The archducal hat () is the

insignia An insignia () is a sign or mark distinguishing a group, grade, rank, or function. It can be a symbol of personal power or that of an official group or governing body. An insignia, which is typically made of metal or fabric, is a standalone sy ...

of the

Archduchy of Austria The Archduchy of Austria (; ) was a major Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire and the nucleus of the Habsburg monarchy. With its capital at Vienna, the archduchy was centered at the Empire's southeastern periph ...

and is kept in the treasury of Klosterneuburg Monastery. It appears in

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

such as the state coat of arms of

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

History

The first archducal

coronet In British heraldry, a coronet is a type of crown that is a mark of rank of non-reigning members of the royal family and peers. In other languages, this distinction is not made, and usually the same word for ''crown'' is used irrespective of ra ...

(''Erzherzogskrone'') was shown on a portrait of

Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria Rudolf IV (1 November 1339 – 27 July 1365), also called Rudolf the Founder (), was a scion of the House of Habsburg who ruled as duke of Austria (self-proclaimed archduke), Styria and Carinthia from 1358, as well as count of Tyrol from 136 ...

, though this coronet probably never existed. Ernest the Iron (1377–1424) had a coronet made, and another was made on the death of Archduke Ferdinand II of the

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

in 1595. The final crown of the Archduchy of Austria was made in 1616 for the

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

of the Tyrol, Maximilian III. Its place of production remains unknown. It is kept at Klosterneuburg Monastery in

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

. It was brought to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

in 1620 for the Ceremony of Homage by the Estates (the so-called '' Erbhuldigung'') for the new ruler, and was last there in 1835. Margaret of Austria, aunt of

Emperor Charles V Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...

and Regent of the Netherlands, is also shown wearing one on her tomb by Conrad Meit and in some images. Since one had to be made for her funeral, she probably never wore a version while alive. Hers is a plain uncovered hoop with large zig-zag projections upwards.Burk, Jens Ludwig, "Conrat Meit, Margaret of Austria's Court Sculptor in Malines and Brou", pp. 15-16
PDF version
, Centre des monuments nationaux (France) An archducal hat of Tyrol was made for

Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria Maximilian III of Austria (12 October 1558 – 2 November 1618), was a member of the House of Habsburg and the Archduke of Further Austria from 1612 until his death. He was also briefly known as Maximilian of Poland during his claim for the Polish ...

in 1602 and is kept as a votive offering at the church of Mariastein in Tyrol. Another example (the archducal hat of Joseph II) was made for Joseph II in 1764 for his coronation as

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, of which only the metal frame remains today. Another insignia of the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

rulers is the ducal hat of Styria, which is kept in the Landesmuseum Joanneum in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

Symbolism

The coat of arms of the federal state of

features the archducal hat on the top. It formerly appeared on the coat of arms of

, until 1918.

References

Literature

*G. Kugler, Der österreichische Erzherzogshut und die Erbhuldigung, in: Der heilige Leopold, Ausstellungskatalog, Klosterneuburg 1985.

External links

AEIOU , Erzherzogshut
{{crowns House of Habsburg Klosterneuburg Archduchy of Austria Crown jewels Crowns (headgear) Headgear in heraldry

History

Symbolism

See also

References

Literature

External links