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
[edit]Most of the orders have the form of a maltese cross.
Hanseatic rejection
[edit]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
[edit]| 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:
|
|
1989 | 430 | 800 | ||
 Lower Saxony
|
Lower Saxony Order of Merit
Presented in three grades:
|
|
1961 | no limit | |||
| Lower Saxony
|
Flood-Medal 2013 of the State of Lower Saxony | .jpg)
|
2013 | 20,000 | no official limit, but was only
awarded in 2013 |
For helpers during the 2013 European floods,
who did their duty in the State of Lower Saxony | |
| 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] |
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State medals
[edit]Bavaria
[edit]- Bavarian Constitution Medal (until 2011)
- Bavarian Lifesaving Medal
Berlin
[edit]- Berlin Lifesaving Medal
- Louise-Schroeder-Medaille
Hamburg
[edit]- Bürgermeister-Stolten-Medaille
- Biermann-Ratjen-Medaille
Hesse
[edit]- Wilhelm-Leuschner-Medaille
Lower Saxony
[edit]- Niedersächsische Landesmedaille
Rhineland-Palatinate
[edit]Saxony
[edit]- Saxon Constitutional Medal
- Johann-Georg-Palitzsch-Medaille
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Bundesverdienstkreuz: Das Kreuz mit dem Dank". Tagesspiegel (in German). Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Bayerischer Verdienstorden: Verleihung 2017". Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ "Der Verdienstorden des Landes Berlin" (in German). Ordensmuseum.de. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
- ^ "Verdienstorden des Landes Berlin" [Orders of Merit of Berlin] (in German). Landes Berlin. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
- ^ "Der Verdienstorden des Landes Rheinland-Pfalz" (in German). Ordensmuseum.de. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
- ^ "Landesverdienstorden | Willkommen in Rheinland-Pfalz" (in German). Rlp.de. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
- ^ "Sachsen gestern und heute - Sächsischer Verdienstorden" (in German). Geschichte.sachsen.de. 13 November 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Der Verdienstorden des Landes Schleswig – Holstein" (in German). Ordensmuseum.de. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ^ "Thüringer Staatskanzlei - Gesetz – Text of the law for the Order of Merit of the Free State of Thuringia". thueringen.de. Retrieved 11 September 2018.