Order of Leopold (Belgium)

Grand Cross with Swords

The Leopold Order , also the Order of Concord , was founded on July 11, 1832 by the Belgian King Leopold I as a general Order of Merit .

Order classes

Breast star for the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold with swords

The order was originally donated in four classes and was expanded to include a fifth class (grand officer) on December 25, 1838:

Order decoration

The medals in the different classes

The religious character consists of a white enamel cross of St. John with golden balls on the eight peaks. Parts of an oak and laurel wreath can be seen in the cross corners . It hangs on the Belgian royal crown and can also be bestowed with swords for military service. The swords are then between the cross and the crown.

The medallion shows the initials of the founder LR (Leopold Rex) in gold letters on a black background . A red hoop with a golden border runs around the shield, on the lower part of which lies a golden laurel wreath. The back of the medallion contains the golden Belgian lion and the motto L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE in the ring .

Carrying method

The grand cross is carried on a sash from the left shoulder to the right hip and with a breast star. The Grand Officer and Commander wear the decoration as a neck medal , Grand officers also wear a breast star. Officer and knight decorate the medal on the ribbon on the left side of the chest. A rosette is also attached to the officer's tape.

The ribbon is dark red.

Others

The order is now under the control of the Belgian Foreign Ministry.

Known porters

see: Bearer of the Leopold Order

literature

Maximilian Gritzner : Handbook of the knight and merit orders of all civilized states in the world. Leipzig 1893, pp. 37-39.

Web links

Commons : Order of Leopold (Belgium) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Website of the Society of the Order of Leopold (Caution! Mass Injecton Website 5)

Individual evidence

^ Christian Gottfried Daniel Stein, Ferdinand Hörschelmann: Handbook of geography and statistics for the educated classes. Volume 1, Verlag JC Hinrichsschen Buchhandlung Leipzig 1833, p. 363.
^ Paul Ohm Hieronymussen: Handbook of European Orders in Color. Universitas Verlag, Berlin 1966, pp. 129–130.
^ Václav Měřička : Orders and awards. Artia, Prague 1966, p. 279.
↑ Maximilian Gritzner : Handbook of the knight and merit orders of all civilized states in the world. JJ Weber, Leipzig 1893, p. 37.
^ Gerd Scharfenberg, Günter Thiede: Lexicon of Ordenskunde. From eagle shield to lemon order. Battenberg Verlag, Regenstauf 2010, ISBN 978-3-86646-051-5 , p. 311.

[1] Christian Gottfried Daniel Stein, Ferdinand Hörschelmann: Handbook of geography and statistics for the educated classes. Volume 1, Verlag JC Hinrichsschen Buchhandlung Leipzig 1833, p. 363.

[2] Paul Ohm Hieronymussen: Handbook of European Orders in Color. Universitas Verlag, Berlin 1966, pp. 129–130.

[3] Václav Měřička : Orders and awards. Artia, Prague 1966, p. 279.

[4] Maximilian Gritzner : Handbook of the knight and merit orders of all civilized states in the world. JJ Weber, Leipzig 1893, p. 37.

[5] Gerd Scharfenberg, Günter Thiede: Lexicon of Ordenskunde. From eagle shield to lemon order. Battenberg Verlag, Regenstauf 2010, ISBN 978-3-86646-051-5 , p. 311.