Seite - 330 - in Die Repräsentation der Habsburg-Lothringischen Dynastie in Musik, visuellen Medien und Architektur - 1618–1918

330 Sektion IV: Zeremonielle Räume und die „Öffentlichkeiten“ In the same charter, Leopold I stated what he expected from the city to which he had so generously approved the new coat of arms, and in which the modified figure of the Habsburg eagle expressed its allegiance to the imperial house: “[…] We expect firm loyalty and dedication, such as the aforesaid municipality and the city of Rijeka of St Vitus has always shown before; and also diligence, usefulness, and love, which the city has shown on various occasions, both in pe- ace and in war, with promptness and passion, and which it is also ready to show in the future; therefore, We mercifully grant their humble petition.”2 In his charter from 1719, Charles VI granted various rights, privileges, and statutes to the city of Rijeka, which he confirmed in 1720, in another charter issued in Vienna.3 As in the case of Trieste, which was granted the same rights almost simultaneously, the privileged position of Rijeka resulted in the city’s expansion and the development of seafaring and trade. Certainly, besides bringing prosperity to Rijeka and the Kvarner region, these imperial acts largely benefited the court and its economic projects, en- couraging trade with the East and achieving domination in the Balkan trade. The year of 1719 also saw the inauguration of the Rijeka and Bakar (Buccari) branch offices of the Imperial Privileged Oriental Company; the ports of Trieste and Rijeka were of immense importance for the Ostend Company as well: a trading company founded by Charles VI and operating from the Austrian Netherlands from 1722 to 1731.4 In order to ensure faster traffic through the mainland routes, in 1726 Charles VI initiated the construction of Via Carolina Augusta, a road leading from Bakar and Rijeka to Karlovac, completed shortly before his visit in 1728 and inaugurated on the occasion of his arrival on September 16.5 In addition, the emperor had another good reason to travel to Rijeka: the construction of an Austrian military harbour in the nearby Kraljevica, known under its Italian name of Porto Re.6 Several articles have been written on the Rijeka’s Sea Gate, its phases of construc- tion and renovation, notably by art historian Radmila Matejčić, who has published data from the State Archive of Rijeka and established that sculptor Antonio Michela- zzi participated in the reconstruction of the Sea Gate in 1753.7 Based on the archival findings, she has also attributed to him the architectural frame of the gate, including the wreaths and ornaments around the busts of the Austrian emperors. Describing the Sea Gate, Matejčić has observed that both busts were created by the same un- identified sculptor, and that they could have been produced only on the occasion of Charles VI’s ascension to the throne8 – that is, shortly after 1711, when he succeeded Joseph I as the Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croa- tia, and King of Serbia.