Order of the Falcon (Czechoslovakia)
The Order of the Falcon was founded in 1918 by the Czechoslovak National Council and awarded to people who had made a special contribution to the establishment of the free state of Czechoslovakia during the First World War .
Occasionally the order is also called the Štefánik order . This goes back to the then Minister of War General Štefánik , who was largely responsible for the foundation of the order.
Order classes
The order consists of five classes
- I. class
- II class
- III. class
- IV class
- V class
If the order was awarded for military merit, two crossed swords were attached to the carrying ring.
In order to be loaned with the individual classes, requirements had to be met. The first class was reserved for heads of state . The Czechoslovak President was the Grand Master of the Order. The second class was awarded to the highest military and political dignitaries . The III. Army commanders received class.
In the fourth class there were three additional levels: awarding a golden falcon on the ribbon for seven commendations in the army command, a silver falcon for five and a bronze falcon for four commendations. The fifth class came for two awards.
Order decoration
The sign of the order is a five-armed circular star with dark blue enameled arms, which are framed with white enamel. We carried the decoration of a small wreath of linden leaves . In the medallion , the three dark blue enameled mountain tops from the Slovak coat of arms can be seen and four stylized falcons fly over them on a white enameled ground . On the reverse the letters ČS (Czechoslovakia) on a white enameled background , which are framed by two linden branches. The year 1918 can be found under the letters .
Carrying method
The first class was carried on a sash from the right shoulder to the left hip, the second and third. Class as a neck medal and the IV and V classes on the ribbon on the left side of the chest. First and second classes also wore a gilded falcon as a kind of breast star , which holds the medal in its claws.
The ribbon is red with a narrow white central and side stripe.
literature
- Kurt-Gerhard Klietmann : Ordenskunde - Contributions to the history of awards. No. 10. The Order Collection, Berlin 1959.