Order of the Württemberg Crown

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Grand Cross
Commander's Cross

The order of the Württemberg crown was the Württemberg house order .

history

Order of St. Hubertus Hunting

Duke Eberhard Ludwig founded an order in 1702, which he called St. Hubertus Hunting Order. The motto of the order was Virtutis amicitiaeque foedus (Association of Virtues and Friendship).

Order of the Golden Eagle

After the Wuerttemberg area expansions as part of the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss and the acceptance of the royal dignity by Frederick I , the order received new statutes and was renamed on March 6, 1807 in the "Order of the Golden Eagle". The old motto of the order was retained. In order to obtain the order, it was necessary to have a noble origin or to wear a position that corresponded to at least the rank of a general field marshal lieutenant.

Civil Merit Order

In addition, on November 6, 1806, King Friedrich I donated a further order, the Civil Merit Order. This medal was primarily intended as an honor for deserving officials who distinguished themselves through outstanding zeal for service and the fulfillment of duties.

On September 23, 1818, this civil merit order was merged by King Wilhelm I with the order of the Golden Eagle to form the Order of the Württemberg Crown . At the same time he was declared the house order of the Kingdom of Württemberg, his motto was: Fearless and trew .

It was awarded in three classes (in descending order):

  • Grand Cross
  • Commandeur
  • Knight

without a prescribed maximum number of members of the order. Until 1913, the award of the order was associated with the elevation to the personal, non-inheritable nobility for Württemberg subjects . The owners were given the addition of "Ritter von" to their real names and were able to be entered in the nobility register.

By addendum to the statutes of September 19, 1870, the knighthood was divided into two classes. It was also determined that the order for war merit in all classes can be awarded with two crossed golden swords. In 1892 the statutes were changed again. The order now had the following classes (in descending order):

  • Grand Cross of Sovereign Order of the Crown Württemberg.png Grand Cross for sovereigns
  • Grand Cross Order of the Crown Württemberg.png Grand Cross
  • Commander with star Order of the Crown Württemberg.png Commander with a star
  • Commander Order of the Crown Württemberg.png Commander
  • Cross of honor Order of the Crown Württemberg.png Cross of Honor
  • Knight Order of the Crown Württemberg ... png Knights also as special awards with golden lions, since 1864 also with crown
    • Gold Medal of Merit
    • Silver Medal of Merit (removed since 1892)

insignia

Breast star and cross of the Order of the Württemberg Crown

Gem

The order cross is a white enamelled Maltese cross with golden lions opposite in the corners of the cross. The lions are always present with the Grand Cross and Commander-in-Law, with the Knight only as a special honor. A golden crown is attached to the upper arm of the cross by means of two golden ribbons, on which the ribbon hangs - except for the cross of honor in plug form. The medallion shows the motto on the front all around in gold on blue, in the middle the golden initial King Friedrich I with crown, on the back a gold crown, each on a red background. All levels could be awarded with swords since 1866. With the amendment of the statutes of 1890, the swords were transferred when they were awarded a higher class. Since 1892 the lowest level (1870–1886 Knight's Cross 2nd Class, then Honor Cross) has also been awarded as special awards with golden lions, and since 1894 also with crown.

Stars

The Grand Cross is a silver eight-pointed star, in the middle of which the reduced cross is attached in a medallion with a circumferential motto. Sovereigns received the star in gold. The Komtur (since 1889 only the Komtur with a star) has a four-pointed silver star whose rays go through the cross angles.

tape

The ribbon of the order is crimson with black stripes and crimson border . Members of ruling houses received the ribbon of the Grand Cross in scarlet red.

Award

The total award numbers are difficult to determine. During the First World War :

  • Gold Medal of Merit: 141
  • Knight's Cross with Swords: around 350 in total
  • Knight's Cross with Swords and Lions: 80
  • Cross of honor with swords: around 160
  • Commander with swords: 75
  • Commander with star and swords: 6
  • Grand Cross with Swords: 6

The Grand Cross in diamonds was awarded to Imperial Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in 1871 as an extraordinary level .

The sons of the king received the house order at the age of seven, all other princes of the House of Württemberg at the age of fourteen.

literature

  • Friedrich Gottschalck: Almanac of the orders of knights. Goeschen, Leipzig 1819, pp. 251-275. (online at Google books)
  • Maximilian Gritzner : Handbook of the knight and merit orders of all civilized states in the world. Weber, Leipzig 1893. (Reprint: Reprint-Verlag Leipzig, Holzminden 2000, ISBN 3-8262-0705-X )
  • Jörg Nimmergut : Handbook of German Orders. Nickel et al., Zweibrücken 1989, ISBN 3-925480-03-3 , pp. 315-320 ( antiques ).
  • Jörg Nimmergut: German medals and decorations 1800–1945. Volume 3: Saxony – Württemberg I. Central Office for Scientific Order Studies, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-00-001396-2 , pp. 1677-1704.

Web links

Commons : Order of the Württemberg Crown  - Collection of images, videos and audio files