The archducal hat of Joseph II is an imperial insignia of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor.

History

The Habsburg dynasty used the

archducal hat The archducal hat (german: Erzherzogshut) is the insignia of the Archduchy of Austria, mostly apparently symbolic and used in the heraldry and some portraits of Austrian archdukes rather than routinely worn. One late example is kept in Kloster ...

on several occasions, such as the homage paid by the estates. Since the 16th century, it was worn as a sign of their rank as

archdukes of Austria This is a list of people who have ruled either the Margraviate of Austria, the Duchy of Austria or the Archduchy of Austria. From 976 until 1246, the margraviate and its successor, the duchy, was ruled by the House of Babenberg. At that time, tho ...

in the procession prior to the Imperial coronation at

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

. Since the custodians of the archducal hat at

Klosterneuburg Monastery Klosterneuburg Abbey or Monastery (german: Stift Klosterneuburg) is a twelfth-century Augustinian monastery of the Roman Catholic Church located in the town of Klosterneuburg in Lower Austria. Overlooking the Danube, just north of the Vienna city ...

refused to allow the archducal hat to be used by Joseph II for the procession preceding his coronation at Frankfurt am Main in 1764, a new archducal coronet had to be created. This new coronet didn't follow the pattern of the hat in Klosterneuburg. It consisted of a golden eastern coronet with pearls and precious stones. A flat velvet cap encircled by ermine was included. Having only one arch, it resembled the original archducal coronet introduced by Rudolph IV of Austria. At the center of the arch, it is surmounted by a

globe A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model glo ...

and

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

. After the coronation, the coronet became obsolete. The jewels and pearls were removed and were used for other purposes. Its frame, however, survived and can be seen in the

Imperial Treasury, Vienna The Imperial Treasury (german: Kaiserliche Schatzkammer) at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria contains a valuable collection of secular and ecclesiastical treasures covering over a thousand years of European history.Leithe-Jasper 2004, p. 9. T ...

. Its original state can be seen in a contemporary painting of Joseph II.Lord Twining, Edward Francis: European Regalia, B.T. Batsford Ltd. London, 1967. p 141.

References

* Klosterneuburg History of Austria-Hungary Crown jewels

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

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