Orders, decorations, and medals of the German states

The orders, decorations, and medals of the German states, in which each states of Germany has devised a system of orders and awards to honour residents for actions or deeds that benefit their local community or state, are in turn subsumed within the German honours system. Each state sets their own rules and criteria on eligibility and also how each medal is awarded and presented. Most of the orders allow for the recipient to wear their orders in public.

History

Most of the orders have the form of a maltese cross.

Hanseatic rejection

The city states of Bremen and Hamburg do not allocate any orders. An exception was made during World War I when the Hanseatic Cross was awarded jointly with the city of Lübeck. Even today, senators of the two states reject any foreign orders. Former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt received a number of accolades, among them was the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, which he chose not to accept in Hanseatic tradition, in order to refuse any decoration presented for merely fulfilling one's duty.[1]

State orders
State Name Ribbon bar Established Number of inductees Living holders Limit of living holders Note
 Baden-Württemberg Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg 1974 1,754 1,000
 Bavaria Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art 1980 184[2] 92 100 Re-establishment of the order from 1853
 Bavaria Bavarian Order of Merit 1957 5,537 1,637[3] 2,000
 Bavaria Bayerische Verfassungsmedaille 1961 (2011)
 Berlin Order of Merit of Berlin 1987 431[4] 400[5]
 Brandenburg Order of Merit of Brandenburg 2003 108 300
 Hesse Hessian Order of Merit

Presented in two grades:

  • Cross of Merit (Verdienstkreuz)
  • Cross (Verdienstkreuz am Bande)
 1989 430 800
 Lower Saxony Lower Saxony Order of Merit

Presented in three grades:

  • Commander's Cross (Großes Verdienstkreuz)
  • Officer's Cross (Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse)
  • Cross (Verdienstkreuz am Bande)



1961 no limit
 Lower Saxony Lower Saxonian State Medal 54 24 no official limit but unofficially 30
 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Order of Merit of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 2001 no limit
 North Rhine-Westphalia Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia 1986 1,357 3,500
 Rhineland-Palatinate Order of Merit of Rhineland-Palatinate 1981 991[6] 800[7]
 Saarland Saarland Order of Merit 1974 no limit
 Saxony Order of Merit of the Free State of Saxony 1996 243[8] 500
 Saxony Saxon Flood Helpers Order 2002 2002 For helpers during the 2002 European floods
 Saxony Saxon Flood Helpers Order 2013 2013 For helpers during the 2013 European floods
 Saxony-Anhalt Order of Merit of Saxony-Anhalt 2006 300[9]
 Schleswig-Holstein Order of Merit of Schleswig-Holstein 2008 500[10]
 Thuringia Order of Merit of the Free State of Thuringia 2000 300[11]

State medals

Bavaria

Berlin
  • Berlin Lifesaving Medal
  • Louise-Schroeder-Medaille

Hamburg

Hesse
  • Wilhelm-Leuschner-Medaille

Lower Saxony
  • Niedersächsische Landesmedaille

Rhineland-Palatinate

Saxony

See also

References
  1. "Bundesverdienstkreuz: Das Kreuz mit dem Dank". Tagesspiegel (in German). Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  2. "Seehofer zeichnet 12 verdiente Persönlichkeiten mit dem Bayerischen Maximiliansorden für Wissenschaft und Kunst aus" (Press release) (in German). Bayerische Staatskanzlei. 2010-10-20. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  3. "Bayerischer Verdienstorden: Verleihung 2017". Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  4. "Der Verdienstorden des Landes Berlin" (in German). Ordensmuseum.de. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  5. "Verdienstorden des Landes Berlin" [Orders of Merit of Berlin] (in German). Landes Berlin. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  6. "Der Verdienstorden des Landes Rheinland-Pfalz" (in German). Ordensmuseum.de. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  7. "Landesverdienstorden | Willkommen in Rheinland-Pfalz" (in German). Rlp.de. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  8. "Sachsen gestern und heute - Sächsischer Verdienstorden" (in German). Geschichte.sachsen.de. 13 November 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  9. "Landesrecht Sachsen-Anhalt Ministerpräsident | Verwaltungsvorschrift (Sachsen-Anhalt) | Stiftung des Verdienstordens des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt | i. d. F. v. 28.08.2007 | gültig ab 11.09.2007" (in German). Landesrecht Sachsen-Anhalt. 28 August 2007. Retrieved 13 May 2013. External link in |publisher= (help)
  10. "Der Verdienstorden des Landes Schleswig – Holstein" (in German). Ordensmuseum.de. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  11. "Thüringer Staatskanzlei - Gesetz – Text of the law for the Order of Merit of the Free State of Thuringia". thueringen.de. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
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