Princely Schwarzburg Honor Cross
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| Princely Schwarzburg Honor Cross | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Awarded for | Military or Civil Merit |
| Country | Schwarzburg-Sondershausen & Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt |
| Ribbon | Orange ribbon with Dark-Blue centre and edge stripes |
| Obverse | Golden lion of Schwarzburg, on a dark-blue background |
| Reverse | Reigning Monarch's cipher surmounted by a prince's crown in gold on a dark-blue background |
| First award | 1853 |
| Final award | 1918 |
 Ribbon bar of the Order | |
The Princely Schwarzburg Honor Cross was an Order of merit common to the principalities of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.
The order was founded in 1853 by Friedrich Günther, Sovereign Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt to reward meritorious service to the Principality.[1] In 1857 the Order became a joint award with the other Schwarzburg principality of Sonderhausen.[2]
The Order was originally composed of three grades of crosses and a medal. In 1866 the grade of medal was divided into a gold and silver medal. In 1870 with the onset of the Franco-Prussian War, Crossed swords were added for wartime military merit, whilst in 1873 the cross was further expanded to comprise four grades of crosses.[3] In 1911 with the merging of Rudolstadt and Sonderhausen the crosses and medals of the order were harmonised.
The 1st class cross of the order could awarded with or without a crown, whilst in 1915 with the outbreak of World War I oak leaves were incorporated into both the crosses and the medals which bore the dates 1914 and 1915. During the war, a non-combat medal for soldiers was introduced, which had a blue ribbon with a red stripe.[3]
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