was not simply the second founder of the dynasty; he was the creator of its legend – one that transcended politics, nationality, even religion." Paula Sutter Fichtner opines that Maximilian was the author of a "basic but imperfect script for the organization of a Habsburg government now charged with administering a territorial complex that extended far beyond the dynasty's medieval patrimony in central Europe." – He used his revenues profligately for wars. Although aware of the dangers of over-extended credit, in order to protect his borders, imperial prerogatives and advance Habsburg interests, all of which he considered seriously, he could not internalize fiscal discipline. The role of the emperor in the government was very personalized – only when Maximilian's health failed him badly in 1518 did he set up a Hofrat including 18 jurists and nobles from the Empire and Austrian lands to assist him with the responsibilities he was incapable of handling anymore. The alliance between crown and cities for which he laid the foundation never culminated in a southern centralized Habsburg monarchy: the rise of the common man in the crucial years of mid-1250s forced Imperial Cities in Upper Germany to master the Reformation in a way that estranged them from the emperor – a situation which Charles V and Ferdinand were too busy with non-German affairs to manage. Maximilian's life is still commemorated in Central Europe centuries later. The Order of St. George, which he sponsored, still exists. In 2011, for example, a monument was erected for him in Cortina d’Ampezzo. Also in 1981 in Cormons on the Piazza della Libertà a statue of Maximilian, which was there until the First World War, was put up again. On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of his death there were numerous commemorative events in 2019 at which Karl von Habsburg, the current head of the House of Habsburg, represented the imperial dynasty. A barracks in Wiener Neustadt, Maximilian-Kaserne (formerly Artilleriekaserne), a military base for the Jagdkommando of the Austrian Armed Forces, was named after Maximilian. Amsterdam still retains close ties with the emperor. His 1484 pilgrimage to Amsterdam boosted the popularity of the Heilige Stede and the city's "miracle industry" to new heights. The city supported him financially in his military expeditions, he granted its citizens the right to use the image of his crown, which remains a symbol of the city as part of its coat-of-arms. The