This is the Hungarian Holy Crown what "...is the same for the Hungarians as the lost Ark is for the Jewish". (Peter Revay) The weight of the Crown is 2056 g. The Crown was made from gold and silver alloys.
How many parts has the Crown?
The Crown has two parts. The lower part is a Byzantine Crown what was a gift of Emperor Michael Doukas to the Byzantine princess Synadene (King Géza's (1074-75) wife). The upper part is the Latin Crown (we can see latin inscriptions on the Crown.) The two parts were joined into the present shape probably around 1200.
Who was the last crowned king?
The Holy Crown have been representing the power over the centuries and the Hungarian Kingdom. No king of Hungary was regarded as having been truly legitimate without being crowned with it. You can see here when the last hungarian king (from the Habsburg dynasty- Karl IV) was crowned (1916).
What can you see on the Crown?
In the central plate, the figure of Jesus
Christ can be seen sitting on a throne, raising his
right hand for blessing and holding a book in his left.
From Christ to the lower left and right, Gabriel and
Michael archangels look toward Jesus. Next to Michael
is the picture of Saint George (a warrior saint in the
Byzantine mythology) followed by Saint Kosma (a healing
saint).
Next to the Gabriel is the picture of Saint Demetrius
(a warrior saint) followed by Saint Damjanus (a healing
saint). In the back, at the opposite location to the Pantokrator Christ, the enamelled golden plate of Michael Dukas, Byzantine Emperor can be seen holding a regal sign in his right hand and a sword in his left.
From him to the lower left and right, emperor Constantine, Jr. and Hungarian king Géza I. look toward Dukas.
In the front, beneath the plate of Christ, a large blue Indian sapphire gem is located followed by on both sides between the plates of the saints a red almandine garnet, another sapphire and a green glass stone.
In the back, beneath the plate of Michael Dukas, a large sapphire gem is located.
On the hind perimeter of the corona graeca 18 pearls are sitting, and four little golden chains with gems at their tips are clinging on the left and right side of the crown and one in the back.
In the Middle Ages, the gems had their own meaning.
According to this, the blue sapphire symbolised the see, the red almandine the fire, the green glass the earth, and together they represented the Universe.
Is really skew the cross of the Crown?
Yes, as you can see. According to the first explanation, when the german king Otto tried to smuggle the Crown in Hungary (1305), probably he dropped by coincidence. (In 1301 the one and only hungarian regal dynasty died out, from this time there were battles for the hungarian throne.) According to second explanation, the makers of the Crown have commited a fault during the assembly of the Crown.
Is there a connection between the USA and the Crown?
Yes. The coronation jewels were seized by the US Army after the 2nd World War, they were returned by President Jimmy Carter in 1978.
Where can I see the Holy Crown?
You can see the Crown in the building of the Hungarian Parliament.
