World history: Exhibitions “History of the Hungarian Order of St. Stephan” in Budapest

May 5, 2014 in the Hungarian National Museum (Budapest) opens the exhibition "History of the Hungarian Order of St. Stephen".

The exhibition, dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, covers the events, leading to its institution, tells about its importance and role in the Order's system of the Habsburg Empire.

The order was established on May 5, 1764 by the Austrian Empress and Queen Maria Theresa as the National Order of the Hungarian kingdom and served insignia for the Hungarian nobility - princes, state dignitaries, civil and clerics - for their public services. The motto of the Order: "Public Award of Merit". Its name the Order received in memory of the cartridge Hungary – King Stephen.

The exhibition features the insignia of Order of various degrees, costumes, archival documents, paintings, drawings, engravings and photographs,   depicting the most important pages of the history of the Order, as well as its outstanding representatives and members, historical figures, awarded with the Order in different time.

As part of the project the Museum of the Moscow Kremlin present on display the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephan, which emperor Nicholas II was awarded with. 

The only attempt to establish direct kinship with the Russian Imperial House and the Habsburg house was short-lived marriage of brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Archduke Anton, Palatine (governor) of Hungary, the daughter of Emperor Paul Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna in 1799-1800. Her brother, Emperor Nicholas I was awarded by the second in importance after the dynastic Order of the Order of the Golden Fleece in the Austro-Hungarian Empire - Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen's after accession to the throne on 31 January 1826.

This order was awarded to all Russian emperors like Alexander II, Alexander III and Nicholas II.