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    King Ferdinand I's decorations


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    Hi all,

    I am currently trying to assemble a full list of the decorations received by HM King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria. Unfortunately, my knowledge only covers Bulgarian decorations, so the majority of the 'foreign' ones are very blurry to me.

    I'd appreciate your help with identifying more orders/medals which belonged to Him and/or improving the existent info by defining the particular class received.

    Regards,

    ilieff

     

    PS:I've spotted a similar list on Wikipedia.org but I believe it's very inaccurate.

     

     

     

    Bulgaria:
    - Order of SS Cyril and Methodius
    - Military Order "For Bravery"
    - Royal Order of St. Alexander
    - Order of Civil Metir
    - Order of Military Merit
     
    German Empire
    - Order of the Black eagle
    - Order of the Red Eagle
    - Imperial Military order of the Iron cross
    - Pour le Merite (Military division)
    - Order of Saint John (Johanniter Order)
    - Saxe-Ernestine House order
    - Order of the Wendish Crown
    - Military Merit cross (Mecklenburg)

    Austro-Hungarian Empire
    - Order of the Golden Fleece
    - Order of St. Stephan
     
    British Empire
    - Order of the Bath
    - Royal Victorian Order
     
    Russian Empire
    - Order of St. Andrew
    - Order of the White Eagle
    - Order of St. Vladimir
    - Order of St. Anna
    - Order of St. Stanislav
     
    France
    - Order of the Legion of Honour
     
    Ottoman Empire
    - Gallipoli star (Iron Crescent)
     
    Kingdom of Italy
    - Order of the Holy Annunciation
    - Order of St Maurice and Lazarus
    - Constantine Military order of St George
     
    Kingdom of Belgium
    - Order of Leopold
     
    Kingdom of Portugal
    - Order of the Tower and Sword
    - Order of Aviz
     
    Kingdom of Sweden
    - Order of the Seraphim
     
    Kingdom of Denmark
    - Order of the White Elephant
     
    Empire of Brazil
    - Order of the Rose
     
    Other
    - Military order of St John of Jerusalem (Maltese order)
    - Order of Pope Pius IX
     
     
     

    An image scanned from Schalafoff's book:

    King's early bar 

    ribbon_ferdinand_2.jpg

    And a second scan from that very same album:

    Second (later) bar which belonged to the King.

    ribbon_ferdinand_1.jpg

    Edited by ilieff
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    Thank you for graet pictures ! 

    Can you make big picture of Bravery order from first medalsbar ? 

    image.jpeg

     

     

    The Order of St. Stephen Grand Cross Awarded to Ferdinand I, Tsar of Bulgaria 

    https://www.emedals.com/europe/austria-imperial/orders/order-of-st-stephen/the-order-of-st-stephen-grand-cross-awarded-to-ferdinand-i-tsar-of-bulgaria

    image.jpeg

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    Hi Ilieff,

     

    Most of his decorations were sold few years ago in London by his Grandson -King Simeon,

    Some of them come for sale from time to time

    Here is his French legion of Honour - Grand Cross -the highest Class -It was awarded to him around WW1 period

    during the Third French Republic 1870-1940 The Set was on Auction in Gerrnany last year.

     

    Third French Republic (1870 - 1940) - National Order of the Legion of Honour (Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur) - a cased grand cross set
    Large sash decoration fashioned in gold with Marianne bust and year cipher "1870" surmounted by a sculpted wreath of leaves. Eagle head punches in the ribbon bow and suspension ring, the latter with lozenge-shaped maker's mark (crowned "V.L" trefoil). Width 69 mm. Weight 70 g. Included is the five-armed breast star of maker "OUIZILLE LEMOINE ... JOAILLIE DE LA LÉGION D'HONNEUR" in Paris with the new address "RUE ST. HONORÉ 356" on the attachment pin (wild boar head punch mark) and the same maker's mark on the clasp as on the cross. Width 91 mm. Weight 86.2 g. Together with the customised rosette sash and velvet appliqué in an award case (privately labelled) with gold-embossed ("R.F.") leather cover. A beautiful, matching orders set in very good condition.

    Worn by Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria. Ex Müller Auction 34, Limburg, 23 September 1989, lot 46.

    202181.jpg

    202181_a.jpg

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    Being a ruler of a neighbouring country he must have been awarded with the highest Serbian orders.
    I'll try to dig up some information regarding this matter.
    Anyway excellent topic, I did something similar for several Serbian rulers.

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    I just found his name in the list of recipients of Order of the Cross of Takovo 1st class and Order of the Star of Karađorđe 1st class published in Mr. Acović's book "Glory and Honor - Decorations Among Serbs, Serbs Among Decorations" (Слава и част, одликовања међу Србима, Срби међу одликовањима).

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    One more thing caught my attention it seems that he's wearing the Golden Badge of the (Russian) Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (Императорское православное палестинское общество) which means he must have been its honorary member. 
    I do not know a lot about this orthodox society but it seems a bit unusual to see a person of catholic faith among its honorary members.
    01.JPG

    Edited by paja
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    Thank you all for your contribution.

    I will add the following to the list:

    - Military Order of Maria Theresa

    - Update the Legion of Honour with the particular class - am I correct to assume that the breast star from the pictures provided above was once gilded?)

    - Order of Prince Danilo I and Russian Order of St. Alexander  - Can we have a proof of the second one, please? I assume one of the breast stars is St. Alexander

    - Ottoman Order of Distinction (I assume a diamond set as it looks a bit different to the samples in the internet)

    - Order of the Cross of Takovo and the Star of Karadzordze - Does 1st class equal Grand cross?

     

    The Badge of the Orthodox society appears to be very rare but I will not include it in the general list. It's indeed interesting why he was given this in the first place. It might have to do with the agreement for the heir to the throne, future king Boris, to be converted to the Orthodox faith.

    @Igor Ostapenko Regarding your request, I can make another scan if you want, but it will never be of a good quality due to the way the album was printed. I do admire your interest though - it is an interesting IV class badge.

     

    Also, since you started posting pictures of the King himself, I will try to arrange and upload a few where his awards are more visible.

    Thank you, once more.

     

    PS: Can previous posts be edited somehow?

    Edited by ilieff
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    1 hour ago, paja said:

    One more thing caught my attention it seems that he's wearing the Golden Badge of the (Russian) Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (Императорское православное палестинское общество) which means he must have been its honorary member. 
    I do not know a lot about this orthodox society but it seems a bit unusual to see a person of catholic faith among its honorary members.
     

    @paja Looks like the Prince has received the Badge of the Orthodox Palestine society well before that. Below is a photograph of Prince Ferdinand taken in Moscow in 1883 during the coronation of Emperor Alexander III.

    Does anyone recognise the two arrowed decorations? The star looks something between Hohenzollern order and Star of Karađorđe.

    4508.png

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    Don't mention it, my pleasure.
    I've marked the badge and the star of St. Alexander with red arrows. I think the person decorated with the Order of St. Andrew automatically received St. Alexander, White Eagle, St. Anna 1st Class and St. Stanislaus 1st Class.

    Does anyone know from which period is the photo because it looks like he's also wearing Polish Order of the White Eagle (green arrow), of course 1921 variant. That order can also be seen of the 5th place of the 2nd medal bar on the red ribbon. Is this really the Polish White Eagle or some other amazingly similar decoration?

    Being a head of state he must have been awarded with the 1st class of Montenegrin Danilo. 

    Ottoman decorations are not my field but the High Order of Honor (Al-i İmtiyaz Nişanı) it's not to be confused with the Order of Honor/Order of Distinction (İmtiyaz Nişanı), you can see how they look like on Turkish Wikipedia:
    https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yüksek_İmtiyaz_Nişanı
    https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/İmtiyaz_Nişanı

    May I suggest using variation "Order of the Star of Karadjordje" instead of "Karadzordze" (other way of writing đ is dj - and dž is different letter in Serbian Latin alphabet). First Class does equal Grand Cross, it's the highest class.

    You can use "Edit" button underneath your replies. This option is available for couple of days, I'm not sure how long exactly.
    01.JPG

    Edited by paja
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    20 minutes ago, ilieff said:

    @paja Looks like the Prince has received the Badge of the Orthodox Palestine society well before that. Below is a photograph of Prince Ferdinand taken in Moscow in 1883 during the coronation of Emperor Alexander III.

    Does anyone recognise the two arrowed decorations? The star looks something between Hohenzollern order and Star of Karađorđe.

    4508.png

    Speak of the devil - That's Montenegrin Order of Danilo 1st Class star.
    Above it Austrian Marian Cross of the German Knight Order (Marianer-Kreuz des Deutschen Ritterordens).

    If the portrait we used previously is from 1896 then that White Eagle can't be Polish, Russian perhaps. But still the order on the medal bar looks Polish... What do others think?
    000.JPG

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    Hello Gents

    It is indeed Polish white eagle order, it's missing black two headed eagle to be Russian.

    20 minutes ago, paja said:

    Speak of the devil - That's Montenegrin Order of Danilo 1st Class star.
    Above it Austrian Marian Cross of the German Knight Order (Marianer-Kreuz des Deutschen Ritterordens).

    If the portrait we used previously is from 1896 then that White Eagle can't be Polish, Russian perhaps. But still the order on the medal bar looks Polish... What do others think?
    000.JPG

    Hello Gents

    It is indeed Polish white eagle order, it is missing black two headed eagle to be Russian...

    And Paja you are correct about Marianer kreuz!

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    It certainly looks that way when it comes to medal bar, but still it doesn't seem very likely that the former Bulgarian head of state would be awarded by the Poles with their highest order... Apart from that there is a complete list of the recipients on Polish Wikipedia and I can't find his name there:
    https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kategoria:Odznaczeni_Orderem_Orła_Białego_(II_Rzeczpospolita)
    And how about that portrait from 1896, the order looks more like the Polish than Russian White Eagle but that is impossible.

    Decorations of the German States are something I don't know very much about but I think I've managed to identify a few more from the 2nd medal bar we didn't already mention in the previous posts :
    6th place -  Saxon Military Order of St. Henry 
    9th place - Oldenburg Friedrich August Cross 2nd Class Military Division
    10th place - Lippe-Schaumburg Loyal Service Cross 2nd Class on Combatants Ribbon

    Edited by paja
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    Hi Ilieff

    The Star of Legion of Honour was Silver  made -not Gilded

    The Gilded Stars were introduced late after WW2 during the Fifth Republic - the currant one

     

    As many members of the Forum mentioned he was a Ruler and most of the Decorations were the highest Grades

    Also being a member of one of the richest Family in Europe with relatives spread as Rulers over the EUrope he must be showered with the Best Decorations available - including many with Diamonds Last bot not least he liked luxury and Luxury decorations, which could be known fact .

    Here is the list of his Orders sold by Sotherby's in London on 7th of July 1998

    - The Premier Austria Order of the Golden Fleece by Rothe of Vienna -bestowed upon King Ferdinand  in 1911

    - Austria -Grand Cross collar of the Royal Hungarian Order of St Stephen by Rothe of Vienna

    - Austria - Grand Cross Set of the Hungarian Order of St Stephen with Diamonds

    - France Order of St Espirit  -although this Order was seased in 1830 by the French it remained in possession of the House of Bourbon and i assume was given to Ferdinand as a  gift by the one of the current at the time Bourbon family.

    - Grand Cross of the Bavaria Prime Order of St Hubert by Rothe of Vienna

    - Germany , Prussia Prime Order of Black Eagle  Grand Cross Collar -J. Wagner & Son 0f Berlin

    - Germany, Prussia Pour le.Merite in Gold with Gold Oak-leaves bestosed to King Ferdinand on 8th of September 1916 as Generalfeldmarschall  of the Prussian Army

    - The Second higest Germany Prussia Order of the red Eagle - Grand Cross Collar

    Germany, Saxe-Coburg -Gotha Order of Ernestine, Military Division Grand Cross Collar and Badge by Rothe of Vienna

    -  Germany, Saxe-Coburg -Gotha Order of Ernestine, Military Division Grand Cross Set and Badge by Bury & Leonhart of Hanau

    Germany, Saxe-Coburg -Gotha Order of Ernestine, Military Division Grand Officer Set and Badge by Bury & Leonhart of Hanau

    Germany, Saxe-Coburg -Gotha Order of Ernestine, Military Division Gold Breast Knight Badge by Bury & Leonhart of Hanau

    -Great Britain , The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Civil Division  , Grand Cross Collar in Gold by the Jonhn James  Eddington

    -Great Britain , The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Civil Division  , Grand Cross Set by Garrard & Co

    -Hungary Order of Vitez  Breast badge by Semmelwieis of Budapest - Note Thos Order comes only in one Class.

    - Italy, Parma,  Order of Constantine of St George  Grand Cross Sash Badge in Gold and Diamonds and Rubies

    -Italy Two Sicilies Order of St Janarius Breast Star in Gold and Diamonds and Rubies by Rothe of Vienna

    King Ferdinand was nominated as Knight of the Order of St, Janarius in 1891

    - Monaco Prime Order of St Charles -Grand Cross Set by Halley of Paris

    - Montenegro, Order of DaniloI by Mayer's Sohne of Vienna Grand Cross Set

    -Montenegro, Milosh Oblich Medal 1851 Type Montenegro Highest Decoration for Bravery on the field of battle.

    Montenegro Golden Jubilee medal -1910  Gold Class

     

    I will list the rest later on due to time restrictions

     

    Here are more pictures of King Ferdinand

     

     

     

     

     

    AK_51606003_gr_1.jpg

    Fernando-I-bulgaria--secretsofbalkans00vopiuoft.jpg

    King Ferdinand.JPG

    Edited by Graf
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    Here are the rest of the Ferdinand Decorations

    -Persia, Agdas decoration

    -Persia -, Order of the Lion and the Sun Grand Cross Military Division

    - Portugal , Military Order of the Tower and the Sword -Grand Cross

    - Portugal Order of the Christ and St Benedict of Aviz - Grand Cross Set by da Costa of Lisbon

    - Romania, Order of Carol I   - Collar of the Grand Cross by  Paul Telge of Berlin

    - Russia,  Order of St. Andrew  Collar of Grand Cross Set  by Albert Keibel of St. Petersburg

    - Russia - Order of St Andrew Grand Cross Set

    - Russia - Order of St Catherine Grand Cross with Diamonds

    -Russia - Order of St Alexander  Nevski  Grand Cross with Diamonds

    - Russia - Order of St Alexander Nevski  -Grand Cross Set by Alexander Kleibel of St Petersburg

    Russia - Order of the White Eagle - Grand Cross

    Russia - Order of St Vladimir Civil Devision Grand Cross Set

    Russia- Coronation of Nicholas II  -Moskow 1898  Oficial Silver medals

    Russia ,Emirate of Bokhara - Order of the Crown of Bokhara  -Grand Cross Set

    Turkey - Order of Nichan Al Imtiaz   Grand Cross Set cirka 1905

    Turkey Order of Nichan Al Imtiaz - Pair of Gold and Siver medals named to King Ferdinand

    On this Auction also were sold many Bulgarian Decorations owned by King Ferdinand Most of them very rare Luxury Models in Gold and Diamonds

     

    Apart from the Above List  I can add:

    - the Belgium Prime Order of Leopold I Military Division Grand Cordon (Cross) Set

     

    Regards

     

    Graf

     

     

    e34f1216e7.jpg

    e88.jpg

    King Frdinand.JPG

    Kniaz Ferdinand with Bravery Order.JPG

    Picture 417.jpg

    Picture 472.jpg

    zar1.jpg

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    Hi Paul,

    Thank you for the Note

    You are correct  -only Ladies

    I just listed the list of his Orders sold by Sotherby's in London on 7th of July 1998

    Only the Royal Family will know how this Order happened to be among the other ones

     

    Graf

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    Great! Very nice!

    I'm adding two more photographs. On the first one is visible the diamond set and collar of St. Stephan.

    PS: I am still baffled by this Order of White eagle suspended from a Red ribbon. As far as I know, regardless of Russian or Polish, the ribbon is always blue (light or deep) :rolleyes:

    87bff96d8d12d20a8b0bda9e99054155.jpg

    5491.jpg

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