Imperial Crown of Austria
Encyclopedia
Crown (headgear)
A crown is the traditional symbolic form of headgear worn by a monarch or by a deity, for whom the crown traditionally represents power, legitimacy, immortality, righteousness, victory, triumph, resurrection, honour and glory of life after death. In art, the crown may be shown being offered to...
of the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
was originally the personal crown of emperor Rudolf II. It is therefore also known as the Crown of Rudolf II, or the Crown of the Austrian Empire.
History
Because the Imperial RegaliaImperial Regalia
The Imperial Regalia, insignia, or crown jewels are the regalia of the Emperors and Kings of the Holy Roman Empire. The most important parts are the Imperial Crown, the Holy Lance and the Imperial Sword...
of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
, especially the Imperial Crown
Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire
The Imperial Crown , is the hoop crown of the King of the Romans, the rulers of the German Kingdom, since the High Middle Ages. Most of the kings were crowned with it. It was made probably somewhere in Western Germany, either under Otto I , by Conrad II or Conrad III during the late 10th and early...
, were all kept in Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
and could only leave the city for the coronation
Coronation
A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...
, some rulers had their own personal crowns made. For example, when they attended a session of the Imperial Diet (Reichstag), they attended with their own crowns. The oldest depiction of such a private crown is an etching by the artist Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer was a German painter, printmaker, engraver, mathematician, and theorist from Nuremberg. His prints established his reputation across Europe when he was still in his twenties, and he has been conventionally regarded as the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance ever since...
of Emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
Maximilian I
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
, where a depiction of a crown is seen that might have influenced the appearance of the crown of Rudolf later.
The Imperial Crown was actually never used for a coronation, since the Empire of Austria, as opposed to the Holy Roman Empire, was a hereditary monarchy under the Habsburg Dynasty, and therefore such an act of legitimization was not seen as necessary. The ceremony was more an act of investiture on the monarch's official ascension to the throne.
The crown of Rudolf II was made in 1602 in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
by Jan Vermeyen
Jan Vermeyen
Jan Vermeyen was a goldsmith in Antwerp around 1580. He was one of the favorite artists of Emperor Rudolph II. His most famous work is the private crown of the emperor, which came later into use as Imperial Crown of Austria....
, one of the most outstanding goldsmith
Goldsmith
A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Since ancient times the techniques of a goldsmith have evolved very little in order to produce items of jewelry of quality standards. In modern times actual goldsmiths are rare...
s of his time, who was called specially from Antwerp. The crown is made out of three parts: the circlet
Circlet
A circlet is a crown with neither arches nor a cap ....
(Kronreif), the high arch (Kronbügel), and a mitre
Mitre
The mitre , also spelled miter, is a type of headwear now known as the traditional, ceremonial head-dress of bishops and certain abbots in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in the Anglican Communion, some Lutheran churches, and also bishops and certain other clergy in the Eastern Orthodox...
(Mitra). It therefore follows the model of the mitral crowns, which derive their shape from the cap
Cap
A cap is a form of headgear. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head and have no brim or only a visor. They are typically designed for warmth and, when including a visor, blocking sunlight from the eyes...
of bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s.
In the earlier forms of the Western miter the peaks or ‘horns’ were over the ears, rather than over the face and back of the head.:File:Mitre evolution.gif The form of miter used in the imperial miter-crown preserved this earlier form. Earlier form of the imperial miter-crown can be seen in the extant portraits of such emperors as Frederick III andMaximilian I http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Maximilian_I_as_Emperor.JPG The bronze effigy of Maximilian I found on his monumental cenotaph in the court church in Innsbruck http://www.uibk.ac.at/aia/bilder/Duca/duca_01.jpg has a crown with two arches which cross over the top of the miter and the unique form of the imperial crown
Imperial Crown of Mexico
The Imperial Crown of Mexico was the crown created for the monarch of Mexico on two separate occasions. The crown of the First Mexican Empire, ruled by Agustin I of Mexico, can be seen in his many portraits , but its history is not entirely known....
adopted by Maximilian as Emperor of Mexico
Emperor of Mexico
The Emperor of Mexico was the head of state and ruler of Mexico on two non-consecutive occasions in the 19th century....
:File:X-Large Portrait of Maximiliano.jpghttp://www.casaimperial.org/pics/Imperial%20Crown1.JPG appears to have been modeled on this form, but with the half-arches and the eagles on the circlet on the front, back and sides of the imperial crown of Napoleon III.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Franz_Xaver_Winterhalter_Napoleon_III.jpg In the later 17th century Baroque form of miter-crown of Leopold I :File:Kaiser-Leopold1.jpghttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Benjamin_von_Block_001.jpg the peaks of the miter have been rounded into the hemispherical form Peter the Great would adopt as the Imperial Crown of Russia
Imperial Crown of Russia
The Imperial Crown of Russia, also known as the Great Imperial Crown, is the crown that was used by the Emperors of Russia until the abolition of the monarchy in 1917. The Great Imperial Crown was first used in a coronation by Catherine II, and was last used at the coronation of Nicholas II...
when he took the title emperor for the Russian sovereign.
Although it is often assumed that the Imperial Crown
Imperial crown
An Imperial Crown is a crown used for the coronation of emperors.- Imperial Crowns with Mitre :-Legal usage:Throughout the Commonwealth Realms, The Crown is an abstract concept which represents the legal authority for the existence of any government...
made for Otto I with its single arch over its inner red cap was the original prototype for the western imperial crown, it is also possible that the Byzantine imperial crown, which in the twelfth century also became closed with two arches, inspired the western emperors to follow their example and also close their crowns with such a pair of arches.
Circlet
The circlet in itself forms a crown — the mitre and the high arch were put in extra, so to speak. It symbolises the royal authority. Out of it rise eight lilies, which were probably inspired by the Bohemian Crown of St. WenceslasCrown of Saint Wenceslas
Crown of Saint Wenceslas is the part of Bohemian crown jewels made in 1347. The eleventh king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV had it made for his coronation and forthwith he dedicated it to the first patron saint of the country St...
. The lilies are also sometimes associated with the fleurs-de-lis of the Valois. The numeral eight is a theme that was also taken from the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, since the circlet is made out of eight plates. In the circlet are precious stones such as spinel
Spinel
Spinel is the magnesium aluminium member of the larger spinel group of minerals. It has the formula MgAl2O4. Balas ruby is an old name for a rose-tinted variety.-Spinel group:...
s, zircon
Zircon
Zircon is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates. Its chemical name is zirconium silicate and its corresponding chemical formula is ZrSiO4. A common empirical formula showing some of the range of substitution in zircon is 1–x4x–y...
s, and pearls. The zircons are cut in such a way that they are flat at the front. The cutting of precious stones was a relatively new technique at the time the crown was made.
Mitre
The mitre symbolises the divine right to rule, and the spiritual position of the emperor: during the coronation, he was also consecrated symbolically as a deaconDeacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
. It is turned by 90 °, the areas are shown to the side, so that the high arch goes from the front to the back, just as in the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire. The mitre is made out of gold, with a band of enamel
Vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel, also porcelain enamel in U.S. English, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C...
work, which depicts birds and plants. The mitre is divided into four sections, which represent the high honours of Rudolf II. The first part shows him kneeling, while receiving the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire
Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire
The Imperial Crown , is the hoop crown of the King of the Romans, the rulers of the German Kingdom, since the High Middle Ages. Most of the kings were crowned with it. It was made probably somewhere in Western Germany, either under Otto I , by Conrad II or Conrad III during the late 10th and early...
in Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
as Holy Roman Emperor. The second shows him riding onto the coronation hill in Pressburg
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
(Bratislava) during his coronation as King of Hungary
King of Hungary
The King of Hungary was the head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 to 1918.The style of title "Apostolic King" was confirmed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 and used afterwards by all the Kings of Hungary, so after this date the kings are referred to as "Apostolic King of...
. The third shows his coronation procession through Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
as King of Bohemia, and the fourth depicts an allegory of his victory over the invading Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. The inscription inside the arch reads in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
: RVDOLPHVS II ROM(ANORVM) IMP(ERATOR) AVGVSTUS HVNG(ARIAE) ET BOH(EMIAE) REX CONSTRVXIT MDCII (Rudolf II, August Emperor of the Romans, King of Hungary and Bohemia, Constructed in 1602).
High Arch
The high arch was obviously inspired by the arch from the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire. It is studded with eight diamondDiamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
s, which symbolise Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
. The emperor was regarded as governor on earth in the name of Christ. At the top of the arch is a blue-green emerald
Emerald
Emerald is a variety of the mineral beryl colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5–8 on the 10 point Mohs scale of mineral hardness...
, which symbolises heaven. The emerald was not cut, but polished.
Sceptre and Imperial Orb
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Sceptre
A sceptre is a symbolic ornamental rod or wand borne in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia.-Antiquity:...
and the Imperial Orb, which was commissioned in 1612 by Rudolf's brother and successor Matthias
Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor
Matthias of Austria was Holy Roman Emperor from 1612, King of Hungary and Croatia from 1608 and King of Bohemia from 1611...
. It was created by Andreas Ochsenbruck. The shape takes its inspiration from the crown, especially the enamel-work has been copied in its style. A peculiarity of the sceptre is that it is made partly out of "unicorn
Unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary animal from European folklore that resembles a white horse with a large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead, and sometimes a goat's beard...
horn". The sceptre and the orb were already in use before proclamation of the Empire of Austria, sometimes as the Bohemian royal regalia, sometimes for the hereditary private estates (Erbhuldigung) of the Archduchy of Austria
Archduchy of Austria
The Archduchy of Austria , one of the most important states within the Holy Roman Empire, was the nucleus of the Habsburg Monarchy and the predecessor of the Austrian Empire...
.
Crown, sceptre, and orb are kept today in the Schatzkammer (Vienna)
Schatzkammer (Vienna)
The Imperial Treasury in Vienna, Austria is located in the Hofburg with its entrance at the Schweizerhof , the oldest part of the palace rebuilt in a Renaissance style under Emperor Ferdinand I...
, the Imperial Treasury in the Hofburg Palace.
Other uses
- A number of beer companies feature the Imperial Crown on their logo, such as the Royal Brewery of Krušovice (csCzech languageCzech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
: Královský Pivovar Krušovice) in the Czech RepublicCzech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. - Some cities have their coat of arms crowned by the Imperial Crown. AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, was granted its coat of armsCoat of arms of AmsterdamThe coat of arms of Amsterdam is the official symbol of the city of Amsterdam. It consists of a red shield and a black pale with three silver Saint Andrew's Crosses, the Imperial Crown of Austria, two golden lions, and the motto of Amsterdam. Several heraldic elements have their basis in the...
to be crowned by emperor Maximilian IMaximilian I, Holy Roman EmperorMaximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
in 1489 in recognition of its financial support for one of his wars. The crown can be seen on the spire of WesterkerkWesterkerkThe Westerkerk is a church of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands denomination in Amsterdam, built in 1620-1631 after a design by Hendrick de Keyser. It is next to Amsterdam's Jordaan district, on the bank of the Prinsengracht canal....
and adorning the Blauwbrug.
See also
- Austrian Crown JewelsAustrian Crown JewelsThe collective term Austrian Crown Jewels or insignia denotes the regalia and vestments worn by the Holy Roman emperor, and later the Austrian emperor, during the coronation ceremony and at various other state functions...
- Archducal hatArchducal hatThe archducal hat is the insignia of the Archduchy of Austria. It is kept in Klosterneuburg Monastery in perpetuity.-History:The first archducal coronet was shown on a portrait of Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, though this coronet probably never existed...
- Ducal hatDucal hatThe ducal hat of the Duchy of Styria is a jagged crown made out of silver-gilt. Believed to be produced in the 15th century, it was refashioned with pearls and enameled in 1766....
- Holy Crown of Hungary
- Imperial crownImperial crownAn Imperial Crown is a crown used for the coronation of emperors.- Imperial Crowns with Mitre :-Legal usage:Throughout the Commonwealth Realms, The Crown is an abstract concept which represents the legal authority for the existence of any government...
Literature
- Leithe-Jasper, Manfred. The Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna: The Imperial And Ecclesiastical Treasury. Scala Publisher. 2005. ISBN 978-3-406-42938-5