Imperial Treasury Vienna: Discover Historic Habsburg & Holy Roman Collections

The Imperial Treasury at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria, houses a collection of secular and ecclesiastical treasures spanning over a thousand years of European history, compiled by the House of Habsburg.

The display of the Imperial Treasury underwent a complete renovation between 1983 and 1987, modernizing its presentation of the valuable collections.

The Schweizerhof, the oldest part of the Hofburg Palace and the current entrance to the treasury, was rebuilt in the Renaissance style in the sixteenth century under Emperor Ferdinand I.

The collections for the Imperial Treasury were initially set up starting in 1556 by the scholar Jacopo Strada, who served as court antiquarian to Ferdinand I.

In the eighteenth century, Maria Theresa ordered the Habsburg treasures to be moved to their present location within the Hofburg Palace.

The Imperial Regalia were transferred to Vienna around 1800 from Nuremberg, where they had been kept since 1424, to protect them from advancing French troops.

Following Austria's Anschluss in 1938, Nazi authorities moved the Imperial Regalia back to Nuremberg.

After World War II, US forces were responsible for returning the Imperial Regalia to Vienna.

In 1918, jewels from Empress Zita's private property and the Habsburg-Lorraine family, including 39 historical objects, were removed from display cases XII and XIII of the Secular Treasury and taken to Switzerland.

By 1921, the Austrian state abandoned its demand for the restitution of the crown jewels, which had been removed in 1918.

The Burgundian Treasury, part of the dowry of Mary the Rich, was added to the collection upon her wedding with Archduke Maximilian I in 1477.

The treasury of the Order of the Golden Fleece, from the heritage of Charles the Bold, is part of the collections displayed.

With the proclamation of the Austrian Empire in 1804, the personal crown of Emperor Rudolf II became the Imperial Crown of Austria, forming part of the Austrian Crown Jewels.

The regalia of the Archduchy of Austria, including the cord casing of the archducal hat, was made for the coronation of King Joseph II in 1764.

The original insignia of the Kingdom of Bohemia, consisting of the scepter and the orb, are part of the collection.

Artifacts related to Napoleon II and his mother Marie Louise, known as Napoleonica, are part of the treasury's collection.

Like other secular treasuries, the Imperial Treasury's collection was designed to attest to the political power and geographical reach of its owners, the House of Habsburg.

The Schweizerhof, the oldest part of the Hofburg Palace housing the treasury entrance, was rebuilt in the Renaissance architectural style.

The ecclesiastical collection within the Imperial Treasury predominantly features devotional images and altars dating from the Baroque era.