informational Pillar guide 7 min read
The Imperial Treasury in the Hofburg
Updated September 18, 2026
The Imperial Treasury holds the regalia of two empires and sits in the Swiss Court, the oldest part of the Hofburg. It is run by the Kunsthistorisches Museum rather than the palace operator, which is why it is a separate ticket, and why visitors who assume one ticket covers the whole complex meet a second ticket desk.
The two collections
The Treasury divides into a secular and an ecclesiastical half. The secular side holds the regalia of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Empire: the crowns, the coronation vestments, the sword and the orb, along with the Burgundian inheritance that came to the Habsburgs by marriage. The ecclesiastical side holds reliquaries, altar plate and vestments from the court chapel.
The crown, and the lance
The Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire is the object most people come to see. It is an early medieval crown of eight hinged plates, and it has been in Vienna since 1800, when it was moved ahead of Napoleon’s advance.
A few cases away is the Holy Lance, which reached the Habsburgs as part of the imperial regalia and is better known to English speakers as the Spear of Destiny. What it is and what it has been claimed to be are two different subjects; the museum presents the object and its history rather than the legend.
What it costs and when it is open
Adult admission is EUR 16 online or EUR 18 at the door, with reductions at EUR 12 and EUR 14, and free entry for under-19s. It opens daily except Tuesday, 09:00 to 17:30, and admits visitors only until 30 minutes before closing. It also shuts for a maintenance week from 16 to 27 February 2026.
Allow an hour. It is a dense museum of small, extraordinary things, and it asks more attention per square metre than any furnished room in the complex.
The one confusion worth clearing up
The Imperial Silver Collection is not the Treasury. The operator answers this directly: “No. The Imperial Treasury Vienna is also in the Hofburg (in the Swiss Court), but houses the regalia of the Holy Roman Empire and the Austrian Empire.” The Silver Collection is court tableware, on the palace ticket; the Treasury is crown jewels, on its own.