Imperial Treasury and Opening Ceremonies

On Friday, August 8th I went to the Schatzkammer (the Imperial Treasury), after class. I took the audio tour and was blown away by the vast amounts of royal heirlooms from the Habsburg dynasty. There was so much to look at and take in from the coronation robes, scepters, and crowns to the jewelry collection, the room filled with golden crucifixes, extravagant baptism outfits for the newborn royal children, swords, paintings, and much more. Because there were so many interesting items that I could go on and on about, I will focus on several that really stood out to me, personally. In the middle of the room filled with jewels, there was this huge, emerald encased in glass with a light shining down on it. I was immediately drawn to the stone and the story about it that unfolded through the audio guide. It is the biggest known emerald in the world at 2,860 karats. It was discovered in Colombia during the mid-16th century and brought back by Spanish explorers when Spain was under Habsburg rule. It is a large, awkward shape that was kept mostly intact because they didn’t want to shave it down too much and diminish its size. The emerald has two main parts that are naturally attached and gold-rimmed around the circumference. It was highly regarded as a symbol of power in the empire "where the sun never set."

The next item that I was drawn to was the Golden Roses. This figure made completely out of gold symbolizes "the divine." The base is a golden vase with a vine intertwining between two handles on either side. Out of the vase sprouts 13 stemmed golden roses with golden leaves. They signify the 12 apostles and the one rose on the top symbolizes Jesus Christ. The top rose has a small cover that allowed for it to be opened and filled with musk and balsam to represent the sweet scent of Jesus’ skin. The shavings from the golden roses were used to make the thorns along the stems. On the 4th Sunday during Lent, the Pope blessed a golden rose and gave it to an especially pious and deserving individual whether it be a member of the church or royalty. In 1819 Pope Pius VII dedicated this to Carolina Augusta who was the fourth wife of Franz I of Austria. It is a beautiful work of art, a magnificent sight, and a Catholic symbol of divinity that is recognized as one of the most valued possessions in the Imperial Treasury.

Finally I have to mention the imperial crown of the Holy Roman Emperor. This crown is an incredibly sacred symbol of the monarchy that has been [speculated to have been] in existence since the late 10th century. The crown is made of eight hinged gold plates that connect to make an octagonal shape. The crown is covered in about 300 separate precious stones and pearls. On four of the plates there are biblical representations that appear to be of the Byzantine style. There is a gold arch going from the back to the front of the crown were a huge cross is centered at the top. The crown is so over the top that it almost seems fake with all the different stones, pearls, and tiny details. Yet one cannot help but be amazed that this very crown sat atop the heads of seven centuries of rulers of the Holy Roman Empire.

After the Imperial Treasury, a group of us headed out to the Ringstrausse to find a bar where we could watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Beijing. We stumbled across this Australian bar called "Billabong" and we sat amongst both locals and travelers who were there for the same reason. We watched people in the bar cheer for their various countries as they walked out into the stadium, and after about two hours the United States finally appeared with its several hundred athletes competing in this year’s Olympics. We cheered excitedly for the athletes and the few that the cameras focused on, but when the camera focused in on President Bush in the crowd, there was an eruption of booing from around the bar (and we joined in too.) This was interesting to me because while I’ve been here, I have felt no animosity for being American, but almost everyone I’ve talked to here eagerly expresses their distaste for our President, and I openly agree. with them. In the bar we didn’t feel bad because we knew that everyone respects our athletes (as do we) but rather, ashamed that our country is led by such an inadequate, ignorant human who is undeserving of his position and we completely agreed with our fellow bar-mates (even though its unfortunate that it has come to this.)