Order of the Crown (Württemberg)

Royal Order of the Crown
Royal Order of the Crown; ;
	The Star and Badge of the Order
Awarded by The Head of the House of Württemberg
Type	Dynastic Order
Royal house	House of Württemberg
Ribbon	Pale blue with gold edges bearing a narrow red stripe
Motto	Furchtlos und Treu ; ("Fearless and True")
Awarded for	Conspicuous and special merit
Status	active
Sovereign	Duke Wilhelm
Grades	Knight Grand Cross, Special Class
Former grades	Knight Grand Cross; Knight Commander; Commander; Cross of Honour; Knight; Gold service medal; Silver service medal
Precedence
Next (higher)	None (highest)
Next (lower)	Royal Decoration of Olga
	; Sovereign, Grand Master and Grand Crosses, Special Class; ; Al other grades of the Order.; ;

The Order of the Württemberg Crown (Orden der Württembergischen Krone) was an order of chivalry in Württemberg.

History

First established in 1702 as the St.-Hubertus-Jagdorden (Hunting Order of St Hubert), in 1807 it was renamed the Ritterorden vom Goldenen Adler (Knightly Order of the Golden Eagle) by Frederick I, and on 23 September 1818 renewed and restructured (at the same time as the civil orders) by William I as the Order of the Württemberg Crown with (initially) 3 classes (grand cross, commander, knight). In 1889 and 1892, the order was expanded and changed.

Its motto reads 'Furchtlos und treu ('fearless and loyal'). Until 1913 the higher orders were restricted to the nobility. In descending order, its ranks were:

Knight Grand Cross, Special Class (for sovereigns)
Knight Grand Cross
Knight Commander (since 1889)
Commander
Cross of Honour (Ehrenkreuz; since 1892)
Knight (since 1892 with golden lions, and since 1864 also with a crown, as a special honour)
Gold service medal (Verdienstmedaille)
Silver service medal (Verdienstmedaille, abolished 1892)

Insignia

Cross

The order's cross was a white enameled Maltese cross with gold lions in its four angles. The lions came as standard for the grand cross and Komtur, but were only on knight's crosses as a special honour. On the upper arm, a golden crown was secured by means of two gold bands, from which – except in the honour cross in stuck form – the cross hung. The medallion was gold and blue on the front, and in the middle were the golden initials of king Frederick I and a crown – on the back was a golden crown, on red. All grades could since 1866 be awarded with swords. With the changes of 1890, the swords were only granted in awards of a higher class. Since 1892 the lowest grades (1870–1886 knight 2nd class, after that honour-cross) also had the special honours of golden lion and (since 1864) lion added.

Stars

The grand-cross was a silver 8-pointed star in whose middle was a reduced cross in a medallion with a circular motto in the centre. Sovereigns received the star in gold. The Komtur (since 1889 no longer of the Komtur with star) had a 4-pointed silver star whose rays went through the cross angles.

Ribbon

The ribbon was carmine red with black stripes and carmine borders. Members of reigning houses received insignia of the grand-cross with a ribbon in scarlet.

Awards

Many awards were made – in the First World War alone, the numbers were:

Gold Verdienstmedaille: 141
Knight cross with swords: insgesamt ca. 350
Knight cross with swords and lions: 80
Ehrenkreuz with swords: ca. 160
Komtur with swords: 75
Komtur with star and swords: 6
Grand cross with swords: 6

As an extraordinary instance, the grand-cross "in Brillanten" was granted to Reichskanzler Otto von Bismarck in 1871.

Recipients

Bibliography

Jörg Nimmergut, Handbuch Deutsche Orden, Saarbrücken 1989, 315-320
ders., Deutsche Orden und Ehrenzeichen 1800-1945, Bd. III Sachsen - Württemberg I, München 1999, 1677–1704, ISBN 3-00-001396-2