Episode 1 of 2
Establishment of the Iron Cross
- When
- 17 March 1813
- Where
- Berlin
King Frederick William III established the Iron Cross on 17 March 1813, backdating it to Queen Louise's birthday.
The Iron Cross was established as a military decoration open to all ranks. It was backdated to 10 March, the birthday of Queen Louise, who became the first posthumous recipient. The design featured the initials 'FW' for the king.
Sources
- Iron Cross Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-11
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.