Order of the Slovak Cross
The Order of the Slovak Cross , also called Hlinka Order was a civil and military Order of Merit of the first Slovak Republic (1939-1945) and was simultaneously with the Pribina orders under which he was ranked class by class, by the president Jozef Tiso founded and was allowed can only be awarded to residents.
Classes
He had the usual five classes. Grand Cross, Grand Officer's Cross, Commander's Cross, Officer's Cross and Knight's Cross and, as a special award, a collar . It was also awarded with swords on the ring.
Appearance
Medals
The sign of the order is a white enamelled Slovak double cross fitted into a circle with a gold medallion in the middle, which, when viewed from the observer, shows the head of Andrej Hlinka , who was looking to the right , a pioneer of Slovak independence. A metallic (gold or silver) linden leaf wreath appears between the six arms of the cross. Between the ribbon on the order, which is black with light blue stripes on the side, there is also an intermediate hanger attached, which consists of a torch and six axes in the classes from the commander upwards . In the fourth and fifth grades, this intermediate hanger consists of two outwardly curved, three-leaved linden branches . The reverse of the medal shows the inscription: VERNÍ SEBE, SVORNE NAPRED (“Faithful to ourselves, united forward”).
Breast star
The star for the grand officer class and for the grand cross is kept the same. It is silver, six-pointed and covered with the front of the Commander's Cross (without an intermediate pendant) that is placed on a hexagonal gold star formed from olive leaves.
Collane
The chain of the Slovak cross is the same as that of the Pribina order. Their chain links consist alternately of the Svätopluk branch bundle and the golden double cross on the three mountain in blue , which can also be found in the corners of the Pribina order cross.
Medal from the Slovak Cross
Around 1940, the three-tier medal of the Slovak Cross with a diameter of 33 mm (gold, silver and bronze) was also donated. On the obverse it showed the order cross with the Hlinka head. The reverse shows the already mentioned inscription: VERNÍ SEBE SVORNE NAPRED . However, a three-leaved linden leaf can be seen on both sides of the inscription. The medal itself also hangs on a three-leaf linden branch and was worn as a ribbon medal on the left side of the chest. The ribbon itself was watered blue, 25 cm wide and criss-crossed by two tin-red stripes, each 2 mm wide.
Others
The order expired in 1945.
literature
- Arnhard Graf Klenau: European Order from 1700 , Battenberg, Munich 1978, ISBN 3-87045-082-7 .
Remarks
- ^ Motto of the Slovak State 1939–1945