saturday farmer's market at the pulsating Wiltener Platzl on a Kaffetschal und an gmiatlichen Ratscher (coffee with relaxed small talk). In fact, it is not only in the neat Wilten "center" that the small stores, creative stores and cozy cafés line up - strolling has long been at its best south of the striking Triumphpforte (historic border between Innsbruck and Wilten).

Traditional businesses such as Bier & Biendl, Papeterie Schmid, Gastgarten Steneck and Glasmalerei can be found here, as well as student hotspots like Kater Noster, Brunchcafé Wilten and Jazz-Cantina Vecchia. At Barbershop Boss on Leopoldstraße, my Syrian friend Argesh cuts my hair, and a few steps away I can get kebabs at Lawasch Imbiss, falafel at the vegan-vegetarian Olive, or Ann's American Diner. In Wilten, you can enjoy yourself from morning to night without any effort, once across the world and as a guest of old friends.

The countless stories, sights, personalities and experiences in Wilten are now also the subject of an endearing little documentary - which also knows how to portray the vibrant Innsbruck district in a thoroughly multifaceted way. However, anyone who really wants to get to know Wilten will not be able to avoid a visit. One urgent recommendation should be made at this point. As a native of Wilten, I would be very happy to receive a friendly nod of the head and a hearty "Servus". That's how it's done here among friends.

More info and stories about the Wilten district can be found here.

Header image: © Innsbruck Tourismus / Danijel Jovanovic