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Description
The Teutonic order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society 1190 in Acre Kingdom of Jerusalem. The "Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem" was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals. Its members have commonly been known as the Teutonic Knights, having historically served as a crusading military order for the forced conversion to Catholicism in the Holy Land and the Baltics during the Middle Ages, as well as providing military protection for Catholics in Eastern Europe.

Purely religious since 1810, the Teutonic Order still confers limited honorary knighthoods. The Bailiwick of Utrecht of the Teutonic Order, a Protestant chivalric order, is descended from the same medieval military order and also continues to award knighthoods and perform charitable work.

Description
The Teutonic order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society 1190 in Acre Kingdom of Jerusalem. The "Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem" was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals. Its members have commonly been known as the Teutonic Knights, having historically served as a crusading military order for the forced conversion to Catholicism in the Holy Land and the Baltics during the Middle Ages, as well as providing military protection for Catholics in Eastern Europe.

Purely religious since 1810, the Teutonic Order still confers limited honorary knighthoods. The Bailiwick of Utrecht of the Teutonic Order, a Protestant chivalric order, is descended from the same medieval military order and also continues to award knighthoods and perform charitable work.