Řád Leopolda

Imperial order Leopoldův

Founded by the austrian emperor Francis I. on 8. January 1808 to honor of his father, the emperor Leopoldo II. This procedure should be reward civil and military merit in favor of the state, loyalty to his country, merit in the field of science, literature and art irrespective of origin and status odměňovaného. The statute of the order was published 14. July 1808, and the first nun graduation (admission of new members) was held on 7. January 1809.

The order had three classes: velkokříže, commanders and knights. Grand master of the order was always the austrian ruler, who only had the right order of grant.

The order's badge - gold tlapatý Greek cross both sides red enameled, with white trim and gold border with a circular medallion lying in the middle of it. On the obverse of the medallion ornamental initials F.Also.And. and the inscription INTEGRITATI ET MERITO (for integrity and merit), on the reverse the inscription OPES / REGUM / CORDA / SUBDITO / RUM (for the love of subjects is the power of the king's) skirted the golden oak wreath. Crosses were overridden by the gold imperial crown.
The grand cross is worn on a red sash with white edges over the right shoulder, the cross was supplemented by a silver eight-pointed star. On ceremonial occasions, the cross he wore around his neck on a gold chain, whose articles formed the alternating initials FL, imperial crown and oak wreath. Komandéři wore a cross on a neck ribbon, knights on the ribbon of the breast on the right side of the chest.

The establishment of the war decoration in the year 1860 there was to distinguish the order of the decorations awarded for military merit. War the decoration consisted of two green laurel branches placed on both sides of the imperial crown above the cross. In the stars was a war decoration in the shape of a golden laurel wreath. Other war decorations set up in 1916 became swords, which were awarded for bravery in the combat.

Due to the "incompatibility" with other orders were 1901, the order expanded to include an intermediate step - I. class belonging to the grand cross and komandérský cross. This degree was awarded in the vast majority of foreign nationals.

In 1908 were introduced to the small decorations of the order, which replaced the existing decorations during normal daily wear.

The emperor could award as the highest honor the order with diamonds. He did so for 58 velkokřížů. This decoration as the only remained even after the death of the wearer in the property of the survivors; the rest of the decoration had to be returned to the point office.

They were originally decorations made of gold, later of gold-plated silver and in during 1. world war of gilded bronze.

Order your school uniform for festive occasions consisted of a coat to the knee, and pants below the knee sewn from the red velvet, the stocking of the red silk, the white of its neck-binders, a beret from the red velvet, the shoes pošitých red velvet and cord in the vagina also of red velvet. The difference between the different classes of the order of expressing the length of the skirt from the white velvet. Holders of velkokříže should coat the long with siding, komandéři wore a cloak and a train half the length, and the knights wore only a cloak over the left shoulder without siding. In the mid-19th. century was from the use of these costly ceremonial uniforms abandoned.

On admission to the order was awarded also the diploma. For the knight of the grand cross in the form of a book with a hanging seal for the commanders as a patent with a hanging seal and for the knight a small cross in the form of a patent with přitištěnou seal. 18. of July in the year 1884 could the new member of the order apply for the grant of a hereditary peerage. The knight of the little crosses could gain the title of knight commander the title of baron or free lord, a knight of the grand cross of the title of the secret council.

Řádoví officials:
Prelate - care for the spiritual life of the knights and served a solemn mass.
Chancellor - preparing ceremonies, exhibited the decrees, and represented the order in public matters.
Grefiér - cared for matters of protocol, led the chronicle and maintain the archive.
Treasurer - obhospodařoval finance and to further ensure the order's decoration.
Herald - responsible for the progress of the ceremony.
A clerk - helper all of the above.

Order holiday was 1. Sunday after the feast of the Three kings. In this day was sloužena solemn mass.

In the time of the war was the award of the order of a fairly common reward for high-ranking officers, in peace, however, was the order of a very high reward. Last odměněným was Ernst Graf von Silva-Tarouca, which order granted the 11. November 1918 the emperor of Charles I. just a few hours before the signing of the abdikačních documents and the "demise" of Austria - Hungary.

Used sources:
[1] KOLÁČNÝ, Ivan. Orders and decorations of the Habsburg monarchy, Prague 2006, Elka Press, ISBN 80-902745-9-5
[2] http://www.austro-hungarian-army.co.uk/leopold.htm.

Order Leopoldův-the grand cross.

Ukázka vyobrazení ze stanov řádu.

The first austrian generally worthy procedure, which should have a liberal statute, and that was from the very beginning intended for a wider circle of citizens of the empire, which was to some extent democratic is without a doubt:

The austrian imperial Leopoldův order. (österreichisch-kaiserlich Leopolds-Orden)

This order was actually just a consequence of revolutionary ferment in Europe and the need to appreciate a group of deserving citizens, who were not soldiers, therefore they couldn't get Military order of Maria Theresa, but even as the citizens did not fulfil the conditions for granting the order of Sv. Stephen.

Although there is a legend that this order was founded by the emperor Francis I. for the nobility in Galicia with the objective that if you acquire the order of Leopold, put off your old Polish and Russian orders, which have not obtained for the service of the austrian imperial house. This legend is however unlikely, and anything unconfirmed. Yet still, and quite often repeating the claims of this legend and it appears in various small work as historians and faleristů.

Absolutely certain and provable is that the beginnings of the establishment of your own order back to the 29. January 1806. When the emperor of pope Francis I. distinguished burgomaster and members of the city guard in Graz the existing decorations, namely medals. After returning he asked the court office for processing the proposal for the new procedure, whose idea has long been dealt with, and between, its bearers would have been a wide range of meritorious citizens, not just soldiers, or civil servants, but all those patriots and deserving citizens of the empire, which it was not possible to appreciate the existing timetables. Therefore, by relatively liberal conditions for the granting of such a high merit order.

The initial idea was that the order will bear the name of the emperor of Francis I. and so it was issued an imperial decree to the processing of the statute of the order. Even when working intensely, a proposition of the order is changed and everything is then prolonged up to December of the year 1807. The final decision of the emperor stipulated that the order cannot be held to his name, but will call the order of LEOPOLD. Motion was rejected, the order bore the name of the founder of the habsburg power, the roman king of Rudolf II.(It should be noted that at this time Austria was humiliated and suffered a series of disastrous military defeats, lost their territory). The emperor decided that the order will be dedicated to the memory of his father, the emperor Leopoldo II. and personal password emperor Leopold also placed on the order of magnitude of the decorations.

The emergence of the new order was announced on 8. January 1808. The term was chosen deliberately on the occasion of the marriage of Francis I. with modenskou princess Mary Ludvikou (1787-1816). The austrian empire, therefore, has gained the honours which it was possible to appreciate all areas of social life. It took however almost a year before leads to the award of the first of the order's decorations. 14. July 1808 was definitively confirmed by the final text of the statute. The first award of the order of Leopold, in a solemn graduation day 7. January 1809. Among the decorated knight's cross of the order of Leopold we are already nešlechtice.

The order originally had three grades, but 28. January 1901, the grand cross of the order divided and leads to the creation of Even.class of the order of ( is assimilated to the knights Also. class the order of the Iron crown). It is true, that the distribution of velkokříže occurs because of diplomacy. States Jan Županič as follows:

"In 1868 the Italian kingdom founded the order of the Italian crown, whose symbol-the lombard Iron crown-was an allusion to the reunification of the peninsula under the rule of the savoy dynasty. The same order of magnitude-the Iron crown-but since the year 1816 is also granted by the danube monarchy and the two decorations from the late 60. years 19. century existed in parallel. Out of courtesy reasons, it was not conceivable to decorate the deserving citizens of the austrian order of the Iron crown, therefore they were rewarded the order of Leopoldovým. It covered how the lower degrees, and velkokříže, which were usually rewarded ambassadors and senior politicians. This procedure caused a certain dissatisfaction, because Leopoldův order stood on the rank scale above the Iron crown. On the proposal of the secretary of state Agenora count Goluchowského (1849-1921), therefore, occurred to the the establishment And. the class of Leopold's code, which stood on the same level as the Iron crown Even. class.“

After the adjustment of 1901 with the order of Leopold divided into four classes:

1. The grand cross of the
2. Also. class ( since 1901)
3. Komandérský cross
4. Knight's cross of the

Festive robes-nun costumes, for the original three degrees was the red-and-white (i.e. here it is about the colors of the original, babenberské, that order completely respected. This robe (see picture) stopped using in the mid-19th. century.
In the year 1818 were among the arms of the cross, but also on the order of the star of the golden oak leaves (see picture).

The description is in the introductory part of the treatise (fellow Radus)
A detailed treatise on the procedure in the most complete form located in the book of Ivan Koláčného: Orders and decorations of the Habsburg monarchy.

Literature:
Ivan Koláčný:Orders and decorations of the Habsburg monarchy
Jan Županič:Austria-Hungarian meritorious orders of magnitude in the Danube monarchy
Frantisek Lobkowicz: Encyclopedia of Orders and decorations
Václav Měřička: Orden und Ehrenzeichen der Österreichisch-Hungarischen Monarchy
Günter Eric Schmidt: Der österreichisch-kaiserliche Leopolds-Orden
Roman Freiherr von Procházka:Österreisches Ordenshandubuch
Faleristický magazine S I G N U M Brno (the Miniatures of the order of Leopold (Tusek)

Sales catalogs:
Alexander And.Marko: Auszeichnungen der Österreichisch –Ungarischen Monarchy
Jörg C.Steiner. Orden und Ehrenzeichen der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchy
Aurea (honours) 23.auction dated 7.12. 2008

In 2008 at the exhibition dedicated to 200 years anniversary of the order of Leopold, was issued in Austria, the magnificent booklet entitled:
200 Jahre österreichisch-kaiserlicher LEOPOLD –Orden. For serious people interested in the study of this procedure, we don't know any better. In this booklet, rather the book are represented all the old variants of the order, the order of the clips, thumbnails and small decorations. On the processing and release of cooperated Burgmuseum Deutschlandsberg and further
Österreichische Gesellschaft für Ordenskunde..

Grand cross of the order of Leopold was in solemn cases, worn on a gold chain (kolana), whose articles formed the intertwined letters "F" and "L" (i.e. Franz and Leopold) on the austrian imperial crown and oak wreath.(see picture)
Order holiday was the first Sunday after Three kings (i.e. after 6. January). The date was a reminder of the wedding of emperor of Francis I. and Marie louises mixed up, the princess Modenské.

The end of the war could be the knight's cross of the order of about bdobně as the order of the Iron crown II. and III.grade awarded for a second time. This accepted historical photos holders of the order. Knight's cross of the order was rarely awarded to a lower (subalterním) the officers of the army. There is, however, an exception for pilots and sailors, but only in the commanders of the submarines (Lerch, Banfield, the officers as Franz Schöbl or major Egon ritter von Waldstäten or the typical "from" the later general colonel Václav Wurm and other). In many cases, was the knight's cross of the degree as a stepping stone the Military order of Maria Theresa.

Nobility with the order of the united:

Nobility was associated with order of Maria Theresa, the order of Sv. Stephen, order Leopoldovým i the order of the Iron crown. Most aristocratic titles, however, binds to the order of the Iron crown, which was in austrian society more accessible. In the year 1884, until this rule has terminated each of the above orders divided into three groups (classes). These groups therefore odstupňovaly claims of the beneficiaries of the orders.

The wearer velkokříže of the order of Leopold, but also a knight Even. class of the order of the Iron crown of the rank of the secret council have received completely automatically. Grand cross of the order of Leopold, however, was designed only a handful of the elect, the highest officials of the country. For example, even Alexander Bach he received his grand cross of the order until after his retirement from the post of minister of the interior in 1859. The other two classes of Leopold (komander and knight) allowed to apply for the title of "free lord", possibly a knight. Decorated had to ask for the granting of a noble title. It is not possible to consider the day of the award of the order date nobilitace, but until the release of the charter, which could be even more as after a year from the date of grant, which was confirmed by the granting of a noble title.

The award of the higher degrees of the order of Leopold in a time of war it was more common, but not printed. It was always about the high valuation of the commanding general. The award of the knight's cross in the framework of the army was rarer. Even the award of the knight's cross of officer of higher rank (lieutenant colonel-colonel) wasn't automatic. The order was always awarded for outstanding merit on the battlefield.

In the attached pictures we can see a knight's cross of the order of Leopold in gold with swords in gift wooden case that received the higher officer of the army. It's about a beautiful ensemble with the documented documents, which is offered at one of the overseas auction company for $ 8,500.


Note:
About the rarity of the award of the order of Leopold, on his quite exceptional award and also in the degree of knight us best to convince the information sheet of the Wiener Zeitung of 18. 06. 1881, and in connection with the completion of the construction of the Czech regional theatre (National theatre in Prague). The supreme decision of the emperor he received the order of:

2. class of the Iron crown, president of the construction committee, F. L. Rieger
Komturský cross of the order of Franz Josef prague mayor E. Skramlík

3. class order of the Iron crown:
architect professor J. Zítek
a member of the building committee, Dr. J. Skardu
a member of the building committee E. Theumer

Knight's cross of the order of Franz Joseph
Deputy mayor Dr. T. Black
City council member Dr. L. Bediener
Member of the city council. Neureutter
City council member and vice president of the committee Dr. R. Nittinger

So great glory at the completion of the great work, the big names that we know from history and the award of the order of Leopold realised it wasn't!



Literature:
It is mentioned in the introductory part of the article..

The order of Leopold was devoted to the exhibition,which we are in 2008, on the occasion of the anniversary of the founding of the order in Austria had the opportunity to visit. Order has its place in the history of the Czech society and that's why he's on this site given sufficient attention. To show the same has been processed epic catalog.
Foreword and greeting, Dr. Walter Chiba gives a guarantee of seriousness even as this work and the catalog itself.

Günter Eric Schmidt has compiled a chapter entitled Der österreichisch-kaiserliche Leopold–Orden, which sufficiently exhaustively informs students about the history of your own order.

An interesting chapter from the beginning of the order's work and the work of Karl Gattinger: Über das Eichenlaub beim Leopold-Orden

Own catalog with selected decorations of the order compiled by the leading austrian falerista Mjr. Hartmunt Rochovanski. The selection was carried out carefully and includes all the most beautiful and the most interesting what is found both in the collections of faleristů, both in institutions and museums of Austria.

On page 68 we find the thumbnail of the order of Leopold, and it is possible to say that it was the first time in our moravian-Czech journal S I G N U M when we're on the issue of miniaturek wrote. It was mr. Tusek and mr. Kilian, who with this issue on the website of Signa dealt with.

In conclusion, without additional remarks, we only show a few images from this splendid catalogue,which will serve everyone, therefore even not too zdatnému experts from the language to German. The price of the catalog is 25 euro and is available today..