The Cross of the Mount of Olives (german: Ölberg-Kreuz) was a Prussian award which was founded on 24 December 1909, by the Prussian

Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia Prince Wilhelm Eitel Friedrich Christian Karl of Prussia (7 July 1883 – 8 December 1942) was the second son of Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany by his first wife, Princess Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. He was born ...

as a decoration to commemorate the foundation of a hospital, the ''Kaiserin Auguste Victoria-Stiftung'' (literally, "Empress Augusta Victoria Foundation, better known today as

Augusta Victoria Hospital Augusta Victoria Compound is a church-hospital complex on the northern side of Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem and one of six hospitals in the East Jerusalem Hospitals Network. The compound was built in 1907–1914 by the Empress Augusta Vic ...

) on the Biblical

Mount of Olives The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet ( he, הַר הַזֵּיתִים, Har ha-Zeitim; ar, جبل الزيتون, Jabal az-Zaytūn; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jeru ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. His very devout mother,

Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein , house = Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg , father = Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein , mother = Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg , birth_date = , birth_place = Dolzig Palace ...

, was fond of charitable works and built several churches. Emperor

Wilhelm II of Germany Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...

and his wife, Auguste Victoria, had visited Jerusalem in 1898. They had pledged to build a hospital for

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

pilgrims suffering from malaria. On 27 January 1907, the entire imperial family, both parents and all their seven children, signed the charter of the ''Ölbergstiftung''. The foundation stone was laid in that same year. The Cross of the Mount of Olives was awarded to gentleman and ladies who contributed to the Foundation. The formidable sum of 2.5 million

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members * Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel '' ...

was pledged by the German population. The Augusta Victoria Hospital opened its doors in 1910. The elaborate Protestant Ascension Church (''Himmelfahrtkirche''), usually subsumed under the hospital's name as "Augusta Victoria", was finished in 1914.

The cross

The badge of the decoration is a red-and-black enamelled "

Jerusalem cross The Jerusalem cross (also known as "five-fold Cross", or "cross-and-crosslets") is a heraldic cross and Christian cross variant consisting of a large cross potent surrounded by four smaller Greek crosses, one in each quadrant. It was used as the ...

", upon which is imposed the white cross of the ''Johanniterorden'', the evangelical noblemen's society which Prince Eitel Friedrich then headed as grand master (''Herrenmeister''). The badge is suspended from a

monogram A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series o ...

of the Empress's initials, "AV". The ribbon is plain white. The deserving were awarded golden or silver-gilt Crosses.

References

;Notes ;Publications * André Hüsken, ''Katalog der Orden, Ehrenzeichen und Auszeichnungen des Kurfürstentums Brandenburg, der Markgrafschaften Brandenburg-Ansbach und Brandenburg-Bayreuth, des Königreiches Preußen, der Republik Preußen unter Berücksichtigung des Deutschen Reiches''; Hamburg: 2001 (volume 3); . * Jörg Nimmergut, ''Katalog Orden & Ehrenzeichen von 1800 bis 1945''; Munich: 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cross of the Mount of Olives 1909 establishments in Germany Orders, decorations, and medals of the German Empire Orders, decorations, and medals of Prussia Mount of Olives 20th century in Jerusalem