Cabinet for Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, 1632

At the height of the Thirty Years’ War, when the imperial forces had brought the Protestant princes to their knees, the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus entered the conflict in 1630 to protect his hegemony in the Baltic and rescue the Protestant cause. After a seemingly unstoppable campaign, he arrived in southern Germany at the walls of the multi-confessional city of Augsburg. As gratitude for his campaign (and in hope of avoiding a sack) the city fathers presented him with the most precious object in their possession, a cabinet which had taken thirty artisans over six years to construct.
 
The cabinet was one of six overseen by Philipp Hainhofer which represent the culmination of this tradition; but what makes it really unique is the fact that it is the only one which has survived with its collection of objects intact. Although the Swedish king died at the Battle of Lützen later that year without ever having had the opportunity to explore its contents, the cabinet was safely transported to Sweden, where it has been preserved since 1694 at Gustavianum Museum at Uppsala University along with the nearly one thousand objects it contains.
 
A brief introduction on the museum’s website links to a dedicated website which provides virtual access to this unique object. A video outlines the history of the cabinet and a guided tour provides instructions on several different means of exploring its contents.