Bavarian Crown Jewels

The Bavarian Crown Jewels are a set of crown jewels created for the Kingdom of Bavaria, which existed from 1806 to 1918. In 1806, as part of his wholescale re-ordering of the map of Europe, Emperor Napoléon I of the French upgraded the independent German duchy of Bavaria to full kingdom status. The former Duke of Bavaria, now King of Bavaria, Maximilian I, commemorated the fact by commissioning a set of crown jewels for use by Bavarian monarchs. However, there was no coronation ceremony, and the king never wore the crown in public. Rather, it was placed on a cushion when displayed on occasions such as the king's ascension or his funeral.[1]

Bavarian King's Crown
Royal regalia of Bavaria

Included in the regalia were:

  • The Crown of Bavaria – the King's crown, which was set with rubies, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and pearls;
  • the Crown of the Queens of Bavaria, which was made for the then queen, Karoline of Baden, and which contains huge pearls and large diamonds;
  • The 96 centimetre long State Sword;
  • The Royal Orb – made of gold;
  • The 89 centimetre long Royal Sceptre set with brilliants, emeralds and sapphires and the top is surmounted by a small round crown.

The Palatinate Pearl is also kept with the crown jewels, however it is not officially part of the collection. As a result of the First World War, the German monarchies were abolished in 1918 and since then, Bavaria has not had a monarch. The Bavarian Crown Jewels are currently on display in the Treasury of the Residenz palace in Munich.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.