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The 7-armed candelabra

The oldest remaining example of a church candelabra in the stylised tree form, this large, 7-armed candelabra originally stands in the choir of the Romanesque abbey church.

Cast in Verona in around 1130, it’s probably a donation of Margrave Leopold III and his wife Agnes. The Romanesque abbey church is erected at Klosterneuburg at the same time, between 1114 and 1136, and in all likelihood the candelabra belongs to the church’s original furnishings.

It’s moved to the apse in 1589 and today stands in the Brunnenhaus (or ‘spring house’). The candelabra is not only unusual because of its form and scale but because of the materials used – gold-plated bronze, originally decorated with mountain crystals. The crystals are lost over the centuries and replaced by glass stones. The original bronze foot also disappears and the candelabra now rests on a stone base.

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