Prague Castle

St. Wenceslas Crown

The St. Wenceslas Crown wrought of extremely pure gold (21 -22 carat), decorated with precious stones and pearls - is the oldest item of the Crown Jewels. It weighs almost two and a half kilos and, including the cross, reaches a height of 19 cm. Likewise its diameter is 19 cm. and each of the four parts of the headband measures 14.5 cm. Charles IV had it made for his coronation in 1347 and forthwith he dedicated it to the first patron saint of the country St. Wenceslas and bequeathed it as a state crown for the coronation of future Czech kings, his successors to the Czech throne. However, perhaps to the end of his days (1378) he continually had the Crown altered and set with additional rare precious stones he managed to acquire. And so the crown developed into its final contemporary image.

In shape this Crown is related to the previous crown of the Premyslides and the kings of France. The Crown is similar to a headband of four sections each of which reaches its zenith with a large lily. The sections are connected at the top by two arches to which jewels (from headbands or diadems) of earlier days are attached. At the apex of the Crown, where the arches cross, there is a golden cross with a sapphire cameo, an engraving decorated with precious stones. The Crown contains a total of 19 sapphires, 44 spinels, 1 ruby, 30 emeralds and 20 pearls.

On the orders of Charles IV the new Royal Crown was to be permanently deposited in St. Vitus Cathedral. But Charles IVth's immediate successor, his son Vaclav IV, obviously at the beginning of the 15th century, had the Crown Jewels moved to Karlstejn Castle, where the crown was supposed to be in safe keeping in the unsettled times of strife among those ambitious to grasp power. Since then the location of the Crown Jewels has changed many times, usually at moments of political unrest, when there were struggles to gain the Czech throne and when there was a danger of war. The stormy 17th century decided on the dramatic fate of the Crown Jewels. The location where they were placed changed several times. For a while the Crown Jewels were again deposited in St. Vitus Cathedral, then in the office of Land Records, then in the Town Hall of the Old Town. In times when Prague was threatened the jewels were even hidden in Ceske Budejovice. The Habsburg dynasty determined a more permanent location for the jewels in Vienna where they remained until the end of the 18th century. But wherever they were deposited, be it at Karlstejn or in Vienna, they were always brought to Bohemia, to Prague Castle, for royal coronations.

The golden Royal Apple and Royal Sceptre, which are now an integral part of the Czech Crown Jewels, hail from much later times than the St. Wenceslas Crown, which takes a dominant place among the set of Crown Jewels. Unlike the Crown the Apple and Sceptre did not command independent attention in spite of the fact that these are very significant and unique examples of jewellery wrought during the Renaissance. They are considered to have been made in the first half of the 16th century, probably in the reign of Ferdinand I who was crowned King of Bohemia in 1527, Roman king in 1531 and Emperor in 1556.

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