Austrian Crown Jewels

The Austrian Crown Jewels (German: Insignien und Kleinodien) is a term denoting the regalia and vestments worn by the Holy Roman Emperor, and later by the Emperor of Austria, during the coronation ceremony and other state functions. The term refers to the following objects: the crowns, sceptres, orbs, swords, rings, crosses, holy relics, and the royal robes, as well as several other objects connected with the ceremony. The collection dates from the 10th to the 19th centuries and reflects more than a thousand years of European history. It is kept at the Imperial Treasury in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria.

The most outstanding objects are the insignia of the hereditary Empire of Austria. They consist of the Imperial Crown, the Imperial Orb and Sceptre, the mantle of the Austrian Empire, and the Coronation Robes of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. The Imperial Crown, Orb, Cross, and Holy Lance of the Holy Roman Empire are also highlights. The first five parts are also called Weltliche Schatzkammer (secular/worldly treasury) and the ecclesiastical part the Geistliche Schatzkammer (spiritual treasury). The Schatzkammer is under the administration of the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Art History).

Austria began as a small march and was later elevated to a duchy, then archduchy. The house of Babenberg and later the Habsburg dynasty were the margraves, dukes and later archdukes of this fiefdom. After the death of the last Babenberg duke, Frederick II in 1246, King Ottokar II of Bohemia took over for a while. He was, however, defeated by the King of the Romans Rudolf of Habsburg in 1278, with the help of his sons Albert and Rudolf. Rudolf then installed his son Albert as Duke of Austria. The enthronement ceremony of the new Archduke of Austria was not an actual coronation, but more a ceremony of homage by the estates. In the German language, this ceremony is called the Erbhuldigung. The estates in parliament swore obedience to their new ruler, and he in turn guaranteed their rights and upheld their privileges. However, in this ceremony sovereign insignia were also used.

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