Iron Crown of Austria

Imperial Order of the Iron Crown
Medal of the Order
Awarded by The Head of the House of Habsburg
Type	Dynastic order
Royal house	House of Habsburg
Awarded for	Civil and Military Merit
Status	Dormant Order since 2011
Sovereign	Crown Prince Karl of Austria
Grades	Knight Grand Cordon with Collar, Special Class Knight Grand Cordon with Collar Knight/Dame Grand Cordon Knight/Dame Commander Knight/Dame
Precedence
Next (higher)	Order of Leopold
Next (lower)	Order of Franz Joseph
Same	Order of Elizabeth
Related	Order of the Iron Crown
Ribbon of the Order

The Austrian Imperial Order of the Iron Crown (German: Kaiserlicher Orden der Eisernen Krone; Italian: Ordine imperiale della Corona ferrea) was one of the highest orders of merit of Austria and Austria-Hungary until 1918. It was re-established in 1815 by Emperor Franz I of Austria. The original Order of the Iron Crown had previously been an order of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy.

The order had three classes and all classes conferred automatic hereditary ennoblement; the third class conferred the rank of Ritter, the second class conferred the rank of Baron and the third class conferred the title of Privy Councillor, the style of Excellency, and the right to attend court. Appointment to the third or second class of the Order of the Iron Crown became one of the main routes to ennoblement for Austrian bourgeois families and for civil servants and military officers. The first class was in practice often awarded to people who were already noble. The order was also awarded to foreigners.

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