Objects And Symbols Of The Habsburg Family

The Habsburg family ruled empires throughout Europe for roughly 645 years! One of the keys to this long of a reign was supporting their ideas through objects and symbols. Crowns were one of the most known objects to represent the Habsburg govern and had many hidden symbols inside them. They also used many religious objects and emblems to show their respect to the Catholic Church and also to promote it. The double headed eagle was an emblem that was awarded after the blessing of the Pope had been given. Lastly, the figures of saints were used to unify the empires and stood as pillars of the lands. The objects and emblems that the Habsburgs acquired overtime were used to make their reign stronger.
Crowns were one of the most powerful objects that represented the Habsburg reign in Europe.
These saints were symbols of the land they were representing. Martin Mutschlechner explains that “The veneration of canonized rulers as patron saints of the Habsburg lands was not only a question of piety, but also an intensely political affair,”(Mutschlechner, “The Habsburg Heaven”). Saints were usually chosen based on the influence the person had on the empire. A couple examples are St. Wenceslas of Bohemia and St. Stephen of Hungary. St. Wenceslas helped in funding the construction of many churches, encouraged German missionaries and even promised a life of poverty. Prague has a square dedicated to him and also a chapel with many paintings of his life events. He can be recognized in the Christmas song, “Good King, Wenceslas” and there are many statues of him, including one of him riding a dead horse, which can be found in the Lucerna Palace. St. Wenceslas was an important figure in the Catholic church and influenced the people of the Catholic Church. The Habsburg family was included in this group of influenced people and looked up to St. Wenceslas (“St. Wenceslas