Order of Saint George (House of Habsburg)
| Order of Saint George | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Active | 1469 – 1598 |
| Allegiance |
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor (1469–1493) Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1493–1519) |
| Type |
Catholic religious order (military order) |
| Headquarters |
Millstatt Abbey Wiener Neustadt |
| Patron | Saint George |
| Attire | White mantle with a red cross |
| Commanders | |
| First Grand Master | Johann Siebenhirter (1469–1508) |
| Second Grand Master | Johann Geumann (1508–1536) |
The Order of Saint George (Latin: Ordo militaris Sancti Georgii; German: St. Georgs-Orden) is an Austrian chivalric order founded by the Habsburg emperor Frederick III and Pope Paul II in 1469. Established as a military order to advocate the Christian faith, its original implicite goal was to combat the Ottoman incursions into the Inner Austrian lands of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola. The order resided at Millstatt Abbey and in Wiener Neustadt, until in 1598 its properties were handed over to the Jesuit college in Graz.
In 1462 Emperor Frederick III and his court at Hofburg Palace was besieged by his rebellious brother Archduke Albert VI of Austria and insurgent Vienna citizens. Frederick made a vow: if he was saved, he would undertake a pilgrimage to Rome, found a diocese and establish a chivalric order in honour of Saint George. Finally, the siege was lifted and Albert died in the following year.
In November 1468, Frederick proceeded to the Holy See, where on 1 January 1469 the first Grand Master Johann Siebenhirter received his investiture in the Lateran Basilica. On January 18, the Austrian Diocese of Vienna and the Diocese of Wiener Neustadt were established by papal bull. The Wiener Neustadt bishopric was even incorporated into the Order of Saint George in 1479; however, this union was overshadowed by ongoing quarrels between Grand Master and Bishop, mainly over the order of precedence, and the union was again dissolved in 1528.
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