Medal of Heroism (Czech Republic)

Medal of Heroism Medaile Za hrdinství
Obverse of the Medal of Heroism
Country	Czech Republic
Type	Decoration
Eligibility	Czech civilians and military members
Awarded for	heroism in combat or deeds aimed at saving other human lives or substantial material values with significant risk of death
Status	Currently awarded
Precedence
Next (higher)	Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk
Next (lower)	Medal of Merit
Ribbon bars of the award left – ČSFR (1990-92) right – ČR (since 1994)

The Medal of Heroism (Czech: Medaile Za hrdinství) is principally a military award, but has occasionally been awarded to civilians. It rewards acts of "heroism in combat" or those "deeds aimed at saving other human lives or substantial material values" which put the recipient at significant risk of death.^[1] It is unique amongst current Czech decorations in that it has only a single grade or class.

Appearance

The medal is a simple breast ribbon, primarily gold in color, but with three equal-width stripes running the vertical length of the ribbon. From left to right, the colors of the stripes are white, red and blue. Suspended from this ribbon is a silver medal, bearing the Greater Coat of Arms of the Czech Republic on one side, and a symbol representing heroism on the other. The medal bears no text inscription.

History

The Medal of Heroism predates the Czech Republic, having been created in 1990 by the Parliament of the Czechoslovak Federative Republic in 1990.^[2] However, the distinction was only awarded once prior to its reauthorization by the Czech Republic in 1992.^[3]

References