Today in class we discussed the role that Austria played in the 30 Years War, which took place from 1618 to 1648. After class, a bunch of us went over to the Schatzkammer (Imperial Treasury), which was located in the oldest part of the Hofburg Palace, the Schweizerhof. This museum houses many of the treasures, crowns, and relics owned by the Holy Roman Emperors and the Habsburg royal family. One of my favorite items on display here was the emerald box. Apparently, it is the largest cut emerald in the world. I also enjoyed looking at the many different types of decorated relics that were on display. One such relic was of what is believed to be a large piece of the cross that Jesus Christ was crucified on. Another relic was of the stake that was believed to have stabbed Jesus in his side while he was being crucified. Also, on display was a large “unicorn” horn. This was not actually a unicorn horn, but many people believed it to be in earlier times. A sword was actually made out of one of these “unicorn” horns in the hopes that it would bring special powers to its wielder. The treasury also had several articles belonging to the Order of the Golden Fleece, which was a order of knights founded in 1430 by Phillip III of Burgundy. Many of the Habsburg rulers and Austrian knights were part of this order.
After the treasury, I went walking around the city to visit more places that I hadn’t seen in the city yet. I ended up going to see the Russian monument located in Schwarzenbergplatz. This monument was set up in 1945, and it commemorates the Russian liberation army of WWII. I hung out here for awhile before heading over to Stadtpark. The idea to build this park came about around the same time as when the wall was being torn down and the Ringstrasse was being set up in its place. There are many famous monuments located in this park, including those dedicated to Johann Strauss, Franz Schubert, and Robert Stolz. Before I came to the park, I was expecting something a little bit nicer, but aside from the decorations and monuments surrounding the Wienfluss, which runs through the park, it looks like any other park to me.
The German word of the day is hoffen, which means “to hope”.
After the treasury, I went walking around the city to visit more places that I hadn’t seen in the city yet. I ended up going to see the Russian monument located in Schwarzenbergplatz. This monument was set up in 1945, and it commemorates the Russian liberation army of WWII. I hung out here for awhile before heading over to Stadtpark. The idea to build this park came about around the same time as when the wall was being torn down and the Ringstrasse was being set up in its place. There are many famous monuments located in this park, including those dedicated to Johann Strauss, Franz Schubert, and Robert Stolz. Before I came to the park, I was expecting something a little bit nicer, but aside from the decorations and monuments surrounding the Wienfluss, which runs through the park, it looks like any other park to me.
The German word of the day is hoffen, which means “to hope”.
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