Principalities

Princely House Order of Hohenzollern

The 1851 statutes for the Royal House Order had recognized the Princely House Order as a Prussian order, and conferred on the Prussian King the right and duty to confirm awards.

By the First World War, the Princely House Order had evolved to the following classes: Honor Cross 1st Class, Honor Commander's Cross, Honor Cross 2nd Class, Honor Cross 3rd Class with Crown and Honor Cross 3rd Class.

There were also a Golden and Silver Merit Cross, a Golden Honor Medal and a Silver Merit Medal affiliated with the Princely House Order. As of December 1866, all of these grades could be awarded with swords for bravery and merit before the enemy.

<<< Honour Cross 3rd Class with swords

War Honor Cross for Heroic Deeds On December 8, 1914, two new military awards were authorized which could be awarded without regard for rank. These were the War Honour Cross for Heroic Deeds and the War Merit Cross. The War Honour Cross for Heroic Deeds was a pinback cross, while the War Merit Cross was worn from a ribbon. Although somewhat similar to the Prussian Iron Cross, there were important differences. The War Honor Cross for Heroic Deeds was not a higher grade of the War Merit Cross, and there was no requirement that one have received the War Merit Cross (or the Iron Cross, for that matter) before one was eligible for the War Honor Cross for Heroic Deeds. Also, the War Honor Cross for Heroic Deeds was intended solely as a bravery award, while the War Merit Cross could be given for merit on the home front.

WAR MERIT CROSS 2nd CLASS FOR COMBATANTS - LIPPE-DETMOLD. This is the Iron Cross 2nd Class equivalent for Lippe-Detmold. The cross is gilt-toned and sports the well-known rose for Lippe-Detmold. The correct ribbon for a combatants is in place.

The third version of the Military Merit Medal was awarded in World War One.

The design of the medal was the same, although the suspension was different, but instead of crossed sabers, these were awarded with crossed swords on the ribbon ("mit gekreuztem Schwertern auf dem Band").

It is unknown how many of these were awarded, but the number may not have been great. Unlike previous conflicts, the Military Merit Medal was not the principality's main military award - this role had been assumed by the Cross for Loyal Service.


The Cross for Loyal Service was the principal military award of Schaumburg-Lippe in World War One. It was supposed to be awarded without regard for rank. Some 10,397 names appear on the awards rolls. A pin back version also was made for the upper classes but it did not indicate a higher level of award.		1914 CROSS FOR TRUE (LOYAL) SERVICE 2nd CLASS NON COMBATANTS -SCHAUMBURG-LIPPE. This is the Iron Cross 2nd Class equivalent with Non Combatant’s ribbon from Schaumburg-Lippe.

GOLDEN SERVICE CROSS SCHAUMBURG-LIPPE. This is another first timer for us. This is the Golden Service Cross, which was issued from 1869-1916 by Schaumburg-Lippe. This cross was the highest level of the Service Cross that was issued and is made of GOLD. The obverse has the Royal Cypher of Schaumburg-Lippe. The reverse has the legend "For True Service." A short length of red and gold ribbon is included. A very scarce decoration.

CROSS FOR TRUE (LOYAL) SERVICE, (see above) SCHAUMBURG-LIPPE. This is the Iron Cross 2nd Class equivalent from Schaumburg-Lippe. It was known as the Cross for True Service. The cross is housed in a black leatherette case. Inside it has silk and velvet linings and a cutout place in which the decoration can lie. There is also a small area in which stores the ribbon. The decoration has a handsome, high-gilt finish. This is a one-sided decoration. There is only a polished reverse to it.

Medal for Sacrificial Activity in Wartime. Although not a military decoration, this medal is included here because of its wartime connection.

It was created on November 10, 1915 to recognize meritorious achievements in war-related charitable work

The Honor Cross originally came in three classes. A 4th Class was added in 1873. The 1st and 2nd Classes can be distinguished from the 3rd and 4th by having enameled arms (the 1st Class, a neck badge, is also larger than the others, and there is also a 1st Class with Crown).

The 3rd and 4th Class has silver arms, with the 3rd having an enamel center medallion while the 4th is all silver. (See left for 3rd Class with swords). Affiliated with the order were gold and silver honor medals.

Fürst Günther Victor, now ruling both principalities, revived this distinction on August 21, 1914, additionally authorizing swords for the 4th Class (which did not exist when the 1870 and 1871 statutes were adopted).

On January 19, 1915, another distinction was created - an Oak Brooch (Eichenbruch) device to indicate merit in service of the war effort not involving action before the enemy.

		In the 1871 statute, Fürst Günther Friedrich Carl II of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen created an award for soldiers in his battalion of IR71 - the Silver Honor Medal for War Merit . By the statute of August 21, 1914, Fürst Günther Victor revived these medals in a new form. This was the Silver Medal for Merit in War and was intended for soldiers in the rank of Feldwebel and below. For merit before the enemy, it was worn on the ribbon of the Honor Cross. Originally in silver, as the war progressed silvered bronze and then silvered zinc.
Silver Medal for Merit in War

Merit Cross
From 1896 to 1918, Waldeck had one decoration, known simply as the Verdienstkreuz, or Merit Cross (prior to this, there had been a house order known as the Merit Order (Verdienstorden) and a Military Merit Cross). The Merit Cross was established in four classes, with the 1st and 2nd Classes worn from the neck and the 3rd and 4th worn on the breast. A Silver Merit Medal, associated first with the Merit Order and then with the Merit Cross, dated from 1878, and a Golden Merit Medal followed in 1899. Also that year, an Honor Cross (Ehrenkreuz) was instituted, ranking between the 4th Class Merit Cross and the Golden Merit Medal. When awarded to military personnel, the Honor Cross was the highest award that a Waldeck non-commissioned officer could earn. The last revision to the Waldeck awards system came in 1912, when a pin-back Officer's Cross, ranking between the 2nd and 3rd Class Merit Crosses, was added.

Second Class, without Swords	Fourth Class, without Swords
	Golden Merit Medal with Swords


MILITARY SERVICE CROSS 3rd CLASS - WALDECK. The Military Service Cross 3rd Class is not often seen, as Waldeck is a fairly small state. This is a pure military decoration.	GOLDEN MERIT MEDAL - WALDECK. The Golden Merit Medal comes from Waldeck. It was issued during the period from 1899-1915. It is a circular-shaped medal that is silver gilt. It is marked .990 for silver content on the edge. This is a very scarce decoration. It was only awarded 267 times.

Second Class without swords