Crowning Wisdom: The German State

The German State Crown was designed and modelled in 1871 for the new German emperor who had united the various Germanic kingdoms and duchies into one empire. As the emperor also happened to be the King of Prussia, he already had a crown, so an imperial regalia was never a priority. The German state crown was essentially a model, mainly used in symbolic, heraldic images. During the second world war, the gold model itself disappeared and its whereabouts are still unknown. It is therefore a theoretical, unworn crown and nowhere to be seen. Modern Germany is a contented and settled democratic republic, so possessing it is even less important than it was back in 1871.

Adam before the Fall was to be king of earth, under God’s greater, cosmic kingship. On account of his rebellion, he swapped his dignity for poverty, and became a servant of the soil rather than a prince of the earth. His crown was lost, his authority weakened, his life restricted. In Christ, however, the Second Adam, we humans are given access once again to the Tree of Life, to Eden’s paradise and to the glittering crown our forefather lost and barely wore. King Jesus ennobles Adam's descendants to be kings and priests, not by right, but by grace: