The princely sovereign of Tyrol, son of Emperor Ferdinand I, ordered that the medieval fortress at Ambras be turned into a Renaissance castle as a gift for his wife Philippine Welser.

As the only Renaissance Kunstkammer of its kind to have been preserved at its original location, the "Kunst- und Wunderkammer" (Chamber of Art and Wonders) represents an unrivalled cultural monument.

Above the Lower Castle is the famous Spanish Hall (Spanischer Saal), a notable example of German Renaissance architecture, which contains an intricate wood-inlay ceiling and walls adorned with 27 full-length portraits of the rulers of Tyrol.

This early fortification in what was then the southwest corner of Bavaria was the seat of power of the Counts of Andechs, who became Margraves of Istria and later Dukes of the short-lived Imperial State of Merania from 1180 to 1248.

When he was made provincial sovereign of Tyrol in 1564, Ferdinand II ordered two Italian architects to turn the existing medieval fortress into a Renaissance castle for his untitled wife Philippine Welser (1527–1580), whom he had married in secret.

In 1567, Ferdinand II made his entry into Innsbruck, prior to that, he was appointed administrating governor of the Kingdom of Bohemia, taking up residence in Prague in 1547.

In 1589, he added an additional building, the Heldenrüstkammer, west of the Lower Castle for the purpose of housing his collection of "Heroes", the very first systematic presentation of objects in the history of museums.

With little interest in preserving the castle or its collections, they fell into a state of dilapidation and Charles sold them in 1606 to Emperor Rudolf II.

[2] The emperor residing in Prague left his uncle's collection nearly in its entirety at Ambras Castle, as he himself was one of the most important Habsburg collectors.

Inadequate preservation measures led to the loss of valuable books, manuscripts, and hand sketches, and soon the palace fell largely into disrepair.

He founded the notable collections of Ambras and had a museum built for them in the rooms of the "Lower Castle", which was constructed according to the most advanced ideas of his time.

Still you can find corals arranged in cabinet-boxes, turnery made of wood or ivory, glass figures, or porcelain and silk paintings which belong to the oldest European collections of Asian, African and American art (exotica).

He presented this armour "to the eternal memory" of that persons - mostly military commanders - in the "Heldenrüstkammer" (Heroes' Armoury); some on display today still in the original 16th century showcases.

His "Rüstkammern" (Armouries) contain very rare examples of arms and armour from the 15th century which originally came from the collections of Emperor Maximilian I and Archduke Sigismund.

The portraits were painted by well-known artists such as Lucas Cranach the Elder, Antonis Mor, Titian, Anthony van Dyck and Diego Velázquez.

The representations of princely virtues and muses, female and male heroes, and diverse heroic acts sought to display the royalty as exemplary.

On the obverse of the coin there is a general view of the castle to the south of Innsbruck with its Renaissance style gardens forms the central design.