This order was created on Auguste the 2nd 1752 by Ernest-Auguste duke of Saxe with the agreement of Emperor Charles the Sixth to reward the patriotic feelings of the Saxon nobility towards the German Empire and its chief. Its name comes from the fact that there is a falcon on the decoration. The falcon is the symbol of the vigilance that the members must have to maintain the rights and the increase of their country prosperity. So it is also called Ordre de Vigilance
The order was abolished in 1795 but in 1815 the Great Duke of Saxe-Weimar declared the order to be the only one of the Great Duché. It was to reward all kind of merits. Some changes occurred on February the 16th 1840 by Great- Duke Charles-Frederic.
The members are divided into 3 classes: Great-Cross, Commanders, and Knights. The knights are divided into 2 sections.
To become a member of the two first classes there are some conditions of rank to have.
The motto is Vigilando ascendimus. Its ribbon is dark red. The Great-Cross wear the decoration as a sash from the right side to the left side with a badge they wear on their left side, the Commanders wear it round their neck; the Knight wear it on their lapel, the second section of the knights wear a different cross.
