“It was during his time as a young general that Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) first used medals to create lasting mementos of his success as a leader of men and a bringer of peace. Their motifs reflect events during his rise to power and his rule be-tween 1796/1797 and 1815. After the end of his reign a special case was made to store the medals. This was then sold as a valuable souvenir to an Englishman. The French national mint in Paris drew up lists of Napoleon's medals with the aim of selling further “souvenirs”, but this plan was hastily abandoned as the new sovereign, King Louis XVIII, did not wish to further glorify Napoleon. This unique storage case and its medals will be on show to the public for the first time as part of the exhibition “Napoleon's Era Told Through His Medals”. The motifs enable visitors to follow major events during Napoleon's era and see how he changed Europe.
During this important period, in 1806, Liechtenstein became a sovereign state in the Confederation of the Rhine. It maintained its sovereignty following the Congress of Vienna in 1815, this time as part of the German Confederation. These key steps in the history of the Principality of Liechtenstein are shown through Dr Lothar Hardt's medal collection as well as in important documents and military memorabilia from Liechtenstein. The Princely Collections, Vaduz–Vienna. Also on show are exhibits from the Liechtenstein National Museum as well as a private collection of sculptures fashioned from many different types of stone. Four special photos taken by the fa-mous photographer Olaf Martens at the 2013 re-enactment of the 1813 Battle of Leipzig complete the exhibition”.
Liechtensteinisches Landes Museum website
Langue(s) : German / English