Order of Saint Joseph

The title of this article is ambiguous. For the order of the same name of Tuscany see Order of St. Joseph (Tuscany) .

The Imperial Order of St. Joseph in Burgfriedberg (also known as the Order of Saint Joseph in Austria ) was an order of knights for the castle crew of the Reichsburg Friedberg and the associated burgraviate . It was donated on November 6, 1768 by Emperor Joseph II . The ruling emperor was grand master, the burgrave grand prior. The regimental castle men were appointed commanders, the simple castle men knights of the order.

Order classes

The order had four classes.

1. Grandmaster
2. Grand Prior
3. commander
4. Knight

Order decoration

The medal was a gold, eight-pointed cross with a white enameled edge. On the cross was the imperial double-headed eagle with the imperial crown above it. On the center of the eagle's chest was the intricate name of St. Joseph with the inscription: Virtutis avitae Aemuli (emulator of old-fashioned virtue). The back of the cross was enamelled blue with a white border. In the middle, the words Imperatoris Auspiciis Lege Imperii conservamur (under the emperor's umbrella we receive the imperial laws) were affixed in gold letters .

Ribbon and way of wearing

The ribbon was light blue with a black border. The Grand Prior and the commanders wore this medal as a sash from the right shoulder to the left hip. This included a breast star on the left breast. The front of the medal was similar to the star. Knights wore a smaller cross on a narrow ribbon around their necks without the breast star.

literature

• Anton Friedrich Büsching : New description of the earth . Hamburg 1754-92. Part 3, Volume 3.
• Johann Georg Krünitz : Economic Encyclopedia . 1773-1858
• Klaus-Dieter Rack: Friedberg Castle in the Old Kingdom: Studies on its constitutional and social history between the 15th and 19th centuries . Hessian Historical Commission, Darmstadt 1988, ISBN 3-88443-161-7 . (= Sources and research on Hessian history 72)