The Albert Order () was created on 31 December 1850 by King Frederick Augustus II of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

to commemorate Albert III, Duke of Saxony (known as Albert the Bold). It was to be awarded to anyone who had served the state well, for civil virtue, science and art.

Design

The design was a Christian cross with a bust of Albert the Bold at the centre. In 1875, however, it was discovered the bust was in fact the wrong Albert, Albert the Perennial, and the correct image was substituted and used thereafter.

Grades

The grade structure of the Albert Order changed several times. At first, there were five classes: Grand Cross (Großkreuz), Commander's Cross 1st Class (Komturkreuz I), Commander's Cross 2nd Class (Komturkreuz II), Knight's Cross (Ritterkreuz) and Small Cross (Kleinkreuz). These provided the basis for a series of changes over the following forty years. On 18 March 1858, the Small Cross was renamed as the Honour Cross (Ehrenkreuz) and a sixth class was established with a gold and silver Merit Medal (Verdienstmedaille). A Merit Cross (Verdienstkreuz) with Swords was added on 29 October 1866 and this was extended on 9 December 1870 with the Merit Cross with Swords on Ring. The medals were abolished on 2 February 1876 and the Knights Cross was split into two classes. On 30 April 1884, a gold Great Cross was added and on 11 June 1890, the Officer's Cross was inserted into the Order between the Knight's Cross 1st Class and the Commander's Cross 2nd Class. So, at its abolition in 1918, the Order was structured thus: :Gold Grand Cross (Goldgroßkreuz) :Grand Cross (Großkreuz) :Commander's Cross 1st Class (Komturkreuz I. Klasse) :Commander's Cross (Komturkreuz II. Klasse) :Officer's Cross (Offizierskreuz) :Knight's Cross 1st Class (Ritterkreuz I. Klasse) :Knight's Cross 2nd Class (Ritterkreuz II. Klasse) :Honour Cross (Ehrenkreuz) :Merit Cross (Verdienstkreuz) with Swords An award of Swords indicated a recipient's bravery in wartime. If, however, a recipient was subsequently awarded a higher grade in the Order, he could lose the bravery distinction attached to the superseded grade (regulations only allowed the display of the insignia of the highest awarded grade). This anomaly was solved in 1906 by allowing the addition of Swords by replacement of insignia. A recipient, however, had to pay the cost of replacement and this appears to have inhibited the numbers of such replacements.

Recipients

* Gold Grand Crosses ** Svasti Sobhana * Grand Crosses ** Abbas II of Egypt ** Albert of Saxony ** Alexander, Margrave of Meissen ** Alfred, 2nd Prince of Montenuovo ** Princess Anna of Saxony (1903–1976) ** Gustav Bachmann ** Friedrich von Beck-Rzikowsky ** Friedrich von Bernhardi **

Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg Theobald Theodor Friedrich Alfred von Bethmann Hollweg (29 November 1856 – 1 January 1921) was a German politician who was chancellor of the German Empire, imperial chancellor of the German Empire from 1909 to 1917. He oversaw the German entry ...

** Hans Alexis von Biehler ** Gaetano Bisleti ** Herbert von Bismarck ** Moritz von Bissing ** Adolf von Bonin **

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** Rudolf von Brudermann **

Bernhard von Bülow Bernhard Heinrich Karl Martin, Prince of Bülow ( ; 3 May 1849 – 28 October 1929) was a German politician who served as the chancellor of the German Empire, imperial chancellor of the German Empire and minister-president of Prussia from 1900 to ...

Hans von Bülow Freiherr Hans Guido von Bülow (; 8 January 1830 – 12 February 1894) was a German conductor, pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. As one of the most distinguished conductors of the 19th century, his activity was critical for establishi ...

** Eduard von Capelle ** Rudolf von Delbrück ** Karl Ludwig d'Elsa ** Max von Fabeck **

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** George, King of Saxony ** Friedrich von Georgi ** Heinrich von Gossler ** Gottlieb Graf von Haeseler ** Max von Hausen ** Samu Hazai ** Prince Henry of Prussia (1862–1929) ** Prince Konrad of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst ** Dietrich von Hülsen-Haeseler ** Oskar von Hutier ** Friedrich von Ingenohl ** John of Saxony ** Hans von Kaltenborn-Stachau ** Georg von Kameke ** Hans von Kirchbach ** Hugo von Kirchbach ** Konstantin of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst ** Ewald von Lochow ** Joseph Maximilian von Maillinger ** Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen ** Georg Alexander von Müller ** Hans von Plessen ** Antoni Wilhelm Radziwiłł ** Wilhelm von Ramming **

Albrecht von Roon Albrecht Theodor Emil Graf von Roon (; 30 April 1803 – 23 February 1879) was a Prussian soldier and statesman. As Minister of War from 1859 to 1873, Roon, along with Otto von Bismarck and Helmuth von Moltke, was a dominating figure in Pruss ...

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** Reinhard Scheer ** Alfred von Schlieffen ** Ehrhard Schmidt ** Ludwig von Schröder **

Gustav von Senden-Bibran Gustav Ernst Otto Egon Freiherr (Baron) von Bibran-Modlau, Senden-Bibran (23 July 1847, Rokitki, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Reisicht, Lower Silesia, Germany – 23 November 1909 in Berlin) was an admiral of the Kaiserliche Marine, German I ...

** Rudolf Stöger-Steiner von Steinstätten ** Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen **

Alfred von Tirpitz Alfred Peter Friedrich von Tirpitz (; born Alfred Peter Friedrich Tirpitz; 19 March 1849 – 6 March 1930) was a German grand admiral and State Secretary of the German Imperial Naval Office, the powerful administrative branch of the German Imperi ...

** Wilhelm von Tümpling ** Julius von Verdy du Vernois ** Victor II, Duke of Ratibor ** Alfred von Waldersee ** Wilhelm Karl, Duke of Urach **

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* Commander's Cross 1st Class ** Friedrich Boedicker ** Paul Puhallo von Brlog ** Adolf von Deines ** Friedrich Albrecht Erlenmeyer ** Georg, Crown Prince of Saxony ** Franz von Hipper ** Maximilian von Laffert ** Otto von Moser ** Karl von Plettenberg ** Wilhelm Souchon **

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** Arthur Zimmermann * Commander's Cross 2nd Class ** Frane Bulic ** Karl von Bülow **

Leo von Caprivi Georg Leo Graf von Caprivi de Caprara de Montecuccoli (English language, English: ''Count George Leo of Caprivi, Caprara, and Montecuccoli''; born Georg Leo von Caprivi; 24 February 1831 – 6 February 1899) was a German general and statesman. He ...

** Friedrich August Eckstein ** August Leskien ** Karl Max, Prince Lichnowsky ** Christian Otto Mohr ** Hubert von Rebeur-Paschwitz ** Ludwig von Reuter ** Emidio Taliani ** Ferdinand Walter **

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* Officer's Crosses ** Martin Chales de Beaulieu ** Paul von Bruns ** Géza Fejérváry ** Friedrich von Gerok (officer) ** Adolf Wild von Hohenborn ** Walther Reinhardt ** Eberhard Graf von Schmettow ** Walther Schroth ** Otto von Stülpnagel * Knight's Crosses 1st Class ** Kurt Agricola ** Joachim von Amsberg (general) **

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** Eduard Brockhaus ** Fritz von Brodowski **

Adolf von Brudermann Adolf von Brudermann (2 June 1854 Vienna – 26 October 1945 Vienna) was a ''General der Kavallerie'' (general of the cavalry) of the Austro-Hungarian Army. He saw service during World War I. Personal life Brudermann was the youngest of the four ...

** Kurt Eberhard ** Waldemar Erfurth ** Heinrich Ernemann ** Friedrich Fahnert ** Andreas von Fail-Griessler ** Victor Franke ** Hermann Geyer ** Curt Haase ** Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord ** Christian Hansen (general) ** Paul von Hase ** Paul Hausser ** Waldemar Henrici ** Bruno Héroux ** Wilhelm Heye ** Ernst von Hoeppner ** Hugo Richard Jüngst ** Albrecht Kurzwelly ** Paul Laux ** Felix von Luckner **

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** Friedrich Olbricht ** Johann Pflugbeil ** Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl ** Gustav Schreck ** Ernst von Schuch ** Johann Gottfried Stallbaum ** Hans Stohwasser ** Hans von Tettau ** Walter von Unruh ** Heinrich von Vietinghoff ** Hubert Weise ** Walther Wever (general) * Knight's Crosses 2nd Class ** Frane Bulic ** Karl von Bülow **

** Friedrich August Eckstein ** August Leskien ** Karl Max, Prince Lichnowsky ** Christian Otto Mohr ** Oskar Potiorek ** Hubert von Rebeur-Paschwitz ** Ludwig von Reuter ** Emidio Taliani ** Ferdinand Walter * Honour Crosses * Merit Crosses * Unclassified ** Frederick Augustus III of Saxony **

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** Otto Hersing **

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** Julius Kühn ** Arno von Lenski ** Georg Pittrich ** Friedrich Sixt von Armin ** Vladimir Sukhomlinov ** Anton de Waal

References

{{Orders of Imperial Germany Orders, decorations, and medals of Saxony Awards established in 1850