Innsbruck was founded as a market place in 1133 when the Counts of Andechs bought a field on the left bank of the Inn, today St. Nikolaus. Innsbruck was an important trading post on the Brenner Pass route to Italy some 30 km south, the easiest crossing of the Alps. As part of the Via Imperi, it was under the special protection of the king and the income allowed the city to flourish. There are usually at least four Christmas markets in Innsbruck, and the next one is in the old town the Altstadt, just as you cross from the bridge. The Altstadt the Old Town is rich in what is called imperial architecture buildings from the period Innsbruck was the favored town of the Habsburg emperors of the Holy Roman Empire.