Crown of Saint Wenceslas
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Crown of Saint Wenceslas is the part of Czech crown jewels (also called Czech treasure) made in 1347. Charles IV had it made for his coronation and forthwith he dedicated it to the first patron saint of the country St. Wenceslas and bequeathed it as a state crown for the coronation of future Czech kings, his successors to the Czech throne. On the orders of Charles IV the new Royal Crown was to be permanently deposited in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle). It was used last time for the coronation of Czech king Ferdinand V in 1836.
[edit] Jewels
The St. Wenceslas Crown wrought of extremely pure gold, 21 to 22 carat (88 to 92 %), decorated with precious stones and pearls. It contains a total of 19 sapphires, 44 spinels, 1 ruby, 30 emeralds and 20 pearls. Some of these stones are the biggest in the world.[citation needed]
[edit] Legend
Interestingly, an old Czech legend says that any usurper who places the crown on his head is doomed to die within a year. In the eyes of some this was confirmed during World War II when Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi governor of the puppet Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia secretly wore them believing himself to be a great king, and was assassinated less than a year later by the Czech underground.
[edit] External links
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