28.4 1867 Czech Crown Jewels returned from Vienna

The Czech Crown Jewels have moved several times. King Sigismund and Frederick the Great wanted to keep them. They also travelled to Vienna several times, for example during the Austro-Prussian War. They returned to Prague on 28 April 1867.

Although Charles IV wanted the crown jewels to be permanently stored in Prague, Charles IV's son Václav IV broke this wish a few years later. His decision to transfer the crown jewels secretly to Karlštejn Castle was allegedly due to disputes with the Archbishop of Prague, the treachery of the Czech nobility and the impatience of his brother Sigismund, who aspired to the Czech throne.

The jewels were guarded at Karlštejn by the castle garrison. In addition, they were also in charge of the crown jewels of the Holy Roman Empire, the most important part of which was the crown, the spear of St. Longinus and the sword. They were stored at Karlštejn from about 1350 to 1421. "As for the Czech crown jewels, they travelled back to Prague in 1420. On 28th July of that year the royal crown rested on Sigismund's head and after the coronation the jewels were returned to Karlštejn," writes Emil Hruška in his book Nazis and Czech Treasures.

At that time, however, no one knew that Karlštejn had been seized by Sigismund, who had personally visited the castle and taken thethe imperial insignia, the imperial coronation treasure and, after a while, the St. Wenceslas crown. He hid it in an unknown place somewhere in Hungary. Which is why Sigismund was dethroned. After further vicissitudes, the crown jewels were stored again in the Chapel of the Holy Cross at Karlštejn only in 1450.

"By the Land Ordinance issued by King Vladislav Jagiellon in 1500, the Karlštejn purgraves were obliged to protect the castle and its jewels under penalty of death, loss of honour and property and expulsion of descendants from the country. The crown could only be handed over to someone who had been elected King of Bohemia according to the regulations," Hruška adds.

After Sigismund, Frederick the Great also tried to steal the crown jewels during his flight from the country after the Battle of White Mountain 8. They were rescued by chance when the carriage with the precious cargo was left forgotten at the Old Town Hall. The crown jewels were also moved during the Thirty Years' War, when they were transported from Prague to České Budějovice and finally ended up in Vienna.

In 1866, during the Austro-Prussian War, the jewels were taken to Vienna on a train locomotive. The following year, on 28 April, they were transported back to Prague. "When the Czech Crown Jewels were returned to Prague via Brno in 1867, because they had been stored in the wartimeVienna, national demonstrations were held on this occasion," says Ctirad V. Pospíšil in his book Masaryk Irritating and Fascinating.

Just before the Second World War, the crown jewels travelled again, to Slovakia. After the Munich dictatorship, however, they travelled back to Prague. Now they are stored in the Crown Chamber of St. Vitus Cathedral.

Sources. Pospíšil: Ctirad V. Pospíšil in his book Masaryk Irritating and Fascinating, Emil Hruška: Nazis and Czech Treasures, www.wikipedia.org, Karel Kýr: 40 Trips into History