Grand Ducal Hessian Order of Ludwig

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Grand Cross
Star to the Grand Cross
Ribbon

The Ludwig Order , also Ludewig's Order , was a general order of merit awarded by the Grand Duchy of Hesse , which was founded on August 25, 1807 by Grand Duke Ludwig I of Hesse-Darmstadt without statutes and without a special name. Only under the son of the founder, Grand Duke Ludwig II , did the order receive official statutes and the official name Ludewig's order on December 14, 1831 .

Order classes

The medal was initially awarded in five classes, which had no special names, but only class numbers I – V. It was not until the reorganization of the order in 1831 under Grand Duke Ludwig II. That the class numbers were assigned appropriate designations:

  • Grand Cross (formerly 1st class)
  • Commander 1st and 2nd class (formerly 2nd and 3rd class)
  • Knights 1st and 2nd class (formerly 4th and 5th class)

In 1853 the Grand Duke expanded the order to include an affiliated gold medal and in 1859 a silver medal. Ernst-Ludwig revised the statutes in 1912 and abolished the subdivision of knights. From then on, the Knight's Cross First Class was awarded as a cross of honor. On the occasion of his 25th anniversary in government, he donated the chain to the Order of Ludwig in 1917 . With the outbreak of the First World War , Ernst-Ludwig declared the order an Order of Military Merit.

Order decoration

The medal is a black enamelled, eight-pointed, red and gold bordered cross. In the red medallion from the currency FOR MERIT is surrounded on a white background, from a laurel wreath enclosed Initial the founder L . In the reverse there is the four-line inscription GOTT / EHRE / FATHER- / LAND . This is also enclosed by a white hoop in which a green laurel wreath can be seen. A five-bowed crown above the cross .

Carrying method

The Grand Cross was carried on a sash from the left to the right shoulder and with an eight-pointed breast star. Commanders decorated the award around the neck , whereby the 1st class also wore an enlarged medal with silver rays in the corners as a breast star. The honor cross was a plug-in cross and knights decorated the award on the ribbon on the left side of the chest.

The ribbon is black with wide red stripes.

Others

The Order of Louis stood before all other orders in the Grand Duchy and became extinct with the end of the monarchy as a result of the revolution in November 1918.

The award could also be presented with diamonds and rubies for exceptional merits .

  • Star and Grand Cross

  • Commander 1st class

literature

  • Karsten Klingbeil: Order 1700–2000. Volume 1: Anhalt-Hohenlohe. Bastei-Verlag, Bergisch Gladbach 2008, ISBN 978-3-00-022480-5 .
  • Gustav Adolph Ackermann : Order book of all orders and decorations that have flourished and died in Europe , Annaberg 1855, p. 62 with plate XIII.
  • Maximilian Gritzner : Handbook of the knight and merit orders of all civilized states in the world. Weber publishing house, Leipzig 1893.
  • Václav Měřička : Orders and Awards. Artia Publishing House, Prague 1966.
  • List of persons decorated with Grand Ducal Hessian orders and decorations: 1875, p. 1 ff., Digitized .