The Vienna treasury ( German Schatzkammer ) is part of the Habsburg collection and includes items of the highest dynastic and religious significance. In this regard, the treasury is divided into two parts - religious and secular. The treasury is included in the funds of the Museum of the History of Art and is located in Hofburg on the site where there once was a church, from which the now unused wrought iron front door with a monogram of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI was preserved.
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Collection History
In 1556, Emperor Ferdinand I appointed the Nuremberg art connoisseur Jacopo Strada as his antique dealer and manager of the imperial treasury in Hofburg. The collection, which included paintings, works of art, objects of worship and regalia, was traditionally kept in the Church of the Augustinians . Under Maria Theresa, the treasures of the crown were isolated from the general collection and put on display at the place where the religious part of the treasury is now located. Such a reorganization was also intended to divert attention from the sale of part of the collection to finance the wars against Prussia. After the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire, imperial regalia transferred from Napoleon to Nuremberg and Aachen passed into the treasury. Since 1871, along with other objects of the Habsburg collection, the regalia of the empire and Austria were included in the exposition of the Museum of the History of Art and the Museum of Natural History. After World War I, the collection was reorganized again and moved to modern facilities. Before the Second World War, the collection, according to Hitler’s personal order, was transported by the National Socialists to Nuremberg . In April-May 1945, the collection was seized by American occupation forces . In 1946, the collection was returned by the Americans to Vienna.
Treasury Composition
In 21 rooms, secular and church values, jewelry and souvenirs previously owned by the Habsburgs are exhibited. In the secular treasury are the treasures of the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire X / XI centuries. - Imperial kleinoda and the so-called Burgundy relics with the regalia of the Order of the Golden Fleece.
The treasury is divided into religious and secular parts. Imperial Kleinoda are stored in the treasury:
- Imperial crown
- Imperial sword
- Imperial scepter
- Imperial power
- Holy Lance
- Imperial cross
Literature
- Weltliche und Geistliche Schatzkammer . Kunsthistorisches Museum mit MVK und ÖTM, Wien (2005). ISBN 3701704996
- Hauptwerke der Weltlichen Schatzkammer . Kunsthistorisches Museum mit MVK und ÖTM, Wien (2005). ISBN 3854970919
- Die Schatzkammer zu Wien. Legitimation eines europäischen Herrscherhauses . ISBN 3901860029
- Weltliche und Geistliche Schatzkammer. ISBN 3701704996
- Hermann Fillitz: Die Schatzkammer in Wien. Symbole abendländischen Kaisertums . ISBN 3701704430
- Hermann Fillitz: Die Schatzkammer in Wien . Schroll, Wien (1964).
- Hermann Fillitz: Die Weltliche Schatzkammer in Wien . Klinkhardt & Biermann, Wien (1959).
- Franz Kirchweger, Wilfried Seipel: Die Heilige Lanze in Wien: Insignie - Reliquie - Schicksalsspeer . Kunsthistorisches Museum mit MVK und ÖTM, Wien (2005). ISBN 3854970900
- Manfred Leithe-Jasper, Rudolf Distelberger. Kunsthistorisches Museum, in 2 Bdn., Schatzkammer und Sammlung für Plastik und Kunstgewerbe . CHBeck; Auflage: 4., Aufl., Wien (1998). ISBN 3406429378
Links
- Wikimedia Commons has media related to the Vienna Treasury
- Treasury on the site of the Museum of Art History