Imperial Cross

The Imperial Cross (German: Reichskreuz) is part of the Imperial Regalia of the Holy Roman Empire. It served as the container for the two "Great Relics of Christ" (Großen Reliquien Christi): the Holy Lance in its horizontal arms and the reliquary of the True Cross in the lower shaft. It is thus the original reliquary of the Imperial relics. The Imperial cross is kept in the Imperial Treasury in the Hofburg.

It has been suggested that the cross was probably created some time around 1024–25 or 1030 in Lotharingia. A somewhat earlier creation as a commission of Conrad's predecessor Henry II (1002–1024) is also found in scholarly literature.

An older base was replaced with the current gilt silver base of the cross in 1350 in Prague at the command of Charles IV. In addition he had new reliquaries made for the relics which had hitherto been stored inside the Imperial Cross.

The cross has an oak core which is coated on the outside with gold leaf and with red leather on the inside. It measures 77 by 70 centimetres. The beams are 9 centimetres wide for most of their length and 12 cm wide at the ends of the beams.

The front of the cross is decorated with pearls and gemstones in high mountings (Crux gemmata). The reverse, decorated in the niello technique, depicts the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) at the centre of the cross, surrounded by the twelve Apostles and the symbols of the Four Evangelists at the cross' four ends.

Because it was created as a reliquary, several parts of the front side can lift off, which reveals openings through which the relics can be reached. The openings are lined with dark red material and are an exact fit for the Holy Lance and the reliquary of the True Cross. The dimensions of the cross result from these relics. There are other small, rectangular openings as well; whether these are for documents or other smaller relics is unknown.

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