The painted figure
A tall man painted on the facade points at the story behind the name.
A historic house on the Hofgasse in the old town, between the Golden Roof and the Hofburg, which takes its name from a man who served at the court of Emperor Maximilian I and was known for his exceptional height, earning the title of the castle giant. The facade carries a painted figure of a tall man, the detail that makes the house noticeable among the street's fronts and points directly at the story behind its name. The story itself reveals something about Maximilian's court: it gathered striking individuals and displayed them as part of its prestige, a practice we now see in an entirely different light. A plain practical point: this is a private house with dwellings and shops, and there is nothing to visit inside. The visit means standing in the street and looking at the facade, which is minutes on a walk through the old town. Its real value is that it stands on the very street you will walk between the Golden Roof and the Hofburg, so it adds a story to a route you take anyway.
A tall man painted on the facade points at the story behind the name.
Maximilian gathered remarkable people and displayed them as part of his prestige.
A short pause on a route you already walk between two major sights.
Hofgasse, old town, Innsbruck
The Imperial HofburgInnsbruck's Hofburg is Austria's third imperial palace after Vienna's Schönbrunn1 minute walk4.3
The Hofkirche & Black KnightsThe Hofkirche guards Europe's strangest empty tomb: Maximilian I's marble cenota1 minute walk4.7
Cenotaph of Emperor Maximilian IA symbolic tomb for Emperor Maximilian I inside Innsbruck's court church, among 1 minute walk4.8
The City TowerThe City Tower is the Gothic lanes' balcony: a fourteenth-century watchmen's tow1 minute walk4.7
The Tyrolean Folk Art MuseumThe Tyrolean Folk Art Museum occupies the former Franciscan monastery adjoining 1 minute walk4.5No. The house is private with dwellings and shops, and the facade is all there is to see. Do not try the entrance hall — this is people's housing, not an open monument.
The full old-town walk: the Golden Roof, the Helblinghaus, the City Tower, the Hofburg and the Hofkirche are all within five minutes of each other, and this house is a point on the route between them.