The listing is carried out in chronological order based on the date of decoration.


Walther Emil Wilhelm Petrascheck

13.3.1906 - 30.10.1991

Former employee of the Geological Survey of Austria; he gained merits for his work in the field of ores and coals.

Occasion: Reconstruction and 100th anniversary of the Geological Survey of Austria on June 12th, 1951.


Josef Schadler

29.8.1889 - 8.4.1978

External employee of the Geological Survey of Austria; he was honoured for his merits especially for Applied Geosciences in Upper Austria.

Occasion: Reconstruction and 100th anniversary of the Geological Survey of Austria on June 12th, 1951.


Josef Stini

20.2.1880 - 28.1.1958

He received the Haidinger-Medal for his merits in Engineering Geology (tunnelling, hydro power and geotechnical engineering) in Austria.

Occasion: Reconstruction and 100th anniversary of the Geological Survey of Austria on June 12th, 1951.


Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources in Hanover

The Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources in Hanover gives advices to the Federal Government of Germany relating to geological questions.

Occasion: 100th anniversary of the BGR on June 1st, 1973.


Alois Kieslinger

1.2.1900 - 1.6.1975

He received the award for his contributions in the field of usable rocks and quarries, for his research in geology, history of art and monument preservation as well as the installation of the quarry index at the Geological Survey of Austria.

Occasion: 125th anniversary of the Geological Survey of Austria on September 12th, 1975.


Andreas Thurner

9.4.1895 - 22.6.1975

Andreas Thurner was honoured for his achievements in Hydrogeology. He had the idea and the concept for the Wasserverband Hochschwab. He was also engaged in slope movements and their restoration.

Occasion: 125th anniversary of the Geological Survey of Austria on September 12th, 1975


Eberhard Clar

23.7.1904 - 7.12.1995

During his work as a teacher at the Geological Institute of the University of Vienna (he supervised 105 theses), he was able to convey his students the understanding of Applied Geology. He became famous for the development of the geological compass.

Occasion: 125th anniversary of the Geological Survey of Austria on September 12th, 1975.


Sir Kingsley Dunham

2.1.1910 - 5.4.2001

Longtime Director of the Institute of Earth Sciences including the British Geological Survey (BGS), the Geological Foreign Service and the Geological Museum. Many personal scientific relationships connected him with Austria.

Occasion: 125th anniversary of the Geological Survey of Austria on September 12th, 1975.


Robert Janoschek

6.5.1906 - 14.10.1986

Janoschek was one of the pioneers of the Austrian oil and gas exploration. He worked in the Rohölaufsuchungs-Aktiengesellschaft (RAG) as Head of the Geological Department for 36 years. Among other things the discovery of hydrocarbons in the Upper Austrian Molasse goes back to his initiative.

Occasion: 125th anniversary of the Geological Survey of Austria on September 12th, 1975.


Hermann Stowasser

17.9.1908 - 11.7.1994

The Esteemed was a deserved petroleum geologist who worked first in the Rohölaufsuchungs-Aktiengesellschaft (RAG) and later in OMV-AG. Among other things his achievement was in training and education of young workers / colleagues.

Occasion: 130th anniversary of the Geological Survey of Austria on June 12th, 1979.


Othmar M. Friedrich

18.12.1902 - 12.5.1991

His merits include not only research and teaching (Leoben) in the field of deposits, but also the collection of documents. He founded the periodical “Archiv für Lagerstättenforschung in den Ostalpen” in 1963. Since 1982 it continues as “Archiv für Lagerstättenforschung” at the Geological Survey of Austria.

Occasion: 130th anniversary of the Geological Survey of Austria on November 8th, 1979.


Georg Horninger

5.10.1910 - 12.9.1998

He was honoured as building geologist who also participated in planning and execution of important alpine storage power stations (Kaprun, Reißeck). Since 1962 he was a member of the Austrian Reservoir Commission. He recognised early on the importance of large-scale slope movements (subsidence) in valleys.

Occasion: 135th anniversary of the Geological Survey of Austria on November 12th, 1985.


Leopold Müller

9.1.1908 - 1.8.1988

He established the “Salzburger Kreis” in 1951, emanated from the Austrian Society for Geomechanics. He was the editor of the journals “Der Felsbau” and “Tunnelbau”. Inspired and based on Müller´s scientific findings the “Neue Österreichische Tunnelbauweise” (NÖT) was finally developed.

Occasion: 135th anniversary of the Geological Survey of Austria on November 12th, 1985.


Josef Zötl

24. 7. 1921 - 31. 8. 2001

The hydrogeologist from Graz had rendered outstanding services in the field of karst research and the research and application of geothermal energy. He led from 1978 the newly founded Institute of Hydrogeology and Geothermal Research in Graz.

Occasion: 135th anniversary of the Geological Survey of Austria on November 12th, 1985.


Arthur Kröll

He was a longtime employee of OMV-AG, where he was chief geologist from 1974 to 1985. In his period falls the era of deep and profound disruption of the surface of the Vienna Basin and the inclusion of the entire Northern Calcareous Alps in the study area of the OMV-AG.

Occasion: 135th anniversary of the Geological Survey of Austria on November 12th, 1985.


Godfrid Wessely

From 1959 (the year of his thesis) until 1993 he was a geologist in OMV-AG. From 1963 he worked as an exploration geologist and was involved in the development of the alpine limestone subsoil in the Vienna Basin and borehole projects in the Calcareous Alps. Finally, he led the Exploration-Geology and later the Department of Geology in OMV-AG.

Occasion: 140th anniversary of the Geological Survey of Austria on June 23th, 1989.


John Davis

Since 1967, Davis spent time on the mathematical and statistical handling of geological problems. From 1974 he taught at the University of Kansas and was also Head of the Mathematical Geology Section of the Kansas Geological Survey. He was a consultant and researcher of the “Geochemical Atlas”.

Occasion: 150th anniversary of the Geological Survey of Austria on November 15th, 1999.


Leopold Weber

He was Head of raw and basic policies within the Section IV – Energy and Mining of BMWFJ. In the field of geosciences and mining he initiated several multidisciplinary projects of national and EU-wide significance (Interactive Resource Information System IRIS, Austrian Mineral Resources Plan, Mine Waste Directive, Austrian representative in the Raw Materials Supply Group of the European Commission´s Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry), which he implemented in various collaborations – also with the Geological Survey of Austria.

Occasion: 160th anniversary of the Geological Survey of Austria on November 17th, 2009.


Kurt Decker

University professor and freelance geologist, who works in the field of structural geology especially in the domain of brittle tectonics. He understands how to carry out the transfer of knowledge from research to the practice of petroleum-, hydro- and engineering Geology and to set new standards in the applied field. He established himself as an expert and highly esteemed teacher.

Occasion: 160th anniversary of the Geological Survey of Austria on November 17th, 2009.