- Time Period: Pre-WW1
- Institution: 1 January 1904
- Country: Other Countries
The Order of Karađorđe’s Star (or Orden Karađorđeve zvezde in Serbian) is Serbia’s highest civilian and military decoration and was instituted by the royal decree of King Peter I on 1 January 1904, commemorating his recent accession to the Serbian throne as well as the one-hundredth anniversary of the First Serbian Uprising.
The medal originated in the Kingdom of Serbia, and was initially awarded exclusively to Serbian citizens in return for services rendered to the Serbian monarchy, the Serb people and the Serbian state, though it is now bestowed upon Serbs and non-Serbs alike. During the Balkan Wars and World War I, the Order was mostly awarded for acts of bravery on the battlefield.
Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, Serbia ceased using many of the awards and decorations established during the communist period, though it was not until 2010 that the Serbian Government officially reinstated the Order of Karađorđe’s Star as Serbia’s highest decoration. In February 2012, tennis player Novak Djokovic became the first person to receive the Order after it was reinstated.
The Order of Karađorđe’s Star Design
The Order comes in either gold or silver depending on class. The medals themselves were originally manufactured by foreign makers of decorations and medals, such as France’s Arthus-Bertrand and Switzerland’s Huguenin Fréres; during the interwar period (1919–39) they were produced domestically.
The obverse features a white enameled cross pattée with gilt rays protruding from each of the arms and intersected diagonally by a pair of sabers when the recipient is awarded an Order “with swords”. Orders from the royal period contain a blue medallion at the center depicting a Serbian cross with a fire-steel at each corner, with the words “For Faith and Freedom, 1804” etched into the small circle in the middle of the cross.
The reverse of the Order contains a red medallion depicting a white eagle, with the words “Peter I, 1904” written around it.
The bravery medals awarded from June 1915 forward are almost identical to the Orders awarded before that date, save for the crossed swords being present on all of them regardless of class. Such Orders also lacked the phrase etched into the obverse of the older ones and the date 1904 on the reverse, which marked the centenary of the First Serbian Uprising. Instead, they merely had King Peter’s name on the obverse beside the year when the Order was bestowed.
