The orders, decorations, and medals of the German states, in which each states of Germany has devised a system of orders and awards to honour residents for actions or deeds that benefit their local community or state, are in turn subsumed within the German honours system. Each state sets their own rules and criteria on eligibility and also how each medal is awarded and presented. Most of the orders allow for the recipient to wear their orders in public.

History Most of the orders have the form of a maltese cross.

Hanseatic rejection The city states of Bremen and Hamburg do not allocate any orders. An exception was made during World War I when the Hanseatic Cross was awarded jointly with the city of Lübeck. Even today, senators of the two states reject any foreign orders. Former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt received a number of accolades, among them was the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, which he chose not to accept in Hanseatic tradition, in order to refuse any decoration presented for merely fulfilling one's duty.

State orders State Name Ribbon bar Established Number of inductees Living holders Limit of living holders Note Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg 1974 1,754 1,000 Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art 1980 184 92 100 Re-establishment of the order from 1853 Bavarian Order of Merit 1957 5,537 1,637 2,000 Bayerischer Verfassungsorden 1961 (2011) Order of Merit of Berlin 1987 431 400 Order of Merit of Brandenburg 2003 108 300 Hessian Order of Merit Presented in two grades: Cross of Merit (Verdienstkreuz) Cross (Verdienstkreuz am Bande) 1989 430 800 Lower Saxony Order of Merit Presented in three grades: Commander's Cross (Großes Verdienstkreuz) Officer's Cross (Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse) Cross (Verdienstkreuz am Bande) 1961 no limitFlood-Medal 2013 of the State of Lower Saxony201320,000no official limit, but was only awarded in 2013For helpers during the 2013 European floods, who did their duty in the State of Lower SaxonyLower Saxonian State Medal5424no official limit but unofficially 30 Order of Merit of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 2001 no limit Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia 1986 1,357 3,500 Order of Merit of Rhineland-Palatinate 1981 991 800 Saarland Order of Merit 1974 no limit Order of Merit of the Free State of Saxony 1996 243 500 Saxon Flood Helpers Order 2002 2002 For helpers during the 2002 European floods Saxon Flood Helpers Order 2013 2013 For helpers during the 2013 European floods Order of Merit of Saxony-Anhalt 2006 300 Order of Merit of Schleswig-Holstein 2008 500 Order of Merit of the Free State of Thuringia 2000 300

State medals

Bavaria Bavarian Constitution Medal (until 2011) Bavarian Lifesaving Medal

Berlin Berlin Lifesaving Medal Louise-Schroeder-Medaille

Hamburg Bürgermeister-Stolten-Medaille Biermann-Ratjen-Medaille

Hesse Wilhelm-Leuschner-Medaille

Lower Saxony Niedersächsische Landesmedaille

Rhineland-Palatinate Verdienstmedaille des Landes Rheinland-Pfalz

Saxony Saxon Constitutional Medal Johann-Georg-Palitzsch-Medaille

See also Orders, decorations, and medals of Germany

References