6 . T R E A S U R Y
HOFBURG, SCHWEIZERHOF
The Imperial Treasury offers unique
exhibits covering the millennium of
European history. This is the home of the
most important collection of medieval
royal objects: the insignia and jewels of
the Holy Roman Empire, including the
Imperial Crown and the Holy Spear. There
is also the Crown of the Emperor Rudolph
II (which later became the Crown of the
Austrian Empire), as well as the
vestments and other precious objects of
the Order of the Golden Fleece. Excellent
gemstones, including one of the world's
largest emeralds, indicate the previous
degree of power of the Habsburgs. In the
last centuries, two objects were
considered unique, that they were
declared to be "integral relics of the
house of Austria": a giant narwhale tooth
that was considered the horn of a
unicorn and an agate bowl of late
antiquity that was considered the
legendary Holy Grail.
The treasury of Ecclesiastes offers a
journey through the history of art, piety
and religion. It tells about the medieval
cult of relics, from the Catholicism of the
Habsburgs to the era of the counter-
reformation, the post basic piety of rulers
and Austrian folk religiosity.