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The Order of the White Eagle is the oldest Polish award. It was introduced by a king about whom we do not have a good opinion.
Saxon times are, in a certain sense, rightly associated with the progressive decline of Polish statehood. No matter how you judge them, it is a fact that, for example, for Warsaw August II Strong he did a lot of good things. Also, his merit is the establishment of the Order of the White Eagle. This happened on November 1, 1705 in Tykocin Castle. The first stage of the order’s operation ended with the existence of the First Polish Republic after the Third Partition in 1795.
The order was restored in 1807. as the highest award of the Duchy of Warsaw, and then the Congress of the Kingdom of Poland. By royal decree, it was abolished after the fall of the November Uprising in 1831. He was brought back to life 90 years later, after the restoration of independence. interesting this decoration was never officially abolished in the Polish People’s Republic.. The authorities simply stopped rewarding them, and the Order of Builders of the Polish People’s Republic took over the function of the highest state award. The Order of the White Eagle was restored in 1992.
What does the Order of the White Eagle look like?
The appearance of the highest Polish award has changed over the years. It originally took the form of an oval red medal with a blue ribbon and a Latin motto. “Pro Fide, Rege et Lege” (“For Faith, King and Law”). A peculiar curiosity, which in our time sounds shocking, is the replacement of the word “rege” with “grege” in orders awarded to monarchs. The word means “herd”, that is, in the sense of a monarch, a people-subject.
Currently, the badge of the Order of the White Eagle is the Maltese cross, isosceles, gilded, 70×70 mm in size, with balls at the corners of the shoulders. The rays of the cross are covered with red enamel with a white edging in a gilded frame. In the center of the cross is a white enamelled eagle.. On the reverse side, the rays of the cross are gilded in a white enamel frame and with a convex inscription: FOR THE HOMELAND AND THE PEOPLE. The cross hangs from a large blue ribbon. Width 100 mm, transferred from the left shoulder to the right side.
Who understood?
It is difficult to name all the awardees. Since the beginning of the 18th century, there have been plenty of them. Unfortunately, there were those whose services for Poland were, to put it mildly, very problematic. It was received, for example, by Grigory Potemkin, a favorite of Empress Catherine II, and by her order.
There are, for example, among modern ladies and holders of the Order of the White Eagle Lech Walesa, Zofia Romaszewska, Alexander Kwasniewski, Bronislaw Komorowski, Adam Michnik.
Source: Wikipedia
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This is what the Order of the White Eagle looks like today.
Tedi / newspix.pl
The Order of the White Eagle is the highest and oldest state award of the Republic of Poland.
Jakub Shimchik / KPRP / Press material
It is awarded to the most outstanding Poles, as well as high-ranking representatives of foreign countries.
Krzysztof Humul / KPPR
Recently it was received by the founders and activists of the Committee for the Protection of Workers: Miroslav Khoyetsky, Antony Matserevich and Piotr Naimsky.
Source: FAKT
