The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system.
History 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.
Divisions Decoration for Science and Art 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 citizens and 18 foreign nationals.
Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class There are no limits on the number of recipients.
Cross of Honour for Science and Art There are no limits on the number of recipients.
Precedence Grade Preceding Following Decoration for Science and Art Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver with Star for Services to the Republic of Austria Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria Cross of Honour for Science and Art 1st Class Military Merit Decoration Grand Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria Cross of Honour for Science and Art Grand Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria Decoration of Honour in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria
Recipients Decoration for Science and Art 1957: Clemens Holzmeister, architect 1959: Max Mell, writer 1959: Alfred Verdross, jurist 1960: O. W. Fischer, actor 1961: Herbert von Karajan, conductor; Rudolf von Laun, international lawyer 1964: Edmund Hlawka, mathematician; Ernst Lothar, writer and director 1966: Ludwig von Ficker, writer and publisher 1967: Karl Heinrich Waggerl, writer; Lise Meitner, physicist 1969: Anny Felbermayer, soprano 1971: Fritz Wotruba, architect and artist 1972: Elias Canetti, writer 1974: Gottfried von Einem, composer 1974: Paul Hörbiger, actor 1975: Hans Tuppy, biochemist; Robert Stolz, composer 1976: Friedrich Torberg, writer and translator; Manfred Eigen, chemist 1977: Ernst Schönwiese, writer 1978: Hans Nowotny, chemist 1979: Roland Rainer, architect; Max Weiler, artist 1980: Alfred Uhl and Marcel Rubin, composer; Fritz Hochwälder, writer; Karl Popper, philosopher and science theorist 1981: Gertrud Fussenegger, writer; Werner Berg, painter 1982: Heinrich Harrer, mountaineer; Jacqueline de Romilly, philologist 1983: Hans Plank, painter 1985: Erika Mitterer, writer 1985: Joannis Avramidis, painter and sculptor 1986: Johann Jascha, artist 1987: Friederike Mayröcker, writer 1988: Dietmar Grieser, author and journalist 1990: Ernst Jandl, writer; Hans Hollein, architect 1991: H. C. Artmann, writer 1992: Carlos Kleiber, conductor; Krzysztof Penderecki, composer 1993: Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, architect; Peter Schuster, chemist; Gottfried Biegelmeier, physicist; Walter Thirring, physicist; Albert Eschenmoser, chemist; Albrecht Schöne, philologist; Günther Wilke, chemist 1994: Josef Mikl, painter; Erwin Chargaff, chemist 1995: Horst Stein, conductor 1996: Siegfried Josef Bauer, meteorologist and geophysicist 1997: Bruno Gironcoli, artist; Kurt Schwertsik, composer; Hans Hass, biologist; Robert Walter, jurist; Albrecht Dihle, classical philologist; Cassos Karageorghis, archaeologist; Klemens von Klemperer, historian 1998: Hans-Jörg Wiedl reptile expert Helmut Denk, pathologist 1999: Carl Pruscha, architect; Elisabeth Lichtenberger, geographer; Karl Acham, sociologist; Walter Kohn, physicist 2000: Paul Kirchhof, constitutional and tax lawyer; Hans Müllejans, provost; Herwig Wolfram, historian; Gerardo Broggini, lawyer 2001: Anton Zeilinger, experimental physicist 2002: Arik Brauer, painter, poet and singer; Peter Wolf, Austrian-born producer and composer; Eugen Biser, religious philosopher; Horst Dreier, legal philosopher; Elliott H. Lieb, physicist and mathematician; Bogdan Bogdanović, architect 2003: Hermann Fillitz, art historian; Wolfgang M. Schmidt, mathematician 2004: Klaus Wolff, dermatologist 2005: Václav Havel, writer, dissident and former president of the Czech Republic; Christian Attersee, painter; Eric Kandel, neuroscientist; Peter Palese, virologist 2006: Bruno Ganz, actor; Stephen Toulmin, philosopher; Christian Meier, historian; Pierre Soulages, painter; Michael Mitterauer, historian 2007: Otto Tausig, actor 2008: Marina Abramović, performance artist 2009: Mati Sirkel, translator 2010: Paul Holdengräber, curator 2012: Christoph Waltz, actor, director. 2013: Gerhard Rühm, author, composer, artist 2014: Abbas Kiarostami, film director, screenwriter, photographer
Cross (and Cross 1st Class)
1960: Karl Schiske, composer 1961: Günther Baszel, artist; Ernst Lothar, author and director 1965: Kurt Roger, Composer / Professor Georg Szell Conductor Nathan Milstein Violin 1966: Herbert Zipper, Conductor / Music Educator / Composer 1967: Maria Augusta von Trapp, matriarch of the Trapp Family Singers 1968: Alphons Barb, author 1970: Enver Čolaković, writer and poet 1971: Gustav Zelibor, pianist and conductor 1974: Erika Mitterer, writer; Marcel Rubin, composer; Arthur Hilton, chemist, 1975 Karl Menger, mathematician 1976: Wolfgang Mayer König, writer 1977: Wolfgang Rehm, musicologist 1978: Kurt Neumüller, pianist and pedagogue 1980: Alfred Uhl, composer 1981: Thomas Christian David, conductor, composer, flutist 1982: Margareta Sjöstedt
1983: Walter Bitterlich, forest scientist, Wolf Häfele, physicist 1984: Frank Sinatra, singer and actor, Fritz Muliar, actor and director, Ludwig Schwarzer, painter 1987: Sir Malcolm Pasley, literary scholar and philologist; Alois Hergouth, writer and poet; Helen Adolf, literary scholar and linguist 1989: Norbert Pawlicki, pianist and composer 1991: Neal Zaslaw, American musicologist* 1994: Christian M. Nebehay, art dealer and author 1996: Ronald S. Calinger, American historian of Mathematics; Fausto Cercignani, Italian scholar, essayist and poet; Quirino Principe, Italian philosopher of music and dramatist 1997: Herbert Willi, composer; Lucian O. Meysels, author; Ernest Manheim, American sociologist of Hungarian origin 1998: Senta Berger, actress, Kiki Kogelnik, artist (posthumously awarded), Edith Neumann, microbiologist., Edmund Engelman, Jewish-Austrian, later American photographer and engineer 1999: Peter Simonischek, actor, Erich Gruen, historian. 2001: Klaus-Peter Sattler, composer, Hermann Maurer, computer scientist, Walter Homolka, rabbi; Hannspeter Winter, physicist; Johann Grander, inventor. 2002: Fabio Luisi, Italian conductor, Kurt Rudolf Fischer, philosopher, Wolfdietrich Schmied-Kowarzik, philosopher; John Ross, chemist; Seiji Ozawa, conductor 2003: Erich Schleyer, actor and author, Günther Granser, economist 2004: Oswald Oberhuber, artist, Hans Winter, veterinary pathologist 2005: Gottfried Kumpf, painter, architect, sculptor, Georg Ratzinger, choirmaster, Heinz Zemanek, computer pioneer 2006: Peter Ruzicka, German composer and artistic director, Lothar Bruckmeier, painter, Peter Wegner, computer scientist, Elisabeth Leonskaja, pianist, Richard Kriesche, artist 2007: Herbert W. Franke, scientist, writer, artist; Hans Walter Lack, botanist; Josef Burg, writer; Reginald Vospernik, high school director; Nuria Nono-Schönberg, Lawrence Schönberg, Ronald Schönberg, the three children of Arnold Schoenberg 2008: Gerhard Haszprunar, zoologist; Ernst von Glasersfeld, Austro-American constructivist, Michael Ludwig, Michael Kaufmann, manager of German culture; Reinhard Putz, anatomist; Jessye Norman, American soprano; Hannes Androsch, Finance Minister and Vice Chancellor a.D.; Gerald Holton, physicist and historian of science 2008: Arvo Pärt, Estonian composer 2009: Grita Insam, gallerist; Hans Werner Scheidl, journalist and author; Stefan Größing, sports scientist; Bruno Mamoli, specialist in neurology and psychiatry; Fredmund Malik, management scientist;ORF Theodore Bikel; Hans Werner Sokop, poet and translator 2010: Boris Pahor, Slovenian writer 2011: Harry Schachter, Canadian Biochemist 2012: Hilde Hawlicek, Austrian former government minister 2012: Ronny Reich, Israeli Archaeologist 2013: Uroš Lajovic, Slovenian conductor; Peter Bogner (art historian), art historian 2015: Jan M. Ziolkowski, American medievalist and Latinist 2015: Richard Gisser, demographer 2016: Bernard Keeffe, conductor, radio and television broadcaster, scriptwriter, BBC producer, Chair and President of Anglo-Austrian Music Society. 2017: Julius Rebek Jr., American chemist; Michael Schratz, educational scientist 2019: , Dutch historian 2020: Franz Schausberger, Austrian politician and historian 2021: Jesús Padilla Gálvez, Spanish philosopher 2021: August Reinisch, Austrian lawyer
Forfeiture 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.
On 5 August 2008 the Austrian Science Minister Johannes Hahn decided not to withdraw the award from inventor Johann Grander. – see also Wikipedia German version and see also Austrian ministry
References
External links www.kurienwissenschaftundkunst.at Decoration of Honour, Federal President of the Republic of Austria Photos of the Medal Federal Law Gazette, 22 June 1955: Federal Law of 25 May 1955 on the creation of the Austrian Medal for Science and the Arts and the Austrian Honorary Cross for Science and the Arts (pdf, 647kb) Federal Law Gazette, November 2001: Amendment to the Federal Law on the establishment of an Austrian Medal for Science and the Arts and the Austrian Honorary Cross for Science and the Arts. (pdf, 5kb) Complete list of beneficiaries of Honours from 1952 till 23 April 2012 following parliamentary question 10542/AB XXIV. GP in 2012 (parlament.gv.at)