coachbuilding A coachbuilder or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily ...

, a landau is a four-wheeled

carriage A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...

with a roof that can be let down. It was a luxury carriage. The low shell of the landau provides maximal visibility of the occupants and their clothing, a feature that makes a landau still a popular choice for Lord Mayors in the United Kingdom on ceremonial occasions.

History of landau carriages

A landau is lightweight and suspended on elliptical springs. It was invented in the 18th century; ''landau'' in this sense is first noted in English in 1743. It was named after the German city of

Landau Landau ( pfl, Landach), officially Landau in der Pfalz, is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990 ...

in the Rhenish Palatinate where they were first produced. In the 1830s, Luke Hopkinson, a celebrated coach-maker in Holborn, introduced the Briska Landau, which led with subsequent improvements to the popular landau. Large CMS 272952(1)

Description and development

A landau, drawn by a pair or

four-in-hand The four-in-hand knot is a method of tying a necktie. It is also known as a simple knot or schoolboy knot, due to its simplicity and style. Some reports state that carriage drivers tied their reins with a four-in-hand knot, while others claim ...

, is one of several kinds of

vis-à-vis Vis-à-vis may refer to: * Vis-à-vis, a French expression in English, literally "face to face (with)", meaning in comparison with or in relation to * ''Vis-à-vis'' (album), by Karol Mikloš, 2002 * Vis-à-vis (carriage), a type of horse-drawn ...

, a social carriage with facing seats over a dropped footwell (''illustration''), which was perfected by the mid-19th century in the form of a swept base that flowed in a single curve. The soft folding top is divided into two sections, front and rear, latched at the center. These usually lie perfectly flat, but the back section can be let down or thrown back while the front section can be removed or left stationary. When fully opened, the top can completely cover the passengers, with some loss of the graceful line. The landau's center section might contain a fixed full-height glazed door, or more usually a low half-door. There would usually be a separate raised open coachman's upholstered bench-seat, but a landau could be

postilion A postilion or postillion is a person who guides a horse-drawn coach or post chaise while mounted on the horse or one of a pair of horses. By contrast, a coachman controls the horses from the vehicle itself. Originally the English name for a ...

-driven, and there was usually a separate groom's seat, sprung above and behind the rear axle, saving the groom from having to stand on a running board. A five-glass landau was fitted with a front glass windscreen and two windows on each side (including retractable windows on the doors). The landau reached its full development by the mid-19th century. It was purely a city carriage of luxury type. The low shell of the landau made for maximum visibility of the occupants and their clothing, a feature that makes a landau still a popular choice for Lords Mayor on ceremonial occasions.

Landaulet

A landaulet carriage is a cut-down (

coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

) version of a landau carriage. The landaulet retained the rear half of the landau's two-part folding top.

Royal use in Britain

State Opening of Parliament State Landau

The

Royal Mews The Royal Mews is a mews, or collection of equestrian stables, of the British Royal Family. In London these stables and stable-hands' quarters have occupied two main sites in turn, being located at first on the north side of Charing Cross, and ...

contains several different types of landau: seven State Landaus are in regular use (dating from between 1838 & 1872), plus five Semi-state Landaus. As well as being slightly plainer in ornamentation, the Semi-state Landaus are distinguished from the State Landaus in that they are

-driven, rather than driven from the

box A box (plural: boxes) is a container used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture), and can ...

Lord Mayor's Show, London 2006 (295489240)

The

1902 State Landau The United Kingdom's 1902 State Landau is a horse-drawn carriage with a flexible leather roof which drops in two exact halves, back and front. It is a postilion landau, drawn by six horses under the control of three postilions, with no pr ...

was built for the coronation of Edward VII in 1902. Unlike the earlier State Landaus, it is postilion-driven. So too are the five Ascot Landaus, smaller and lighter carriages with basket-work sides, which are used each year (as their name suggests) at

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

. The Royal Mews also retains a miniature landau made for the children of

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

and designed to be pulled by ponies. Landaus make for a striking display as long as the weather is fine, and they are used on occasions ranging from State Visits and the Opening of Parliament, to Royal Weddings, Jubilees and other celebrations. They also play a regular part in the welcoming of new ambassadors to the

Court of St James's The Court of St James's is the royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. All ambassadors to the United Kingdom are formally received by the court. All ambassadors from the United Kingdom are formally accredited from the court – & ...

: soon after arriving in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, foreign

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

s have an audience with

the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

in which they present their

Letters of Credence A letter of credence (french: Lettre de créance) is a formal diplomatic letter that designates a diplomat as ambassador to another sovereign state. Commonly known as diplomatic credentials, the letter is addressed from one head of state to anot ...

or Letters of High Commission to Her Majesty. The ambassadors are collected from the embassy or residence by a State landau from the

for this purpose, and escorted by the

Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps His Majesty's Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps is a senior member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. He is the King's link with the diplomatic community in London, arranges the annual diplomatic corps reception by th ...

, who is based at St. James's Palace. The ambassador's suite follows in another State landau.

Canada

The

monarch of Canada The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional Canadian federalism, federal structure and Westminster system, Westminster-style Parliamentar ...

has a state landau at his or her disposal in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

for ceremonial processions from

Rideau Hall Rideau Hall (officially Government House) is the official residence in Ottawa of both the Canadian monarch and their representative, the governor general of Canada. It stands in Canada's capital on a estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the main b ...

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their architectu ...

. The State Landau was given to Canada in 1911 and was formerly used by the

Governor General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the Monarchy of Australia, monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Queen's Plate The King's Plate (known as the Queen's Plate between 1860 to 1901 and 1952 to 2022) is Canada's oldest Thoroughbred horse race, having been founded in 1860. It is also the oldest continuously run race in North America. It is run at a distance of ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, the monarch and the royal family have a private landau owned by the

Ontario Jockey Club Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG), known as the Ontario Jockey Club from 1881 to 2001, is the operator of two horse racing tracks, a casino and off-track betting stations in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. It also owns and operates ...

and gift from

E.P. Taylor Edward Plunket Taylor, CMG (January 29, 1901 – May 14, 1989) was a Canadian business tycoon, investor and philanthropist. He was a famous breeder of Thoroughbred race horses, and a major force behind the evolution of the Canadian horse-racing ...

Japan

A number of horse-drawn carriages, known in Japan as ''zagyoshiki'', are maintained by the Imperial household and regularly used when new ambassadors present their credentials to the emperor as well as for royal weddings and coronations.

References

Sources

*Richardson, C., ''Driving : The Development and Use of Horse-Drawn Vehicles,'' London, 1985. *Berkebile, Don H: ''Carriage Terminology: A Historical Dictionary'', Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., 1978. {{DEFAULTSORT:Landau (Carriage) Carriages Animal-powered vehicles History of road transport Horse transportation