OK, so maybe the Holy Roman Empire WAS somewhat holy, Roman and an empire. At least that's what the emperors thought, and, after all the HRE did rule a huge part of Europe for quite a few centuries, no small accomplishment. The legacy of the emperors is here in Vienna, in the amazing display of crown jewels and garments worn by the emperors as they fulfilled their roles as kings of Hungary, Bohemia, Venice, and so forth, in the churches they built in gratitude for not being assasinated or avoiding various plagues, and in many statues and monuments to their past glory. Much of the ostentatious display of the Hofburg, or royal palace, dates from after the HRE, when the empire was reduced to Austria-Hungary only by Napoleon, who allowed Franz I to retain the title
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