Austrian Crown Jewels - The Empire of Austria

The Empire of Austria

Among the most important regalia of the Austrian Empire are the following:

• The Crown of Rudolf II, later Crown of the Austrian Empire, (made by Jan Vermeyen in Prague in 1602). It is made of pure gold, partially enamelled and studded with diamonds, rubies, spinel rubies, sapphires, pearls, and cushioned with velvet.

The crown and the insignia of the Holy Roman Empire were kept at Nürnberg and were used only for coronation ceremonies. For all other occasions the emperors had to commission personal crowns, which (except for this one) have survived only in illustrations. This crown was originally the personal crown of emperor Rudolf II. It is one of the most important works of the European goldsmith's art. Luckily this personal crown was spared the fate of many other crowns and not broken up after the death of the emperor in 1612.

The Rudolphian crown has three distinct, principal elements, which symbolise the right to rule: the circlet with its fleur-de-lis mounts in the shape of a royal crown (Rudolf II was the King of Bohemia and Hungary), the high arch descending from the imperial crown, and the golden mitre symbolising the divine right of the emperor to rule. The pearls run in rows like lights. The crown is topped by a bluish-green emerald which symbolises heaven.

In the four spherical triangles of the golden mitre, Rudolf is depicted in his four principal offices and titles: as victor over the Turks (Imperator), his coronation as Holy Roman emperor in Regensburg (Augustus), his ride up the coronation hill after his coronation as king of Hungary in Pozsony (in Slovak "Bratislava", in present-day Slovakia), and his procession at his coronation as king of Bohemia in Prague. The inscription inside the arch reads: RVDOLPHVS II ROM(ANORVM) IMP(ERATOR) AVGVSTUS HVNG(ARIAE) ET BOH(EMIAE) REX CONSTRVXIT MDCII (tr. "Made for Rudolf II, Roman emperor, King of Hungary and Bohemia, in 1602").

The choice and number of the stones used have allegorical and mystical significance. Eight diamonds decorate the crown: eight is a holy number referring to the octagonal body of the imperial crown; the diamond is a symbol of Christ.

Under threat from Napoleon, emperor Francis II dissolved the thousand-year old Holy Roman Empire and proclaimed the Austrian Empire on August 11, 1804. He did not use the crown of the Holy Roman Empire but the old crown of Rudolf II as the crown of the new empire.

For more detailed information, please see Imperial Crown of Austria.

• The Imperial Orb and Sceptre (made by Andreas Osenbruck in Prague, between 1612 and 1615) were commissioned by emperor Matthias, the successor to Rudolf II. Both insignia were made out of the same material as the crown, and followed the same concept. They are also partially enameled, and studded with rubies, sapphires and pearls.

• The Mantle of the Austrian Empire (designed by Philipp von Stubenrauch (1784–1848) and executed by Johann Fritz, Master Gold Embroiderer, in Vienna in 1830) was commissioned by emperor Francis I for the coronation of his son, Ferdinand, as younger King of Hungary. The mantle is made out of red velvet, ermine, and white silk, and pranked with a gold-embroidered scatter pattern formed of double eagles with the Austrian arms. The border is decorated with oak and laurel leaves.

• The Coronation Robes of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia (also designed by Philipp von Stubenrauch and executed by Johann Fritz in Vienna in 1838) are patterned similar to the Mantle of the Austrian Empire, but made out of blue and orange velvet, with white moiré, gold and silver embroidery, ermine and lace. The edging of the mantle is accompanied by a line of medallions in which the Iron Crown of Lombardy is displayed. Parallel to this runs a broad ornamental border composed of sprays of palm fronds, oak and laurel leaves.

After Napoleon's downfall and the Congress of Vienna, the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia was created under Austrian rule. When emperor Ferdinand I was to be crowned King of Lombardy and Venetia in Milan on 6 September 1838, the question arose as to the choice of appropriate insignia and coronation vestments. Only the Iron Crown already existed. The rest of the insignia and vestments had to be newly commissioned. When the Austrians were forced to withdraw from Italy in 1859, the vestments were brought to Vienna.