Order of the Westphalian Crown
The Order of the Westphalian Crown was founded by King Hieronymus I von Westphalen , better known as Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte , on December 25, 1809 in Paris.
Order classes
The medal could be awarded for military as well as civil services. It consisted of three classes and the number of holders, with the exception of the princes of the house and foreigners, was limited as follows:
- Grand Commander (10)
- Commander (30)
- Knight (300)
In August 1812 a fourth class, knights second class, was set up, with an upper limit of 500 members. From this point on, this represented the initial stage of the religious career.
Order decoration (gem)
On the front of the medal was the words CHARACTER UND AufRICHTIGUNGEN and on the back XXV. DEC. MDCCCIX written.
The ribbon was dark blue.
The order was unofficially disrespectfully called "La Menagerie" because it united a number of animals: the Hessian lion and the Lower Saxony horse support a crowned imperial French eagle that hovers over them. In the middle there are, back to back, an eagle armed with a scepter and a lion under a royal crown. With the breast star, the group of animals is still surrounded by a snake biting its tail (as a symbol for eternity).
Medal bearer
Grand Commander
- Pierre Alexandre le Camus (August 15, 1810)
- Ernst Konstantin von Hessen-Philippsthal (June 24, 1810)
- Joseph Jérôme Siméon (November 14, 1810)
- Georg Ernst Levin von Wintzingerode (November 12, 1812)
- Ferdinand von Lüninck Prince-Bishop von Corvey (January 1, 1813)
commander
- Ludwig Friedrich von Bülow (June 24, 1810)
- Hans Georg von Hammerstein-Equord (June 24, 1810)
- Gustav Anton von Wolffradt (November 14, 1810)
- Pierre Simon of Meyronnet (November 14, 1810)
- Theodor Werner von Bocholtz (November 14, 1810)
- Joseph Antoine Morio de Marienborn (November 14, 1810)
- Wilhelm Ludwig Otto von der Malsburg (November 14, 1810)
- Jean George Konstantin La Fleche von Keudelstein (November 14, 1810)
- Georg Ludwig Werner von Jagow (November 14, 1810)
- Karl August von Malchus (November 14, 1810)
- Antoine Borel-Duchambon von Retterode (November 14, 1810)
- Philipp Otto von Münchhausen (November 14, 1810)
- Valentin de Salha Count von Höhne (January 15, 1811)
- August Wilhelm Karl Graf von Hardenberg (January 15, 1811)
- Clamor Dietrich Ernst Gerhard von dem Bussche-Hünnefeld (January 15, 1811)
- Anne Francois Louis Bertrand von Boucheporn (January 15, 1811)
- Wilhelm Maximilian Rabe von Pappenheim (January 15, 1811)
- Christian Konrad Wilhelm von Dohm (January 15, 1811)
- Gerhard Hendrik von Heldring (January 15, 1811)
- Carl Friedrich von Wendt (January 15, 1811)
- Adam Ludwig von Ochs (January 15, 1811)
- Karl Otto Johann von der Malsburg (January 15, 1811)
- Jean Francois Marie de Bongars (January 15, 1811)
- Christian Ludwig Albrecht von Patje (January 15, 1811)
- Martin Ernst von Schlieffen (January 15, 1811)
Others
The king was grand master of the order. An annual pension was associated with the award. This appanage was paid for from the income of the Quedlinburg Abbey, the Magdeburg provost and the former properties of the dissolved Order of Malta in the kingdom . Grand commanders received between 6,000 and 12,000 francs, commanders 2,000 francs, knights 250 francs. and knight second class 120 frs. yearly.
With the end of the Kingdom of Westphalia and the transition of large parts of it as a province to Prussia , the wearing of the order in Prussia was prohibited by a law of February 26, 1815.
literature
- Militairische Blätter 4/1823, Part 2, S.126ff List of Westphalian military and medal winners
- Law bulletin of the Kingdom of Westphalia 1809, Volume 3, No. 52 p. 603ff on the foundation of the order
- Jac. Christoph Carl Hoffmeister, historical-critical description of all Hessian coins, medals and brands that have become known up to now , p.231f
Individual evidence
- ↑ Veit Veltzke (ed.): Napoleon: tricolor and imperial eagle on the Rhine and Weser , Böhlau, Cologne, 2007, ISBN 978-3-412-17606-8 (p 352)
Web links
- Ingeborg Schnelling-Reinicke: Westphalian nobility in the Kingdom of Westphalia. Sources for research into the Westphalian nobility in the Secret State Archive of Prussian Cultural Heritage. The Westphalian Title Commission and the Order of the Westphalian Crown
- http://www.klm-mra.be/engels/collecties/OMD-empire/W-phalie/w_phalie.html