Ludwig Order

Ludwig Order
*Ludwigsorden*
Ludwig Order; Ludwigsorden ;
	The badge of the Grand Cross
Awarded by The Grand Duke of Hesse
Type	Order
Motto	Gott Ehre Vater Land
Eligibility	soldiers and civilians
Awarded for	merit
Status	defunct
Sovereign	Grand Duke of Hesse
Grades	Grand Cross; Commander 1st Class; Commander 2nd Class; Knight 1st Class; Knight 2nd Class
Statistics
Last induction	1918
Precedence
Next (higher)	None
Next (lower)	Order of Philip the Magnanimous (before 1875); Order of the Golden Lion (after 1875)
	; Ribbon bar of the order; ;

The Ludwig Order (German: Großherzoglich Hessischer Ludwigsorden), was an order of the Grand Duchy of Hesse which was awarded to meritorious soldiers and civilians from 1807 to 1918.

History

The order was founded by Ludwig I, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine as an order of merit without name or statute on 25 August 1807. On 14 December 1831, under the auspices of Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, statutes were adopted for the order, giving it its formal name, that of the Ludwig Order, dividing it into five classes, and setting the terms for award.^[1] It was to be awarded to meritorious soldiers and civilians "von den obersten Stufe bis auf die unterste"^{[This quote needs a citation]} (from the highest level to the lowest). The statutes were supplemented on 9 March 1854 and again on 30 March 1912, when the grade of Knight's Cross 1st class was replaced with a pinback breast decoration dubbed the Honour Cross. Whilst the grade of Knight's Cross 2nd class was simplified to just Knight's Cross.^[2]

The order became obsolete with the abdication of the last Grand Duke of Hesse in November 1918.

Classes

The order was divided into five classes:^[3]

Grand Cross, worn on a sash with an eight-pointed silver star.
Commander 1st Class, worn on a necklet with a four pointed star
Commander 2nd Class, worn on a necklet without a breast star
Knight 1st Class, at first worn on the left breast suspended from a ribbon, later replaced by a pinback version similar to the Iron Cross 1st Class
Knight 2nd Class, worn suspended from a ribbon on the left breast

Recipients

Grand Crosses

Commanders 1st Class

Commanders 2nd Class

Other Classes

References

^ https://archive.org/details/bookofordersofk00burk/page/136/mode/2up
^ Großherzogliche Ordenskanzlei: Großherzoglich hessische Ordensliste 1914, Staatsverlag, Darmstadt 1913, p.4.
^ https://archive.org/details/bookofordersofk00burk/page/136/mode/2up

Maximilian Gritzner (1893). Handbuch der Ritter- und Verdienstorden. Leipzig.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[1] ttps://archive.org/details/bookofordersofk00burk/page/136/mode/2up

[2] Großherzogliche Ordenskanzlei: Großherzoglich hessische Ordensliste 1914, Staatsverlag, Darmstadt 1913, p.4.

[3] ttps://archive.org/details/bookofordersofk00burk/page/136/mode/2up

[1]

[2]

[3]

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