Crown of the Kingdom of Bavaria

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The crown of the Kingdom of Bavaria in the treasury of the Munich residence , on the left the imperial orb (Latin inscription: "In signum concordiae patris ac patriae MDCCCVI", German translation: "To the sign of the unity of father and fatherland, 1806"), on the right the queen's crown, behind it the king's sword (Latin inscription: “Nec temere, nec timide”, German translation: “(Do it) not carelessly, but also not fearful”; the Latin inscription of the scepter is “Cui non civium servitus tradita, sed tutela” in German Translation "To whom the bondage of the citizens, but their protection is entrusted").

The crown of the Kingdom of Bavaria was made on the occasion of the elevation of Bavaria to kingdom in 1806.

description

The crown is a golden iron crown of 20 cm in diameter and 25 cm in height. The coronet bears pearls on the upper and lower edge . On the ring there are alternating square diamonds , diamond- framed rubies and gold-set emeralds . Above the ring sits a spiral-shaped ornamented strip that surrounds diamonds of different sizes. Eight large and eight smaller prongs grow out of it. The small prongs are made of heart-shaped diamonds framed by smaller diamonds. The large prongs are shaped like an acanthus leaf with a large diamond-framed emerald in the middle. The eight clasps rise from these prongs in a volute shape, indent slightly in front of the apex and then rise again volute-like and protrude slightly. They thus form a basis for the large globe. The clips are narrow and decorated in the middle with continuous rows of acanthus leaves. There are five diamond-framed gemstones, alternating rubies and emeralds. The globe bears a cross made of diamonds and its surface is diamond-shaped. Small diamonds sit on this ornament. A gold ribbon along the equator and on the top half of the globe carries diamonds and rubies.

In total, the following amounts were spent on the production of the Bavarian Kingdom insignia - not including the jewels already in existence:

  • Royal crown: 94,505 guilders
  • Queen's crown: 26,003 guilders
  • Imperial orb: 10,913 guilders
  • Scepter: 10,674 guilders
  • Imperial sword: 26,389 guilders
  • Diadem: 85,424 guilders
  • Seal box: 330 guilders
  • New cut of delivered stones: 550 guilders
  • Sword belt: 1,100 guilders

For the crowns, the imperial orb, the scepter, the sword and the diadem, six pillows were made of embroidered purple velvet with lion heads made of gold-plated bronze and gold tassels worth 4,500 guilders.

history

Joseph Karl Stieler : King Ludwig I in royal robe (detail), 1826. Neue Pinakothek , Munich; The filigree ball with the diamond cross of the crown of the Kingdom of Bavaria adorns the Blue Wittelsbacher

The crown was made in Paris by Martin-Guillaume Biennais in 1806 after Bavaria had become a kingdom at the beginning of the year. The crown was not worn, but was placed on the catafalque when the Bavarian kings were enthroned and at royal funerals. Today it is in the treasury of the Munich residence .

A large blue diamond was originally set on the face of the globe. This " Wittelsbacher Diamond ", natural blue and 35.56 kt. heavy, was one of the world's most famous stones of this type after the Hope diamond and adorned the crown until 1918. In 1931, the Wittelsbach family tried to sell this stone. The stone had been in private hands since 1964 and on December 10, 2008 it was auctioned again in London for 16.4 million pounds (around 18.7 million euros) to the London jeweler Graff. He had it regrinded and presented it to the public in January 2010, now renamed "Wittelsbach-Graff".

literature

  • Heinz Biehn : The crowns of Europe and their fate . Limes Verlag, Wiesbaden 1957.
  • Süddeutsche Zeitung from November 5, 2008

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sabine Heym: Magnificent crown insignia for Bavaria - but no coronation, in: Bayerns Krone 1806, 200 years Kingdom of Bavaria, ed. by Johannes Erichsen and Katharina Heinemann, Munich 2006, pp. 37–49.
  2. ^ Message from Bayerischer Rundfunk from December 10, 2008 ( Memento from February 17, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ^ Announcement of the online edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung from January 16, 2010.