Kaisersäule

The Kaisersäule is a stone pyramid in the municipality of Thaur, Tirol. It stands on a shoulder below the Thaurer Zunterkopf at a viewpoint 1,700 metres above sea level. The pyramid is built of rubble stone and was originally whitewashed. A commemorative plaque on the west side records the visit of Emperor Franz I in 1815, when he greeted the people and land from this spot. The structure was first erected in wood in 1816 and rebuilt in stone in 1838–39.

Emperor Franz I visited Tirol after the Napoleonic Wars and the Congress of Vienna. After a reception in Hall, he toured the Hall saltworks and mine before being taken to the viewpoint. The wooden pyramid of 1816 was likely whitewashed and bore an inscription. In 1838–39 the present stone pyramid was commissioned by August Longin von Lobkowitz, president of the imperial court chamber for coinage and mining, and dedicated on 28 September 1839.

Today the Kaisersäule stands as a simple stone pyramid on its hilltop perch. A path leads up from Thaur or through the Hall valley to the viewpoint. The plaque marks the emperor’s greeting, and the surrounding Alps stretch away in every direction. Visitors find a quiet place to stand and look over the places where the Tyrolean struggle of 1809 took place.