Order of the Lion of Finland
The Order of the Lion of Finland (Finnish: Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta , Swedish: Finlands Lejons orden ) was the last establishment in the group of state orders of Finland .
history
The order was donated by President Risto Ryti on September 11, 1942 at the instigation of Marshal Mannerheim as a reward for civil service, but the statutes provided that it could also be awarded for military service in times of war. The occasion was the need to limit too many awards from the Order of the White Rose. The Grand Master is the incumbent President of Finland , and the religious day is Finland's Independence Day, December 6th . The order can be awarded to both residents and foreigners and ranks third in the Finnish order system, after the Finnish Order of the White Rose .
Classes
The order consists of five classes.
insignia
The Order of the Lions has the usual five classes: Grand Cross, Commander with a star, Commander, First Class Knight and Second Class Knight.
The medal is a white enameled narrow paw cross with the golden Finnish lion on the obverse in front of a red background. The lapel is smooth. The crosses of the 1st to 4th class are gold-plated, those of the second class are silver-plated. The medal is worn on a crimson ribbon (class I: sash, class II and III: neck decoration, class IV and V chest decorations).
The silver medallion of the grand cross has five arms with smaller golden rays in between and bears the same medallion as the medallion in the middle. The star of the Commander 1st Class is a little smaller and has only silver rays. In the case of the war decoration with swords, gold swords are in the cross angles or are underlaid with the central medaiilon of the breast star.
Associated with the order is the Cross of Merit of the Lion of Finland , which was awarded to civilians and NCOs. It has the general shape of the Order of Lions but is silver and unenameled. The size of the knight's cross, it is worn on the red ribbon of the order of lions.
The order also includes a high honor for writers and artists, the Pro Finlandia Medal , which was donated on December 10, 1943 and awarded for the first time in 1945. The gold medal shows the lion of Finland on the obverse and the motto "Pro Finlandia" and the owner's name on the reverse. The medal is equivalent to the Commander's Cross and is worn on the ribbon of the Order of the Lions.
The last order of this country, Finnish Order of the Holy Lamb , is an ecclesiastical award, but it is recognized by the state.
See also
literature
- Arnhard Graf Klenau, European Order from 1700 , Munich 1978.
