Order of St. Joachim

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Breast star of the Order of St. Joachim
Count Carl II. Gustav Reinhard Woldemar von Leiningen, with the grandmaster star (bottom right)
Admiral Nelson's last tunic. On the lower right the star of the Order of St. Joachim

The Order of Saint Joachim , also the Order of St. Joachim , is a knightly order of 1755 by the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was founded.

history

It was founded on June 20, 1755. In addition to Prince Christian Franz von Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld, fourteen other nobles, dukes, princes and counts are named as donors . At the beginning the order was called the Order of Providence , later the Order of Jonathans (long term: Order of Jonathans for the Defense of the Honor of Divine Providence ), until it finally received its name of St. Joachim's Order. Only a sovereign could become a grandmaster.

The founder, Duke Christian Franz von Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld , initially acted as grand master . He was succeeded in 1773 by Count Franz Xaver von Montfort . When he died in 1780 , Count Georg Carl I August Ludwig von Leiningen-Westerburg-Neuleiningen (1717–1787), who resided in Oberhof Palace in Grünstadt , took over the post of Grand Master, followed by his son Carl II his grandson Ferdinand Carl III. (1767-1813). During this time, the order was seen as a Count of Liningian , although it remained over-territorial. There is a beautiful portrait of Count Carl II Gustav Reinhard Woldemar in uniform, on which he wears the star of the Grand Master, which is highlighted with rays, among other decorations.

According to the revised statutes published in Grünstadt on June 20, 1787 , every Christian nobleman and every Christian noble woman could be admitted regardless of denomination and nation. "To spread the truthful doctrine of the existence of the eternal, triune God and his supreme providence" , "to promote religious tolerance and contractual relationships among oneself and with others" and "to abhor all religious mockery" were the most important things along with the honor of belonging Religious purposes. According to § 6 of this statute, it was planned to set up an educational institute for young noblemen in the residence of the grand master in order to educate them in this sense. School attendance should be free of charge for children of less well-off religious members. It is not known whether this actually happened; From 1793 Grünstadt belonged to the combat zone of the 1st coalition war , the Counts of Leiningen had to flee and the city was soon occupied by French revolutionary troops.

In 1806, Napoleon's brother-in-law, Joachim Murat , from that year Grand Duke Joachim I von Berg , claimed the office of Grand Master of the order that bore his name. Murat began to award the medal to the French and slightly changed the look of the decoration. From 1808 he became king of Naples and also introduced him there.

Ferdinand Carl III. zu Leiningen-Westerburg-Neuleiningen insisted, however, on his grandmaster's office regardless. In 1802 he awarded Admiral Nelson with the Order of Joachim for his victory over the French at Abukir . The latter accepted it with pride and carried it with the permission of the British King. The star of the order is still sewn onto the uniform skirt that the admiral wore when he died in 1805 and is now in the National Maritime Museum . Vice-Admiral Philippe D'Auvergne, opponent of Napoleon, who was also awarded by Count Leiningen, wanted to return his Order of St. Joachim when he found out that Joachim Murat was now Grand Master. He kept it after being convinced that Leiningen was still the legitimate incumbent. Christian Ludwig zu Leiningen-Westerburg-Neuleiningen 1771–1819, Austrian officer and brother of Grand Master Ferdinand Carl III. zu Leiningen, was also a knight and the wearing of the insignia was expressly permitted by Emperor Leopold II , while it was forbidden in Bavaria and various other states.

In 1802 the order consisted of the Grand Master , the Grand Prior (Count Julius von Soden ), 14 Grand Commanders and 17 Commanders . There were 44 knights, plus 1 grand cross lady, 2 small cross ladies and 9 honorary members. In 1804 the poet Karl Reinhard was accepted as a knight of honor.

Finally, Duke Ernst I of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1784–1844) became Grand Master of the Order. He was followed by his son Ernst II (1818–1893), his grandson Alfred (1844–1900) and his great-grandson Carl Eduard (1884–1954). In 1929 and 1948 the order was reorganized. The division into noble and non-noble members was dispensed with, political neutrality was established and it was expressly pointed out that the order strictly rejects any connection with Freemasonry . This religious community still exists today.

Order cross, obverse. The reverse of the medallion shows the green cross below

Order decoration

The order decoration was a golden white enameled eight-pointed cross . On the medallion in the center was the image of Saint Joachim. The cross had an open helmet over the upper cross arm. A breast star with a green cross in the middle was part of it.

Ribbon

The ribbon was dark green.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Website on the grandmasters from the Leiningen house
  2. ↑ Hans Heiberger: The Counts of Leiningen-Westerburg: Origin, Gloss, Decline , Kiliandruck, Grünstadt, p. 82, ISBN 3-924386-00-5
  3. ^ Albert Becker: The Order of St. Joachims and the Grünstadter Pagerie , in: Leininger Geschichtsblätter , Altertumsverein Grünstadt , year 1906, p. 31 u. 32
  4. ^ Karl Friedrich Häberlin : State Archive , 9th Volume, pp. 204-206, Helmstedt, 1802; Digital view
  5. ↑ Nelson's letter of thanks to Count Leiningen
  6. ^ Ernst Wilhelm Förstemann:  Reinhard, Karl . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 28, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1889, pp. 63-65.
  7. ^ Website of the Order of St. Joachim