Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class

Austrian Decoration for Science and Art
Badge of the Austrian Decoration of Honour for Science and Art
Awarded by  Austria
Type	State decoration
Eligibility	Austrian and foreign citizens
Awarded for	"...superior creative and commendable services in the areas of the sciences or the arts."
Status	Currently Awarded
Statistics
Established	1955
Precedence
Next (higher)	Varies by grade
Next (lower)	Varies by grade
Decoration for Science and Art Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class Cross of Honour for Science and Art

The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (German: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the national honours system of that country.

The "Austrian Decoration for Science and Art" was established by the National Council as an honour for scientific or artistic achievements by Federal Law of May 1955 (Federal Law Gazette No. 96/1955 as amended BGBl I No 128/2001). At the same time, the National Council also established the "Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art", which is awarded as "Cross of Honour, First Class" (German: Ehrenkreuz 1. Klasse) and "Cross of Honour" (German: Ehrenkreuz). While not technically counted as lower classes of the Decoration for Science and Art, these crosses are nevertheless affiliated with it.

The number of living recipients of the Decoration for Science and Art is limited to a maximum of 72 at any one time (36 recipients for science and 36 for arts). In each of these two groups there are 18 Austrian cititzens and 18 foreign nationals.

There are no limits on the number of recipients.

There are no limits on the number of recipients.

Forfeiture of this honour became possible with Federal Law Gazette I No 128/2001, changing Act § 8a. It allows the government to strip recipients of their honours if deemed unworthy. The best known example of such a forfeiture is of the Nazi physician Heinrich Gross.