German Tiara

The German Tiara was donated to Pope Leo XIII by Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany in 1887, officially to commemorate the golden jubilee of Leo's ordination as a priest. However it is suspected that its donation was an attempt to rebuild bridges with the Holy See following the kulturkampf campaign against Roman Catholicism that had been mounted by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.

Contemporary media reports record that Pope Leo wore the tiara when being brought in state to St. Peter's Basilica for Easter ceremonies to show that the Holy See had reconciled with the German Empire.

It is not known if it was worn subsequently.

In 1903 the tiara was valued at $750,000.

Papal Tiaras in existence

Tiara of Pope Gregory XIII (1500s) · Papier-mâché Tiara (1800) · Napoleon Tiara (1804) · Tiara of Pope Pius VII (1820) · Tiara of Pope Gregory XVI (1834) · Tiara of Pope Gregory XVI (1845) · Tiara of Pope Gregory XVI (lightweight) · Tiara of Pope Pius IX (1846) · Tiara of Pope Pius IX (lightweight) · Notre Dame Tiara (1850s) · Spanish Tiara (1855) · Belgian Tiara (1871) · Palatine Tiara (1877) · German Tiara (1887) · Paris Tiara (1888) · Austrian Tiara (1894) · Golden Tiara (1903) · Tiara of Pope Pius X (1908) · Milan Tiara (1922) · Tiara of Pope Pius XI (1922) · Tiara of Pope John XXIII (1959) · Tiara of Pope Paul VI (1963) · Tiara of Pope John Paul II (1981) · Tiara of Benedict XVI (2011)