 In 1248, the castle ruins and property passed by inheritance from the Counts of Andechs to Count Albert IV of Tyrol.The modern Ambras Castle was built by Archduke Ferdinand II (1529–1595), the second son of Emperor Ferdinand I.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.