Schatzkammer with my Schatz

Rob and I went to the treasury or Schatzkammer to see all the Austro-Hungarian goods. We got to see it in its original setting down in the bottom of the city palace or Hofburg.
[click to enlarge] It is one of my favorite places in Vienna. It's been too long for me to know how it compares to the crown jewels in London, but you've got to be impressed by some of this bling. The green thing is the most valuable piece in the collection: a vase made out of an emerald; 2680 carats. The crown is Stephan's, and comes with a matching hat box. The cross was made in the 11th century, but the stand for it came from the 14th -- like it took them three hundred years to realize it needed a stand. To the right of it you can see a piece of the true cross. Katie had been making snide remarks about all the pieces of the true cross scattered throughout Christendom. These guys also had a piece of Christ's manger, just to up the ante.
[click to enlarge] Here are some baby items: the cradle for Napoleon and Marie Louise's son, baptismal outfits for Franz Joseph and siblings and Maria Theresia's children and the baptismal pitcher. Looking at the ornate clothes and blankets, all I could think of was reflux.
Even their keys are cool!
This was my favorite jewelry, which looks positively spare and spartan compared to everything else in there. Crown Prince Rudolph's wife Stephanie got such a lot of jewelry for their wedding that it looked like a suit of armor.
This is the crown of the Holy Roman Emperor. An amazing party hat.

And the matching Holy Roman purse European carry-all.
Yep, one of my favorite places in Vienna with one of my favorite people. In fact, we liked it so much that as soon as we got out we called Katie (because the Isaaks hadn't come here yet) and said "You've got to get down here! These people have a piece of the true cross!"Posted by Picasa

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