Wenceslas Crown
The Wenceslas Crown or Crown of St. Wenceslas ( Svatováclavská koruna in Czech ) is the royal crown of the Kingdom of Bohemia and a symbol for the countries of the Bohemian crown . It is the oldest part of the Bohemian coronation insignia . Of these, besides the crown, the royal apple , the royal scepter and the king's cloak have survived.
description
The crown is made from 21 to 22 carat gold . It weighs about 2.5 kilograms, its maximum height and diameter are 19 cm. Their shape is based on older crowns of the Přemyslids and the French kings . It consists of four sides of sheet gold attached to the hoop, each ending in a large lily . Two arches connect the four side panels. The arches are studded with parts of an older piece of jewelry, a gold belt that Blanca von Valois received from her cousin, the French King Charles the Fair , in 1323 for her wedding to Charles IV . At the highest point, the intersection of the two arches, there is a hollow gold cross. The cross is adorned with a cameo made of a Byzantine sapphire depicting a crucifixion scene.
The inscription on the cross reads Hic est spina de corona Domini (“Here is a thorn from the Lord's crown”) and refers to the fragment of the crown of thorns contained therein as a relic . Under the arches, the crown is padded with a cloth cap. The crown was set with red and blue gemstones when it was made in 1347. The composition of the gemstone collection changed several times, however, since until his death in 1378 Karl had the crown supplemented with gemstones that had come into his possession. The Wenceslas crown was given its final shape between 1374 and 1378. Since then it has been set with 19 sapphires, 44 spinels , one ruby , 30 emeralds and 20 pearls .
History and current storage
Charles IV had the crown made on the occasion of his coronation in 1347. From then on it was to be used as a state jewel at the coronation of the Bohemian kings . According to Charles's regulations, it should only be removed from the Prague Cathedral Treasury for coronations and similarly important state acts and returned on the same day. Each removal was associated with a fee of 200 or 300 pounds, which should benefit the clergy of St. Vitus Cathedral.
The regular depository of the crown was the cathedral treasure of St. Vitus Cathedral . When it was made, Charles IV dedicated the crown to the first patron saint of the country, St. Wenceslaus . The king had the saint's skull, which was also in the cathedral treasury, overlaid with gold. On certain church holidays, the skull should be displayed in public and adorned with the crown. The skull as a relic and the crown made of state jewels never formed a material unit. The connection between the two was of an idealistic and legal nature: the dedication of the crown to the first national patron should guarantee its security. Theft and misappropriation were punishable by severe ecclesiastical penalties.
Although Charles IV wanted the new royal crown to be kept permanently in St. Vitus Cathedral, his son Wenzel IV had the coronation jewels transferred to Karlstein Castle . Since then, the place of storage has changed many times, and they came to Vienna in the 18th century.
Since 1791 they have been in a special chamber in the St. Wenceslas Chapel of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague . The door of the chamber, in which the imperial regalia (crown, scepter and orb) rest, is equipped with seven locks, which are kept by seven state and clerical dignitaries. The key holders are the President of the Czech Republic , the Prime Minister, the Archbishop of Prague , the Chairman of the House of Representatives , the Chairman of the Senate , the Dean of the Metropolitan Chapter of St. Vitus Cathedral and the Lord Mayor of Prague. The President of the Republic decides on the removal and public exhibition of the imperial regalia. In the 21st century, the imperial regalia were shown publicly four times, most recently in 2016 to celebrate the 700th birthday of Charles IV.
Usage and Myth
Many people were crowned King of Bohemia , including the Wittelsbach “Winter King” Friedrich von der Pfalz . In the 19th century, the crown became a symbol of the Bohemian state rights and independence.
The last coronation with the Wenceslas crown took place in 1836, when Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria was crowned King of Bohemia in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague.
The legend has grown around the Wenceslas crown that anyone who wears it wrongly will die a violent death within a year. Allegedly, knowing about this legend, the acting Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich briefly put on the Wenceslas crown at a symbolic handover of keys in the coronation chamber next to Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral on November 19, 1941 in order to desecrate the holy of holies of Czechoslovakia and refute the legend. This is probably just a legend that only came up after the fatal assassination attempt on Heydrich on May 26, 1942.
literature
Franz Bock: The crown insignia of Bohemia in the messages of the emperors. royal Central Commission for the Research and Conservation of Architectural Monuments Volume 2, 1857., (Category with associated images on Commons )
- Ernst Günther Grimme : The Aachen cathedral treasure (= Aachen art sheets . Vol. 42). Schwann, Düsseldorf 1972, p. 60.
- Pavla Obrazová, Jan Vlk: Maior Gloria. Svatý kníže Václav (= Historická paměť. Vol. 1). Paseka, Praha Litomyšl 1994, ISBN 80-85192-94-2 .
- Jan Bonek, Tomas Bonek: The Bohemian Crown Jewels. Eminent Verlag, Prague 2006, ISBN 978-80-7281-220-2 .
- Karel Otavský: Svatováclavská koruna a její funkce. In: Petr Kubín (ed.): Svatý Václav. Na památku 1100. výrocí narození knízete Václava Svatého. = Saint Wenceslas (= Opera Facultatis Theologiae Catholicae Universitatis Carolinae Pragensis. Vol. 11). Togga, Prague 2010, ISBN 978-80-87258-23-1 , pp. 253-266.
Web links
Remarks
- ↑ In the sources you can find both statements: Franz von Prag speaks of 200, Benesch von Weitmühl of 300 pounds.
- ↑ The Czech Republic celebrates Emperor Charles IV. Czechtourism.com, accessed on May 24, 2017 .