Editing Innsbruck (section)

===Antiquity===
The earliest traces suggest initial inhabitation in the early [[Stone Age]]. Surviving [[Ancient Rome|pre-Roman]] place names show that the area has been populated continuously. In the 4th century the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] established the army station Veldidena (the name survives in today's urban district Wilten) at '''Oenipons''' (Innsbruck), to protect the economically important commercial road from [[Verona]]-[[Brenner, South Tyrol|Brenner]]-[[Augsburg]] in their province of [[Raetia]].

The first mention of Innsbruck dates back to the name ''Oeni Pontum'' or ''Oeni Pons'' which is [[Latin]] for bridge (pons) over the Inn (Oenus), which was an important crossing point over the Inn river. The Counts of [[County of Andechs|Andechs]] acquired the town in 1180.<ref> {{citation|surname1=Martin Bitschnau, Hannes Obermair|title=Tiroler Urkundenbuch, II. Abteilung: Die Urkunden zur Geschichte des Inn-, Eisack- und Pustertals. Vol. 2: 1140–1200|publisher=Universitätsverlag Wagner|publication-place=Innsbruck |at=pp.&nbsp;281ff, no. 758|isbn=978-3-7030-0485-8|date=2012|language=German
}}</ref> In 1248 the town passed into the hands of the [[County of Tyrol|Counts of Tyrol]].<ref>Chizzali. ''Tyrol: Impressions of Tyrol''. (Innsbruck: Alpina Printers and Publishers), p. 5.</ref> The city's arms show a bird's-eye view of the Inn bridge, a design used since 1267. The route over the [[Brenner Pass]] was then a major transport and communications link between the north and the south of Europe, and the easiest route across the [[Alps]]. It was part of the [[Via Imperii]], a medieval imperial road under special protection of the king. The revenues generated by serving as a transit station on this route enabled the city to flourish.