The Imperial Treasury

A real chamber of wonders

In the Swiss Courtyard at the Vienna Hofburg can be found the entrance to the Imperial Treasury, perhaps the most significant collection of medieval valuables in the world.

Emperor Ferdinand I also has a hand in the creation of the treasury; he has a cabinet of arts and curios installed near the Swiss Gate between 1558 and 1563, the foundations of which are first rediscovered in 2013. Emperor Charles VI, father of Maria Theresa, has the treasury moved to its modern-day location.

The treasury, curated by the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, is divided into a secular and a clerical treasury. While one can admire mainly religious paintings and altarpieces in the clerical treasury, the secular treasury is home to several of the most valuable treasures of the Middle Ages.

The regalia of the Austrian Empire for example, including Rudolf II’s Imperial Crown, Sceptre and Orb, can be found here. As can the regalia of the Holy Roman Empire. These include the Imperial Crown, Ceremonial Sword and the Holy Lance, which, according to legend, contains part of a nail from Christ’s cross.

We find the famous Coronation Mantle from Sicily here too. The semi-circular mantle, to be hung at 90 degrees over the shoulder, is the most important item of coronation attire for a Holy Roman emperor.

Treasures and mass regalia from the Order of the Golden Fleece, the highest ranking and probably most famous order of chivalry in the Hapsburg monarchy, represented symbolically on the Swiss Gate, are also on display.