Order of Vasa

The Royal Order of Vasa Kungliga Vasaorden
Star and cross of the order
Awarded by the monarch of Sweden
Type	Five grade order of merit
Day	28 April
Eligibility	Swedish and foreign citizens
Awarded for	Services to agriculture, mining, art, trade, industry, crafts and education.
Status	"Resting", i.e. dormant
Lord and Master	King Carl XVI Gustaf
Chancellor	Ingemar Eliasson
Grades	Commander Grand Cross (KmstkVO) Commander 1st Class (KVO1kl) Commander 2nd Class (KVO2kl) Knight (RVO) Knight 2nd Class (RVO2kl)
Statistics
Established	1772 - 1975 (dormant, see text)
First induction	1772
Precedence
Next (higher)	Order of the Polar Star
Next (lower)	The Medal of the Seraphim
Ribbon bar of the order

The Royal Order of Vasa (Kungliga Vasaorden) is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was unrestricted by birth or education and could therefore be awarded to anyone (as opposed to the Order of the Polar Star, which was intended as a reward for the learned professions). It was the most junior of all the Swedish orders. It was often awarded to Norwegian subjects of the dual monarchy until Oscar I founded the Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1847. Since 1974 the order is no longer conferred: officially it has been declared as "dormant", along with the Order of the Sword.

The Order had five classes:

Additionally, the Badge of Vasa and the Medal of Vasa, were both worn on a ribbon on the left chest.

The royal barge built for Gustav III, named Vasaorden, is still used on rare ceremonial occasions

Star and collar of the order.