The top tier of the Torah ark is constructed as a pedestal for the double-headed heraldic eagle bearing the triple Habsburg crown. The eagle's claws grasp olive branches. Its beaks hold a chain connected to a red shield inscribed with the Tetragrammaton. The pedestal itself is decorated with a crown, a cartouche containing the inscription כ"מ (i.e., "Crown of Kingship"), and a dedicatory inscription. The inscription contains a cipher for 1861, the date of the Torah ark's creation. Two gilded figures of griffins flank the pedestal. The griffin on the left holds a shofar; the one on the right holds a trumpet or pipe.