(first posted 11/25/2016. Updated and expanded 11/24/2022) It’s been almost two years since I discovered a trove of old pictures from the home country. I used a number of them to document the changes to Maria Theresien Strasse from 1840 to 2015. But there were a number of other streetside shots from the 50s and 60s that I saved for a rainy day. And it has been rainy here, so here’s a look at what I would have seen as a kid up to 1960, as well as when I came back to visit later.
The Mustang was not just a big deal in America; it became the most desired American car across the pond too. This ’66 is sporting Tirol plates, so it’s not a tourist’s car. Finding American cars on the streets was always a big deal.
Innsbruck’s Glodenes Dachl (Golden Roof), dating back to 1500, overlooks the original town square and is the most historically significant structure. It’s been a tourist draw for some 200 years and in recent years has become completely overrun by tourism. But when I was very young, it was still just the old city center, although in the summer things changed pretty drastically already then. This shot is from the early-mid 50s, and shows a fine Mercedes amidst a number of little obscure cars.
This shot is from about 1960, and reflects the time I remember just before we left. And this tourist family is clearly not a local one; my sister wouldn’t have dared to wear shorts like that. VWs, Fiats, and an Austin A40 are readily identifiable. Someone can go for the others.
This one is from the mid-later 60s, and includes a Steyr-Puch wagon, a Peugeot 404, an Opel Rekord coupe and a Fiat 600 Multipla, among others.
From about the same date. Two Opel Rekords.
The famous Hebling Haus across the plaza. A Fiat 1500 along with the obvious.
Another shot of the Altstadt (Old City). It’s got two points of interest: the Studebaker Starliner coupe and the VW bus with aftermarket trim on its nose and very unusual plexiglass roof panels over the front seats. One could only speculate what that would be worth today.
In the same vicinity, a Fiat 1100 wagon and more of the obvious.
One more from there. Cars have long been banned from the Altsdadt.
This is the street that connects to the Hofsburg (Imperial palace) in the back. Opel and Ford.
The Hofsburg was one of the Habsburg’s main palaces outside of Vienna, and one that was used as the primary palace for the empire on occasions. I see a Fiat 1400/1900.
This is a better shot of the Hofsburg, but the cars are harder to see. A DKW/Auto Union is obvious.
One more from the Hofsburg, with the Hofskirche (“Schwartzmander Kirche” – Black Men Church), which houses the tomb of Emperor Maximillian, attended by scores of larger-than-life bronze statues of his court and other important royalty of his time. A very impressive place to visit. The second car there is a Lloyd, just like my godfather drove.
A Mercedes minibus waiting to take tourists on a city tour.
This one is from the 70s, and a Mini is prominent.
This is the campground just outside Innsbruck. Campgrounds in much of Europe are not nature retreats like in the US, but an alternative place to overnight.
This shot is probably from one of the villages just outside Innsbruck, and of course it’s notable because of that big Packard hardtop. It’s hard to know if these American cars are local, from another country like Switzerland, where American cars were more common, or possibly belonging to an American who was in Europe long enough to bring his car along.
This poignent picture is of an old farm woman saying goodbye to her heirloom furniture that has just been bought by an antiques dealer, driving an Opel. This has been going on for a very long time.
The Triumphpforte (Arch of Triumph) is in the background of this shot, also from about 1958-1960.
Same location, with a ’49 Ford at the curb.
The train station. The tram in front is the Haller Bahn, which connected Innsbruck to nearby Hall until 1974, when it was replaced by buses after the highway was widened. It used steam engines from 1891-1909 to pull these cars, and then an electric tram engine.
Here they are behind the steam engine.
Another shot. That could be me there on the open platform at the back, where I always insisted on riding.
Another tram, the #1 line.
It was a big deal when the modern Lohner trams replaced the ancient ones, line by line.
Across the plaza from the train station, and this shot looks to be from the 80s, as that looks like a Mazda 323 near the front of the line. We’ll leave it at that for now.
Update: here’s a few more.
Here’s an old one of fine “taxis” (quite likely Austro-Daimlers) waiting to take the guest at the Hotel Kreid sightseeing or?
We used to go swimming at Lanser See in the summer, but we took the tram, as cars like this Opel were expensive and not yet common for regular folks.
Late ’70s or early ’80s, I presume.
A few cars parked by the galleries in Old Town.
Another from the early-mid ’70s.
A Sunbeam Alpine fastback.
And one more from the Golden Roof, including a cut BMW 700 Coupe in front of a 1953-up Opel Kapitan (looks a lot like a ’61 Olds Super 88).
Related:
Innsbruck’s Maria Theresien Strasse 1840-2015 – From Pedestrians To Cars To Pedestrians
Bus Stop Classics: Vintage Electric Trolley Buses From Chile and Innsbruck
In Austria, was the Mustang sold as the T5 like Germany, or was it allowed to be called Mustang?
You are correct. A German conglomerate, Krupp, owned the trademark and wanted a princely sum of $10,000 for the licence to use the name. Ford didn’t so T-5 was used.
That is quite correct, for Germany. But in regard to Austria, I’m not quite sure.
File this under: “Bygones be bygones”.
Today, that same Krupp now makes the steering column and steering shaft and camshafts (and many other assorted bits) for the Mustang and most of Ford’s vehicle line-up. (I know because I was the product management lead, and a design contributor, for the team that got the first Mustang column not made in house by Ford in 2004.)
I have a vague feeling that car survived – I have a recollection of a Mustang notchback in a US car meeting, same color and old Tirol plates, but I did not speak to the owner. Such cars (original import to Austria) are today highly coveted here.
Wow; it’s certainly possible. Folks who bought these kinds of cars over there back then were hard core enthusiasts of American iron, and they always looked very pampered.
The Agfa sign in the first pic wins.
And a Kodak script is right below on the canopy.
Also , did you notice the Opel sign?
And another Kodak sign on the VW delivery van in the fifth picture.
Fascinating scenes.
In the 7th picture, the Studebaker is a Starliner (hardtop) and not the Starlight Coupe (pillared coupe). But then you knew that. Starlight Coupe was such a great name for such an exotic body, I always wondered why they did not just keep the Starlight name for the hardtop. Probably because the original Starlight Coupe and the new hardtop overlapped for a single year in 1952. That Stude is also a Commander V8, given the V8 callout on the rear quarter. I guess if you were going to take an American car to Austria, go big or go home.
In the picture with the orange tram, I would swear that there is a dark green Hudson Jet to the right of the man in the light gray suit.
Yup; I “knew that” ,but it’s a mistake I’ve made several times, and will continue to unless I slow down and think about it for a sec.
Yes, it does look like a Jet, but it’s an Opel Kapitan (’53-’58), along with some other ones in that front row. They’re taxis, which did not have any visible sign on the outside back then. They were very common in that role, offering the most room for the buck back then.
Very enjoyable pics – great collection of cars and trains. Jim.
A very nice collection with wonderful scenery. The buildings and mountains aren’t too shabby either.
One minor nit (I think) – the 15th picture labeled as “70’s” with the prominent Mini and the white Beetle Cabrio is probably 1980 or slightly beyond as I am virtually certain the silver parked car just aft of the Cabrio is a facelifted Mitsubishi Galant Lambda Coupe (known to many of us here as the Dodge Challenger / Plymouth Sapporo)
A proof that the last picture was taken in the 1980s is that the fourth car from left is a Ford Escort MK 3, the first front wheel drive Escort. It was sold starting in September 1980.
Along with the A40 Farina are two Humbers one nose into the kerb the other nose out.
The Hebling Haus is what I’d expect a “brougham version” of a house to look like.
Except if it were done in the U.S. during the ’70s, the ornamentation would be done in plastic and plaster, and not in stone.
Excellent collection. I liked very much the DKW Meisterklasse captured in front of the Trumphforte. At first I thought it was a Gutbrod. Were these common around Innsbruck in those days?
DKWs were never as popular in Austria as in Germany,especially the mountainous parts. Why? Because their two stroke engines could not be used for effective engine braking on the downgrades. That would starve them of sufficient oil, which of course was mixed with the gasoline. That’s why they had free-wheeling, which means there was no engine braking at all, to help preserve the engines. But that really made them less than ideal for places like Tirol. They were seen as flatlander cars.
Interesting. Recently I watched a review about the Trabant and they adressed the same issue of engine braking and why they had free wheeling.
I wonder if the obviously-tourist family in the third pic belong to the UK-registered A40?
That blue Fiat 1100 wagon’s bare silver steelies look so modern in that context,
Anyone catch the midtown Ford dealership’s sign?
Together with a “Weltkugel” (Globe) 12 M. and there is an Opel sign in the first picture as well.
Thanks, Paul! There was some instant recognition with a few cars. Fiat 1500, DKW Sonderklasse, Ford following the Opel. I also noticed a Renault Dauphine or two, a Renault R8, Renault R4, Fiat 128, Ford 12m/15m, and then there was the back of a Borgward Arabella or was it the DKW Junior?
That was a fantastic throwback to my automotive formative years.
Two comments: the Fiat 1400/1900 could have also been the local Steyr version with own drive train, and some of these (now ancient) Lohner trams are still in use in Vienna in 2016. They were supposed to be replaced by the Porsche Design low floor ones years ago but Wiener Linien does not have the budget, so they live. Some I think got sold somewhere East (not sure to which country) to have new life, you can’t kill them with a stick.
Quite true about the Fiat.
Anyone who likes that sort of thing, here’s a Youtube vid of the old E1s in Vienna this year.
I love these id challenges.
1957 – Great to see Fiat Topolinos still in active service.
1964 – Behind the Kodak VW van, there’s a red car and I want to say Triumph Herald, but O knonw id be wrong. Any guesses?
1969 – there may be new tram but there’s also a DS
1980 – an Escort Mk3 alongside the Mazda (twins under the skin), an early Fiat 128 and a yellow Mk1 Fiesta
1980 Hofburg – there’s a Cortina Mkv/TaunusTC3, multiple Fiat 127, Citroen GS, a first gen BMW 3 series and an Opel Ascona estate hiding in the background. That Setra coach is wonderful
1964: the back of the red car intrigued me as well. I thought it is a DKW Junior or Borgward Arabella. I am leaning towards DKW Junior.
Wonderful – Thanks for sharing!
Great photos! I’m particularly intrigued by the VW bus with the panoramic roof panels. There is a distinct “V” shape to the front panel where the trim bars are. The stock bus would be smoothly curved. This must have been a very special bus indeed. Could it be something other than a VW?
Pre-1955 VW buses had a different front roof panel. it didn’t overhang the windshield as did the later ones (see below for better shot of the earlier style). The main reason they changed it was that the newer style had fresh air intakes for the ventilation system.
As part of a trip to Europe in 2010 I stayed in Innsbruck overnight. Your great photos make me feel like I didn’t take in as much of the city as I should have. Such a beautiful part of Austria.
Dear Paul…
And you can see a photo from the sixties of this “strasse”, in the July 1961 issue of the National Geographic. Page 106.
Hugs.
In the “tourist family” picture, their car might be the lone one on the left. I can’t ID the model, but those plates were issued in early 1957 in Reggio Calabria, in the south of Italy. According to Google Maps, that’s a 1433 km trip.
Hmmm…so do they look Italian or do they look British? I’d ruled out that car (Fiat 1100) since it looked like someone’s driving it and the family is walking somewhere (to their parked Austin?) but could be…
Re the VW bus with the aftermarket trim in the Altstadt photo: Maybe the owner felt a connection to the old German truck company Büssing:
http://www.fahrzeugbilder.de/bild/lkw-oldtimer~buessing~sonstige/117079/ein-buessing-burgloewe-in-lutzhorn-2009.html
The McDonald’s sign in the trolley vid reminds me of the BIG MAC ATTACK I had in downtown Innsbruck, circa 1984!
The only city I’ve ever been in where the “taste” of the McDs hamburger was enhanced by a good local BIER!! 🙂 DFO
Fifth photo, from the bottom: Early 1970s, I presume.
The red Opel Kadett D caravan down the street means it’s technically possible it could be the 70’s I suppose if that was a particularly spectacular fall day, but I bet we are looking at the following decade. The earliest of the Kadett D’s didn’t hit the streets until Sep. 1979.
Yeah, I’m off a decade. Didn’t really look at it closely.
Post War cars had individual identities.
One could tell a VW from a Peugeot from a Vauxhall, etc, etc.
Today, they all look like blobs of plastic and sheetmetal.
Lol, they look like they are badge engineered.
1960 – the Austin A40 has a UK registration, so likely to be a tourist and not an Italian built Innocenti car. That’s a long way with 948cc. Peeping out behind the VW Type 2 is what looks like a Sunbeam-Talbot saloon – another tourist I suspect.
Outside the Hofsburg and the Hofskirsche (Schwarmander Kirche), 2 cars along from the Lloyd, there looks to be a Morris Oxford (or Isis)
In the shot with the Mercedes minibus, any guesses on the second car in the angle parking, next to the Renault Dauphine?
1958 by the Triumphpforte (Arch of Triumph) – a DKW passing the VW
“early-mid ’70s” – that yellow Mini looks like a Clubman 1275GT to me
with the Sunbeam Alpine fastback (LHD so not a tourist!), an Austin 1100, an Opel Rekord and a DKW in front of white Renault 16
Beautiful scenery. The kid and are going to be in Innsbruck in July, and while she and her Austrian friend are going to be “palling” around for those few days, I’m looking forward to exploring and hiking (weather permitting)… I can’t wait!
You’ll have a great time. Say hi for me.
Once again, a fine update and a great tour. Much appreciated. There is a twin-steepled building that looks like a church. You identify the photo by the Sunbeam Alpine. What is the name of this building?
The Johanneskirche, in Innsbruck. St. John’s, in other words.
Given the blackwall tires, I suspect that the Packard was a European import rather than an American’s car taken over, but that’s certainly not dispositive.
I’m not convinced that the last picture has a 51 Olds 88. That rear end is somewhat similar, but the taillights look different, as does the emblem (it’s not the large globe you’d find on an 88), and the rear window look stubbier in the corners. I think it may be something like a 55 Opel. Note the rounded character line dipping down below the taillight.
You are quite right; it is an Opel Kapitan from the 1953-up generation. Those tail lights and the trunk emblem are remarkably similar to the Olds. Good catch!
What a beautiful place Austria is. I think they filmed part of the Sound of Music 1964 in the Austrian mountains.