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The General Honor Decoration () was a decoration of 
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
. The decoration can trace its origin back to awards established in 1793 by King
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved ...
. The various levels of the decoration recognized peacetime merit to Prussia. These awards were often to commemorate long and particularly meritorious service or for special contributions from people who would not be considered for appointment to an order due to their rank. In general, recipients were lower and mid-level officials and officers.
The General Honor Decoration originally consisted of a First Class medal in gold, and a Second Class medal in silver. After 1814, the gold medal was discontinued being replaced by a silver cross for the First Class. In January 1830, the cross was made into the Fourth Class of the Order of the Red Eagle
The Order of the Red Eagle () was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, o ...
, leaving only the silver medal for award. In 1890, a gold medal was reestablished as a higher level class. In 1900, the gold medal was replaced by the Cross of Honour of the General Honor Decoration, which was awarded along with the Second Class Medal, and a Third Class Medal in bronze established in 1912, until the fall Prussia in 1918.
References
{{Orders and decorations of the Kingdom of Prussia Orders, decorations, and medals of Prussia