Order of Albert the Bear

The House Order of Albert the Bear (German: Hausorden Albrechts des Bären or Der Herzoglich Anhaltische Hausorden Albrechts des Bären) was founded in 1836 as a joint House Order by three dukes of Anhalt from separate branches of the family: Henry, Duke of Anhalt-Köthen, Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau, and Alexander Karl, Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg.

House Order of Albert the Bear Hausorden Albrechts des Bären
Type	House Order
Presented by	Anhalt
Established	18 November 1836[1]
Total recipients	Estimated Grand Cross 15 Commander Cross 1st Class 10 Commander Cross 2nd Class 20 Knight Cross 1st Class 60 Knight Cross 2nd Class 60
Website	http://www.albrechtderbaer.de
Ribbon of the order
Precedence
Next (lower)	Order of Merit for Science and Art

The namesake of the order, Albert the Bear, was the first Margrave of Brandenburg from the House of Ascania. The origin of his nickname "the Bear" is unknown.

This order originally had four ranks, i.e. Grand Cross, Commander 1st Class, Commander 2nd Class and Knight (1st Class). In 1854, the rank Knight 2nd Class was added. In 1864, Leopold IV, who by virtue of the extinction of the other branches of the family had become the sole Duke of Anhalt, altered the statute to provide that the order could be granted with swords.

On April 29, 1901, in honor of the 70th birthday of Duke Frederick I, a crown was added to all classes of the order. The breast stars of the order remained unchanged.[2]

The order is still in existence as a House Order, with Eduard, Prince of Anhalt serving as the current Grand Master. The house order has currently three ranks, i.e. Grand Cross, Commander (males) or Dame-Commander (females), and Knight (males) or Dame (females), and as well the Medal of Merit associated with this Order.[3] Recent recipients include Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria and Princess Khétévane Bagration de Moukhrani.