“Gut behüted” (a German hat pun meaning “well protected”)

Custodianship of the archducal hat

The archducal hat can also be found in the middle of the triumphant scene with which Daniel Gran decorated the dome of the Marble Hall at Klosterneuburg Monastery in 1749. A small scene on the sidelines alludes to the monastery as protector of the Austrian crown: the archducal hat rests on a cloud, flanked by a cherub holding aloft a golden key. This represents the key to the treasury where the hat has been kept since its donation in 1616, close to the skull relic of Saint Leopold.

A papal bull accompanying the donation stated that the crown could only be ‘loaned out’ for the state act of hereditary homage and then for a maximum of 30 days. Excommunication was the penalty if this was not adhered to. Apart from its safeguarding in wartime, it was only once that the archducal hat left the monastery for a longer period, when Emperor Joseph II ordered that all insignia be united the treasury in Vienna. When Leopold II came to power in 1790 the crown was returned to Klosterneuburg Monastery after a 6-year absence amid great jubilation.

Until 2011 the Austrian archducal hat was kept in a vault within one of the Baroque treasury cabinets. Today the crown is the eye-catcher of the historic treasury in a secure display case.