New Display Case for Better Protection of the Crown Jewels in Parliament

The Holy Crown in its temporary place in the Upper House lounge

An important procedure to protect the coronation regalia has begun in the Hungarian Parliament. The display case in which the Hungarian crown jewels are exhibited will be replaced by a new, state-of-the-art one. Work began on Monday in the Dome Hall of Parliament.

During the renovation work, however, visitors will still have the chance to see the Holy Crown, the scepter, the orb, and the coronation sword.

The valuable insignia is temporarily relocated to the Upper House lounge of the Parliament building, where they will remain accessible to the public.

The decision to replace the display case became necessary because the previous one that had been in the Dome Hall since January 1, 2000, had technical issues. According to press reports, the cooling system of the display case had stopped working, leading to increased temperatures. As the Dome Hall itself cannot be air-conditioned, it was no longer possible to guarantee the critical conditions of 20 +/- 2 degrees Celsius and 40 percent humidity required to preserve the crown jewels.

 

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The new display case is intended to solve these problems and provide the best possible protection for the regalia.

The contract for the delivery and installation of the new display case was awarded to Glasbau Hahn GmbH, an internationally renowned German company specializing in the manufacture of museum and exhibition display cases.

The contract for the procurement of the new display case was signed in November last year. It covers not only the delivery and installation, but also the training of the operating personnel and the maintenance of the electrical components for a period of two years. The Hungarian Parliament will pay the German manufacturer a total of 151,285 euros for the services.

Fact

The Imperial Crown of the German-Roman emperors, made for the coronation of Otto I in 962, is the only coronation crown that is about the same age as the Hungarian Holy Crown and which has survived to this day. However, as the Holy Roman Empire no longer exists as an independent state, the Holy Crown is the oldest inauguration crown, a symbol of Hungarian statehood, and the continuity of law. The Holy Crown is a unique and inseparable relic of more than a thousand years of Hungarian history.

Photo: Wikipedia

The origin of the Holy Crown remains a mystery to this day, as there are no written sources about the place and time of its creation, and its realistic depiction was strictly forbidden for centuries. There are also many theories about the arrival of the Holy Crown in Hungary. The most popular one is that it was sent by Pope Sylvester II for the coronation of St. Stephen in 1001.

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Via MTI, HVG, Parlament.hu; Featured image: MTI/Illyés Tibor