I realize this is likely not military but still was hoping one of you wise collectors might recognize it. Large Crucufix-style Cross with Reichasadler in the center.
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Don,
Could be a crucifix for a chaplain. There are official issue styles for Protestant and Roman Catholic clergy serving in the BW but it is not unusual to see them wear one that is not of the official issue style. Although, they are usually worn on a chain and not a piece of ribbon.
Regards,
Gordon -
Thank you GordonComment
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Hi,
that is not for a Bundeswehr chaplain.
You have to go in the direction "Deutscher Orden", Hochmeisterkreuz, Deutschherrenkreuz.
UweComment
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Don,
Sorry I was mistake. My colleges have correctly identified the cross. I'm not up on religious orders. Here is a translation from the site Nico posted a url to.
Regards,
Gordon
THE GERMAN KNIGHTSORDER
Image 'deu_ritterorden'
Established on 19 November 1190 (year of the siege of Akkon) by Duke Frederick of Swabia on the basis of the Brotherhood of St. Mary's Hospital founded in Jerusalem in 1128, the Order had a varied and sometimes anything but glorious history. After the loss of the Holy Land, the order of chivalry directed to combat the "infidels" turned to Venice and built from Vienna to South Tyrol.The oldest preserved building in Graz, the Leech Church, was built by the Teutonic Order in 1275-1293 The idiosyncratic tympanum Madonna comes from this period above the portal, which is flanked on the right and left by the coat of arms of the Order.
In the course of the 13th century, the order of Duke Konrad of Mazovia was called to the then pagan Prussia. In the period between 1226 and 1466, the territory of the Teutonic Order should extend from the west bank of the lower Vistula to Estonia.
1308, the Duchy of Pomerellen was acquired with the city of Danzig; In 1309, the "Grand Master" moved his headquarters from Venice to Marienburg, which was converted into a huge fortified castle, and instead of the fight against the Muslims, the fight against the Prussians, led by Western European knights and mercenaries, took place. The Marian and Georgian cult of the Order suppressed the local religion of nature: the black cross on a white background ("German Cross") gave the province of East Prussia and the future Kingdom of Prussia its colors: black and white. Through the extended Gutswirtschaft and the amber trade, the Order achieved great wealth and influence. All conquered and reclaimed land was given to the Order as a royal loan; As a result, the head of the Order acquired the imperial dignity.
At the beginning of the 15th century, immigrant and native subjects of the Order joined with the Poles and the now-baptized Lithuanians and rose against the Knights of the Order. After the defeat of Tannenberg (Polish: Bitwa pod Grunwaldem) the Order lost in the 2nd Peace of Thorn (1466) his most important possessions in Prussia. The Battle of Tannenberg (15 July 1410) was one of the largest knightly battles of the Middle Ages, with several thousand dead. To this day, the Polish victory at Tannenberg is regarded as one of the most significant cuts in Polish history, which was repeatedly exploited for propaganda and until recently was a symbol of German-Polish opposition.
Through the Reformation and the conversion of Prussia into a hereditary duchy (Albrecht of Brandenburg made the fief of the Polish crown in 1525) the Order lost the remainder of its power in the north after 1466, which it defended with fire and sword for almost two and a half centuries. In the south of Germany he was able to hold on for a while longer under a "Deutschmeister" based in Mergentheim (the term "Deutsches Eck" near Koblenz dates back to this time).
The Peace of Pressburg in 1805, the Grand Master of the Order of the Teutonic Order was transferred to the male line of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. Napoleon abolished the order in 1809 in all states of the Rhine Confederation, so that it remained only in Austria and in the Netherlands (Protestant Ballei Utrecht). According to the newly-written Order of 1840, the Order became an independent clerical institute with an archduke as head, who resided in Vienna and held the title "High and German Master." High Master Archduke Wilhelm (1863-1896) relocated the Order's heavyweight on the field sanity system.
After Grand Master Archduke Eugen had abdicated in 1923 and replaced him in his place religious priest, the German Order of Knights in 1929 by Pope Pius XI. transformed into a purely spiritual order. Canceled by the Nazis in 1938, the German Order regained its function in 1945. Its activity extends today to Austria, Germany and South Tyrol. He fulfills today pastoral and charitable tasks.
Not only the Order of the Order of the Teutonic Order (1326) in the Singerstraße and the "Deutsche Haus" (1667) on the Viennese Stephansplatz, but also the Deutschmeisterpalais on the Parkring, built by Theophil Hansen between 1864 and 1868 and now in the possession of the Order, are reminiscent of the order served as police headquarters after 1945, since 1975 it is the seat of the OPEC fund.
Only marginally related to the Order is the legendary infantry regiment "Hoch and Deutschmeister" (since 1769 with the designation "No. 4"). The troop body was founded in 1695 and got its name because its advertising districts were in the possessions of the Order, which also had to bear the costs. The "Hoch- und Deutschmeister" received their baptism of fire on 6 September 1697 against Turkish cavalry on the Szireger Heide and a few days later in the victorious battle of Zenta.Also in the 1757 successful against the Prussians Battle of Kolin they stood their husband Regiment existed until 1918 and had a reputation for special bravery, and a successor force was set up between 1920 and 1938. The Deutschmeister monument was erected in 1896at Wiener Deutschmeisterplatz is the first monument that honored not the general but the team. On September 9, 1994, the tradition of the "Viennese Edelknaben" was resumed by Hunter Regiment 2 of the Federal Army.
The actual members of the Teutonic Order are divided into Hoch- and Deutschmeister, Großkomture, Großkapitulare, Komture and Ritter; they must be Catholic and of old nobility.
While the Grand Master's neck and pectoral cross have the one-headed black eagle in gold and a golden lily cross on the characteristic black, white-rimmed "German cross," the neck-cross of the lower ranks is unadorned, but is replaced by a steel-blue helmet with two black ones between three white ones Priestly members wear a black and white pommel instead of a helmet, and the Order's Cross is worn on a black band.Comment
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Wow that is amazing - thank you everyone.Comment
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