Order of Merit of the Prussian Crown

Order of Merit of the Prussian Crown Verdienstorden der Preußischen Krone
Cross of the order
Awarded by  Prussia
Eligibility	Civilian and Military
Awarded for	exceptional civil or military merit
Motto	Gott Mit Uns
Statistics
Established	18 January 1901
Last awarded	13 March 1918
Total awarded	57
Precedence
Next (higher)	Order of the Black Eagle
Next (lower)	Order of the Red Eagle
Ribbon of the order

The Order of Merit of the Prussian Crown (Verdienstorden der Preußischen Krone) was an award of civil and military merit established 18 January 1901 by King Wilhelm II on the occasion of the bicentennial of the establishment of the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was presented in one class and consisted of a badge and a breast star. For military merit the award was presented with crossed swords. The order was presented once with diamonds.

Description of the award

The order consists of a badge, worn on a sash from right shoulder to the left hip, and a star worn on the left chest:

The badge of the order is a blue-enamelled, eighteen-karat, yellow-gold Maltese cross with a granular border. In each of the compartments between the four arms of the cross is a red-enamelled crown surmounting the royal monogram ("W II", for Wilhelm II). The central disc on the obverse of the badge shows a golden crown with red enamel, surrounded by a blue-enamelled circular band bearing the gold-lettered motto, "Gott Mit Uns". The disc on the reverse bears the intertwined initials "IR W II" (for "Imperator Rex Wilhelm II": "Emperor King William II"), encircled by the date "18 January 1901".

The star of the order is a golden eight-pointed star with straight rays, displaying the central disc from the obverse of the badge.

The sash of the order is blue, edged with orange stripes.

Awards

The medal was awarded only 57 times. General von Gossler was the only person who received the awards in both departments.

Recipients

• King William II of Prussia on 18 January 1901
• Prince Albert of Prussia, Regent of the Duchy of Braunschweig on 18 January 1901
• Baron von Loe, Prussian colonel general of cavalry and adjutant general on 18 January 1901
• Count Vladimir Lamsdorf, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs on 21 September 1901
• Count Paul von Hatzfeldt zu Trachenberg, German Ambassador to London, 8 November 1901^[1]
• Küçük Mehmet Sait Pasha Ottoman Grand Vizier on 24 May 1902
• Crown Prince Vajiravudh of Siam, 30 May 1902, during a visit to Berlin^[2]
• Giulio Prinetti, Italian Foreign Minister on 15 September 1902
• Otto von Berg Strub, Prussian general of infantry, 21 October 1902
• Hermann von Hatzfeld, Prussian Chief President on 22 June 1903
• Konrad Ernst von Gossler, Prussian general of infantry on 14 August 1903
• Arthur Freiherr von Bolfras, Austrian field-marshal and Adjutant General on 18 September 1903
• Count Uexküll-Gyllenband, Austrian general and commander of the 2nd Cavalry Corps on 18 September 1903
• Count of Abensperg and Traun, Austrian Colonel-Kämmerer 19 September 1903
• Count Károly Khuen-Héderváry, Hungarian Prime Minister on 19 September 1903
• Henry Lascelles, British Ambassador in Berlin on 30 June 1904
• Damat Ferid Pasha, Ottoman Grand Vizier on 24 September 1904
• Eberhardt zu Solms-Sonnewalde, Prussian Ambassador 18 October 1904
• Albert von Mischke, Prussian general and adjutant general of the infantry on 18 October 1904
• Edler von der Planitz, Austrian general of the Cavalry and Inspector General of Cavalry, on 24 April 1905
• Strukoff, Russian General of Cavalry and Adjutant General on 4 June 1905
• August Graf zu Eulenburg, Prussian Minister of State on 2 July 1905
• Graf zu Castell-Castell, Bavarian Lieutenant-General and High Steward on 14 November 1905
• Baron Max Wladimir von Beck, Austrian Prime Minister on 22 June 1906
• Sándor Wekerle, Hungarian Prime Minister on 22 June 1906
• Fiedler, Austrian artillery commander and commanding general of First Army Corps on 7 May 1908
• Leopold Graf Gudenus, Austrian Colonel-eunuch on 7 May 1908
• Graf Cziráky von Czirák und Dénesfalva, Austrian Obersthofmarschall on 7 May 1908
• Arvid Lindman, Swedish Prime Minister on 3 August 1908
• Hemming Gadd, Swedish general of the infantry on 3 August 1908
• Max von Hausen, Saxon Infantry General and Minister of State on 10 September 1908
• Ahmed Tevfik Pasha, Ottoman Marshal on 10 September 1908
• Julius von Verdy du Vernois, Prussian general of infantry on 1 March 1909
• Pyotr Arkadyevitch Stolypin, Russian Prime Minister on 17 June 1909
• Count Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, head of the Austrian General Staff on 9 September 1909
• Franz Freiherr von Schoen Aich, Austrian Infantry General and Minister of War on 9 September 1909
• Carl von Horn, Bavarian Infantry General and Minister of War on 17 September 1909
• Wilhelm von Linden-Suden, Prussian general of infantry on 7 April 1911
• Hermann von Blomberg, Prussian general of infantry on 13 September 1911
• Georg von Kleist, Prussian general of the cavalry on 6 April 1912
• Jules Greindl, Belgian Minister of State on 24 May 1912
• Sergei Dmitrievich Sazonov, Russian Foreign Minister on 4 July 1912
• Hans von Kirchbach, Saxon general of the artillery on 13 September 1912
• Prince Katsura Tarō, major Japanese Privy Seal on 19 September 1912
• Peter von Wiedenmann, Bavarian Artillery General and Adjutant General on 19 December 1912
• Maximilian von Seinsheim, Bavarian Court on 19 December 1912
• Victor von Podbielski, Prussian Minister of State on 16 June 1913
• Walter Reinhold von Mossner, Prussian general of the cavalry on 16 June 1913
• Clemens von Delbrück, Prussian Minister of State on 24 June 1914
• Baron von Hammerstein-Loxten, Prussian general of infantry on 12 May 1917
• Reinhold Krämer, Prussian Secretary of the Post Office on 6 August 1917
• General Paul von Ploetz, Prussian general of infantry on 13 March 1918

Recipients with swords

• Kanin, Prince of Japan on 22 March 1906
• Prince Ōyama Iwao, Marquis and Japanese Marshal on 22 March 1906
• Karl Ludwig d'Elsa, Saxon Colonel General on 2 January 1917
• Ernst Konrad von Gossler, Prussian general of infantry on 10 February 1917
• Ernst von Hoiningen, Prussian general of infantry on 6 March 1917

Recipients with diamonds

• Maximilian von Seinsheim, Bavarian Court on 15 December 1913

References

Bibliography

• Jörg Nimmergut: Deutsche Orden und Ehrenzeichen bis 1945. Band 2. Limburg – Reuss. Zentralstelle für wissenschaftliche Ordenskunde, München 1997, ISBN 3-00-001396-2.
• Kurt-Gerhard Klietmann: Der Verdienstorden der Preußischen Krone, Mitteilung aus dem Institut für Wissenschaftliche Ordenskunde, Der Herold - Band 12, 32. Jahrgang 1989, Heft 9

Orders, decorations and medals of Prussia
Orders	Order of the Black Eagle Order of the Red Eagle House Order of Hohenzollern Order of the Crown Johanniter Order Order of Louise Pour le Mérite Wilhelm-Orden Order of Merit of the Prussian Crown
Military decorations	Iron Cross Kulm Cross Military Merit Cross Military Honor Medal Merit Cross for War Aid Warrior Merit Medal
Civil decorations	Lifesaving Medal General Honor Decoration Merit Cross Jerusalem Cross Cross of the Mount of Olives Red Cross Medal Ladies Merit Cross Cross of Merit for Women and Girls

Orders, decorations, and medals of Imperial Germany
Kingdom of Prussia	Order of the Black Eagle · Order of the Red Eagle · Order of the Crown · Order of Merit of the Prussian Crown · House Order of Hohenzollern · Pour le Mérite · Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg) · Order of Louise · Wilhelm-Orden :
Kingdom of Bavaria	Military Order of Max Joseph · Military Merit Order (Bavaria) · Order of Theresa · Order of Saint Elizabeth · Royal Order of Saint George · Order of St. Michael (Bavaria) · Merit Order of the Bavarian Crown · Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art · Order of Louis (Bavaria) · Medical military Order
Kingdom of Saxony	Order of the Rue Crown · Military Order of St. Henry · Albert Order · Civil Order of Saxony · Order of Sidonia · Order of Maria Anna
Kingdom of Württemberg	Order of the Crown (Württemberg) · Military Merit Order (Württemberg) · Friedrich Order · Order of Olga
Kingdom of Hanover	Order of St. George · Royal Guelphic Order · Order of Ernst August
Grand Duchy of Baden	Military Karl-Friedrich Merit Order · Order of Berthold I · Order of the Zähringer Lion · House Order of Fidelity
Grand Duchy of Hesse	House Order of the Golden Lion · Ludwig Order · Order of Philip the Magnanimous · Order of the Star of Brabant · General Honor Decoration
Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel	House Order of the Golden Lion · Wilhelmsorden · Order of the Iron Helmet
Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt	Order of Philip the Magnanimous
Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin	Order of the Griffon (Mecklenburg) · House Order of the Wendish Crown
Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz	Order of the Griffon (Mecklenburg) · House Order of the Wendish Crown
Grand Duchy of Oldenburg	House and Merit Order of Peter Frederick Louis · Friedrich-August Cross
Duchy of Saxe-Weimar	Order of the White Falcon
Duchy of Brunswick	Order of Henry the Lion
Duchy of Nassau	Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau · Order of Adolphe of Nassau
Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg	Saxe-Ernestine House Order
Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha	Saxe-Ernestine House Order (2006: Saxe-Coburg-Gotha House Order)
Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen	Saxe-Ernestine House Order
Duchy of Anhalt	Order of Albert the Bear · Order of Merit for Science and Art
Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen	House Order of Hohenzollern
Principality of Hohenzollern-Hechingen	House Order of Hohenzollern
Principality of Lippe-Detmold	Order of the Cross of Honour (Lippe) · Order of Leopold (Lippe) · Order of Berta · Order of the Rose of Lippe
Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe	Order of the Cross of Honour (Lippe)
Principality of Reuss	Order of the Cross of Honour (Reuss)
Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt	Order of the Cross of Honour (Schwarzburg)
Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen	Order of the Cross of Honour (Schwarzburg)
Free cities of the Hanseatic League, of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck	Hanseatic Cross