Schatzkammer

Ecclesiastical treasury in Vienna's Hofburg Palace
The Green Vault in Dresden Castle (as at 1904)

Schatzkammer, a German word which means "treasury" or "treasure chamber", is a term sometimes used in English for the collection of treasures, especially objets d’art in precious metals and jewels, of a ruler or other collector which are kept in a secure room and often found in the basement of a palace or castle.[1] It also often included the wider types of object typical of the Renaissance cabinet of curiosities. A very small but evocative Renaissance room in a tower at Lacock Abbey was designed for keeping and viewing the treasures of the newly rich owner.[citation needed]

The term is normally used of the collections of European rulers or very wealthy families.[dubiousdiscuss] Well-known examples are:

Church establishments also had treasuries where similar objects were kept, which are often now open as museums. Especially important and largely intact examples are:

Examples outside Western Europe include: