The Order of the Starry Cross (also known as Order of the Star Cross or Star Cross Order; German: Sternkreuz-Orden) is an imperial Austriandynastic order for Catholicnoble ladies, founded in 1668. The order still exists under the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.
The Order was founded in 1668 by Eleonora Gonzaga of Mantua, dowager empress of the Holy Roman Empire. This all-female order was confirmed by Pope Clement IX on 28 June 1668 and was placed under the spiritual management of the Prince-Bishop of Vienna. Only high-born ladies could be invested with the Order, including “princesses, countesses, and other high nobility.” Once invested, members were to “devote themselves to the service and worship of the Holy Cross, and to lead a virtuous life in the exercise of religion and works of charity.”
According to legend, the Habsburg dynasty owned a piece of the True Cross on which Jesus was crucified. Though it is impossible to prove its authenticity, the holy relic was set in gold and worn by at least two Holy Roman Emperors, Maximilian II and Ferdinand III. Ferdinand III’s last consort, Empress Eleanora, was given the relic by her stepson, Emperor Leopold I, after Ferdinand’s 1657 death. In the aftermath of a fire at the Hofburg on 2 February 1668 the relic was discovered in near-perfect condition. The dowager empress founded the Order in celebration that the relic had survived the fire, believing it to be a true miracle.
In 1881, Empress Elisabeth accorded multiple noble ladies of the royal Belgian court the Starry Cross, after the engagement of Archduke Rudolf.[1]
Members of the Order wore the following insignia:
"An oval medallion, with a broad blue enameled border, inclosing a black enameled Eagle with two heads, and claws, both of gold, on which lies a Gold Cross, enameled green, and bordered with brown wood. Over this, on an intwined (sic) wreath in black letters, on a white ground, is the motto of the Order, "Salus et Gloria” – (Hail and Glory.) It is worn, pendent to a strip of black riband (sic), on the left breast."[citation needed]
The House of Habsburg, also known as the House of Austria, is one of the most prominent and important dynasties in European history.
Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria was the only son and third child of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and Duchess Elisabeth of Bavaria (Sisi). He was heir apparent to the imperial throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from birth. In 1889, he died in a suicide pact with his mistress Mary Vetsera at the Mayerling hunting lodge. The ensuing scandal made international headlines.
Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg was the wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Their assassination in Sarajevo sparked a series of events that led, four weeks later, to World War I.
Archduke Franz Karl Joseph of Austria was a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. He was the father of two emperors: Franz Joseph I of Austria and Maximilian I of Mexico. Through his third son Karl Ludwig, he was the grandfather of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria – whose assassination sparked the hostilities that led to the outbreak of World War I – and the great-grandfather of the last Habsburg emperor Karl I.
The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal. Today, two branches of the order exist, namely the Spanish and the Austrian Fleece; the current grand masters are King Felipe VI of Spain and Karl von Habsburg, head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, respectively. The Grand Chaplain of the Austrian branch is Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna.
Eleonora Gonzaga, was born a princess of Mantua as a member of the House of Gonzaga, and by marriage to Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, was Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia.
The Austrian Crown Jewels are the regalia and vestments worn by the Holy Roman Emperor, and later by the Emperor of Austria, during the coronation ceremony and other state functions. The term refers to the following objects: the crowns, sceptres, orbs, swords, rings, crosses, holy relics and royal robes, as well as several other objects connected with the ceremony. The collection dates from the 10th to the 19th centuries, and it reflects more than a thousand years of European history. It is kept in the Imperial Treasury at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria.
The Order of the Black Eagle was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg. In his Dutch exile after World War I, deposed Emperor Wilhelm II continued to award the order to his family. He made his second wife, Princess Hermine Reuss of Greiz, a Lady in the Order of the Black Eagle.
Margaret Theresa of Spain was, by marriage to Leopold I, Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia. She was the daughter of King Philip IV of Spain and the elder full-sister of Charles II, the last of the Spanish Habsburgs. She is the central figure in the famous Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez, and the subject of many of his later paintings.
Maria Anna of Spain was a Holy Roman Empress and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia by her marriage to Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor. She acted as regent on several occasions during the absences of her husband, notably during his absence in Bohemia in 1645.
Archduchess Maria Clementina Franziska Josepha of Austria was Princess of Salerno by marriage to the Sicilian prince Leopold, Prince of Salerno. She was born an archduchess of Austria as the daughter of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily.
Eleonora Gonzaga, was by birth Princess of Mantua, Nevers and Rethel from the Nevers branch of the House of Gonzaga and was Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen consort of Hungary and Bohemia by marriage to Emperor Ferdinand III.
Maria Leopoldine of Austria-Tyrol, was by birth Archduchess of Austria and member of the Tyrolese branch of the House of Habsburg and by marriage the second spouse of her first cousin, Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor. As such, she was Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, German Queen and Queen consort of Hungary and Bohemia. She died in childbirth.
Maria Anna of Savoy was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary by marriage to Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria. Born a Princess of Savoy, she was the penultimate child and daughter of King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia, and his wife, Maria Theresa of Austria-Este.
The Order of Saint Stephen was an order of chivalry founded in 1764 by Maria Theresa. In 1938, Miklós Horthy took the rights and activities of Grand Master as Regent of Hungary. The name of the Order changed to the Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen. The Order was terminated at the time of the proclamation of the Second Hungarian Republic in 1946. It was recreated in 2011 as the Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen, and to this day remains the highest order in Hungary.
Gabriela von Habsburg is an abstract sculptor, working mainly in stainless steel as well as stone-printed lithography. She was the ambassador of Georgia to Germany from 2009 to 2013. She is the granddaughter of Charles I, the last emperor of Austria.
Baroness Francesca Anna Dolores von Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon et Impérfalva, formerly Francesca von Habsburg-Lothringen, is a Swiss art collector. By birth, she is a member of the House of Thyssen-Bornemisza. She is also the former wife of Karl von Habsburg, current head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.
The Imperial Treasury at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria contains a valuable collection of secular and ecclesiastical treasures covering over a thousand years of European history. The entrance to the treasury is at the Schweizerhof, the oldest part of the palace, which was rebuilt in the sixteenth century in the Renaissance style under Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I. The Imperial Treasury is affiliated with the Kunsthistorisches Museum, and houses in 21 rooms a collection of rare treasures that were compiled by the Imperial House of Habsburg over the course of centuries, including the Imperial Crown, Orb, and Sceptre of Austria, and the Imperial Regalia of the Emperors and Kings of the Holy Roman Empire, including the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire.
The Imperial Order of the Iron Crown 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 as a re-establishment of the original Order of the Iron Crown, which previously had been an order of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy.
Ferdinand Joseph, Prince of Dietrichstein, was a German prince member of the House of Dietrichstein, 3rd Prince (Fürst) of Dietrichstein zu Nikolsburg, Princely Count of Tarasp, Baron (Freiherr) of Hollenburg, Finkenstein and Thalberg; in addition, he served as Lord Chamberlain (Obersthofmeister), Conference Minister (Konferenzminister) and Privy Councillor (Geheimrat) of Emperor Leopold I, and Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece since 1668.
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