The Imperial Order of the Iron Crown (german: Kaiserlicher Orden der Eisernen Krone; it, Ordine imperiale della Corona ferrea) was one of the highest orders of merit in the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary until 1918. It was founded in 1815 by Emperor

Franz I of Austria Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of Austria, Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of ...

as a re-establishment of the original Order of the Iron Crown, which previously had been an order of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. The order had three classes and, until 1884, all classes conferred automatic hereditary ennoblement. The third class conferred the rank of '' Ritter'', the second class conferred the rank of ''

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

'', and the first class conferred the title of

Privy Councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

, the style of Excellency and the right to attend court. According to the order's statutes, only a limited number of members throughout the empire were allowed at any given time. The maximum number of 1st class knights was 20, for the 2nd class it was 30 and for the 3rd class 50, limiting the total number of members to 100 at any given time.

History

The Holy Roman Empire, ruled by the Habsburg dynasty, gave way to the Empire of Austria between 1804 and 1806. The last

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

, Franz II, was proclaimed Emperor Franz I of Austria. His daughter, the Archduchess

Maria Louise Maria Louise may refer to: * Maria Louise Baldwin (1856–1922), African American educator and civic leader *Maria Louise Kirk (1860–1938), an American painter and illustrator * Princess Maria Louise, a character in the fictional anime ''Mobile F ...

, was Napoleon’s second wife and Empress Consort, and the mother of Napoleon’s only legitimate son and heir, Napoleon, Duke of Reichstadt. With the collapse of Napoleon’s empire, Imperial Austria regained its traditional control of Lombardy as the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia. The Austrian order was also divided into three distinct classes of knighthood, recognized as the First, Second, and Third Classes. Investment of this order carried an Imperial patent of nobility. With the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in 1918, all but one (the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

) of the chivalric orders of its monarchy were formally abolished.

Insignia

While the ribbon colors changed from the Imperial French gold and green to the Imperial Austrian gold and royal blue, the general look of the medal remained largely the same – an imperial eagle set within a representation of the Iron Crown of Lombardy. Grand Cross (French) and First Class (Austrian) knights wore a sash and badge over the right shoulder, with an eight-pointed star (that featured the Iron Crown at its center) on the left breast. Imperial French knight commanders wore a traditional military style medal on the left chest, with the addition of a bow in the center of the ribbon to delineate them from ordinary knights. Imperial Austrian Second Class knights wore the medal suspended from a ribbon about the neck. French ordinary knights and Austrian Third Class knights wore a traditional military medal on the left chest. From 1908 for First Class knights, and from 1917 for Second Class knights, the Imperial Austrian order allowed for an undress version to be worn with service dress. First Class knights were authorized to wear a Third Class military medal on the left breast, with an addition of a device known as a "Kleine Dekoration". The pin device was a miniature version of the First Class breast star, and was worn on the center of the ribbon to delineate the wearer as a knight of the First Class. Variations in the star matched the details of the knight's specific award: including the war decoration wreath and the crossed swords. The Second Class Kleine Dekoration was a miniature depiction of the Iron Crown of Lombardy (copied from the lower part of the actual medal). As with the First Class knights, the Kleine Dekoration for the Second Class knights matched the award to the knights: crown only for peacetime award, crown encircled by a wreath for the war decoration, and topped with swords for those awards "with swords", and was worn in the same fashion as that of the First Class knights. During World War I, awards "with swords" were given to symbolize personal valour of the knight that led to his award. Hence, ordinary knights medals were also frequently adorned with crossed swords, pinned to the tri-fold ribbon.

Notable recipients

Masters of the Order

* Franz I, Emperor of Austria, 1816–1835 *

Ferdinand I Ferdinand I or Fernando I may refer to: People * Ferdinand I of León, ''the Great'' (ca. 1000–1065, king from 1037) * Ferdinand I of Portugal and the Algarve, ''the Handsome'' (1345–1383, king from 1367) * Ferdinand I of Aragon and Sicily, '' ...

, Emperor of Austria, 1835-1848 * Franz Josef I, Emperor of Austria-Hungary, 1848–1916 *

Karl I Charles I or Karl I (german: Karl Franz Josef Ludwig Hubert Georg Otto Maria, hu, Károly Ferenc József Lajos Hubert György Ottó Mária; 17 August 18871 April 1922) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary (as Charles IV, ), King of Croati ...

, Emperor of Austria-Hungary, 1916–1918

Knights

* James Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Abercorn * Giuseppe Acerbi * Alois Lexa von Aehrenthal *

Hasan bey Agalarov Hasan bey Agalarov () was a Russian military leader of Azerbaijani origin, lieutenant general in Imperial Russian Army. He became the first Azerbaijani to be awarded the Order of St. George directly in the course of hostilities (distinguished himse ...

Archduke Albrecht Franz, Duke of Teschen Albert Franz Josef Karl Friedrich Georg Hubert Maria, Archduke of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia, Duke of Teschen (In German: ''Erzherzog Albrecht Franz Josef Karl Friedrich Georg Hubert Maria von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen'') ...

* Alfred, 2nd Prince of Montenuovo * Augusto Carlos Teixeira de Aragão * Count Kasimir Felix Badeni *

Ferdinand von Bauer Ferdinand von Bauer, born Ferdinand Bauer (7 March 1825 - 22 July 1893) was a general of the Austro-Hungarian Common Army and the Imperial and Royal Minister of War from 1888 until his death in 1893. Life Ferdinand Bauer enrolled in the Imperial ...

* Heinrich von Bellegarde *

Johannes Benk Johannes Benk (27 July 1844, in Vienna – 12 March 1914, in Vienna) was an Austrian monumental sculptor. Biography His father, János Benk (1814–1895), was a decorative sculptor and stonemason from Osijek. After completing his primary educa ...

* Leon Biliński * Josef Bílý *

Friedrich Wilhelm von Bismarck Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Bismarck (28 July 1783 – 18 June 1860) was a German lieutenant general, diplomat and military writer. He wrote several major military-political works and military histories, which were very pro-Napoleon. Life He was ...

* Herbert von Bismarck *

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...

* Wilhelm von Bismarck * Fedor von Bock * Eduard von Böhm-Ermolli * Walther Bronsart von Schellendorff * Bruno, Prince of Ysenburg and Büdingen *

Adolf von Brudermann Adolf von Brudermann (2 June 1854 Vienna – 26 October 1945 Vienna) was a ''General der Kavallerie'' (general of the cavalry) of the Austro-Hungarian Army. He saw service during World War I. Personal life Brudermann was the youngest of the four ...

* Rudolf von Brudermann *

Bernhard von Bülow Bernhard Heinrich Karl Martin, Prince of Bülow (german: Bernhard Heinrich Karl Martin Fürst von Bülow ; 3 May 1849 – 28 October 1929) was a German statesman who served as the foreign minister for three years and then as the chancellor of t ...

* Karl von Bülow * Artur Maximilian von Bylandt-Rheidt * Leo von Caprivi *

Eduard Clam-Gallas Count Eduard Clam-Gallas (, in Prague – , in Vienna) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian general. He was the eldest son of Count Christian Christoph Clam-Gallas (1771–1838), patron of Ludwig van Beethoven, Beethoven, and Countess Josephine Clary ...

Count Manfred von Clary-Aldringen Count Manfred von Clary-Aldringen (30 May 1852 Palais Mollard-Clary, Vienna12 February 1928 Castle Herrnau, Salzburg) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian nobleman and statesman. He served as the 16th Minister-President of Cisleithania (therefo ...

Prince Siegfried von Clary-Aldringen Siegfried (Franz Johann Carl) Graf (from 1920, Fürst) von Clary und Aldringen (14 October 1848 – 11 February 1929) was an Austro-Hungarian diplomat during the time before World War I. Life He was born in Teplitz (now Teplice) on 14 October ...

* Cevat Çobanlı * Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf * Anton Csorich * Karl von Czyhlarz * Maximilian Daublebsky von Sterneck * Adolf von Deines * Rudolf von Delbrück *

Georg Dragičević Georg Dragičević (born ''Đuro Dragičević''; 7 November 1890 in Kalesija – 28 July 1980 in Vienna) was a Croatian soldier who was a member of the army of Austria-Hungary, Royal Yugoslavia, and the Independent State of Croatia. He attended ...

* Ludwig Draxler * Carl August Ehrensvärd (1858–1944) * Josef Fanderlik * Géza Fejérváry * Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany *

Emanuel Salomon Friedberg-Mírohorský Emanuel Salomon von Friedberg-Mírohorský (18 January 1829, Prague – 10 December 1908, Prague) was a Czech painter, illustrator, translator, author and officer in the Austrian Army. He was also an advocate of vegetarianism and abstinence. "Míro ...

Ventura García-Sancho, Marquess of Aguilar de Campoo Ventura García-Sancho e Ibarrondo, 1st Count of Consuegra (20 April 1837, in Mexico City, Mexico – 20 July 1914, in Madrid, Spain) better known by his spouse's title Marquess of Aguilar de Campoo, was a Mexican-Spanish nobility, nobleman and po ...

* Agenor Maria Gołuchowski * Heinrich von Gossler * Karl von Habsburg * Otto von Habsburg * Wilhelm von Hahnke * Anton Haus * Alajos Hauszmann * Karl Eberhard Herwarth von Bittenfeld * Miklós Horthy * Archduke Hubert Salvator of Austria * Dietrich von Hülsen-Haeseler * Karl Georg Huyn * Itō Hirobumi * Ányos Jedlik * Archduke Joseph August of Austria * Archduke Joseph Ferdinand of Austria * Georg von Kameke * Gustav von Kessel * Karl Graf von Kirchbach auf Lauterbach * Anton Klodič von Sabladoski * Eduard von Knorr * Hans von Koester * Alexander von Koller * Prince Konrad of Bavaria * Hermann Kövess von Kövessháza * Franz Kuhn von Kuhnenfeld * Auguste, Baron Lambermont * Franciszek Latinik * Ernst Lauda * Archduke Leopold Salvator of Austria * Joseph Maximilian von Maillinger * Ferdinand von Malaisé * Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel * Jan Matejko * Gabriel Jean Joseph Molitor * Helmuth von Moltke the Younger * Rudolf Montecuccoli * Georg Alexander von Müller * Miroslav Navratil * Nicholas I of Montenegro * Maximilian Njegovan * Laval Nugent von Westmeath * Alexander August Wilhelm von Pape * Thorleif Paus * Archduke Peter Ferdinand of Austria * Karl von Pflanzer-Baltin * Hans von Plessen * Ferdinand von Quast * Joseph Radetzky von Radetz * Antoni Wilhelm Radziwiłł * Wilhelm von Ramming * Manfred von Richthofen * Sándor Farkas de Boldogfa * Prince William of Schaumburg-Lippe * Alfred von Schlieffen * Emil von Schlitz * Eberhard Graf von Schmettow * Friedrich von Scholl * August Schwendenwein von Lanauberg * Hans von Seeckt * Gustav von Senden-Bibran * Stanisław Smolka * Hermann von Spaun * Philipp von Stadion und Thannhausen * Rudolf Stöger-Steiner von Steinstätten * Stanisław Szeptycki * Sándor Szurmay * Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen * Myron Tarnavsky * Karl Tersztyánszky von Nádas * Tewfik Pasha * Georg von Trapp * Fyodor Trepov (senior) * Aymard d'Ursel * Illarion Vorontsov-Dashkov * Karl von Wedel * Ludwig von Welden * Karl Weyprecht * Duke William of Württemberg * Constantin von Wurzbach * Yamagata Aritomo * Arthur Zimmermann * August zu Eulenburg

Sources

* Blom, Philipp. ''To Have and to Hold: An Intimate History of Collectors and Collecting''. Overlook, 2003. pp. 146–147. * Gottschalck, Friedrich. ''Almanach der Ritter-Orden''. Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony: Georg Joachim Goeschen, 1819.
Austrian Biographical Encyclopaedia and Biographical Documentation

References

{{Authority control Orders of chivalry of Austria, Iron Crown, Order of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Austria-Hungary 1815 establishments in the Austrian Empire Military awards and decorations of Austria-Hungary Orders, decorations, and medals of the Austrian Empire, 5 Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor