The Order of Merit of the Free State of Thuringia (german: Verdienstorden des Freistaats Thüringen) is the highest order which is bestowed by the

Free State of Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

. The number of living holders of the order is limited to 300 persons.Text of the law for the Order of Merit of the Free State of Thuringia
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Notable recipients

Iris von Arnim Iris Von Arnim (born 25 January 1945 in Berbisdorf ( Dziwiszów), Silesia, today Poland) is an internationally acclaimed German fashion designer. History von Arnim's career began in the early 1976 when she began knitting while recovering in a hosp ...

* Rolf-Dieter Arens * Alan Bern * Andreas Birkmann * Yehoshua Büchler *

Tankred Dorst Tankred Dorst (19 December 1925 – 1 June 2017) was a German playwright and storyteller. Dorst lived and worked in Munich. His farces, parables, one-act-plays and adaptations were inspired by the theatre of the absurd and the works of Ionesc ...

* Josef Duchac * Helmut Fritsche * Stéphane Hessel *

Ivan Ivanji Ivan Ivanji (; born 24 January 1929) is a Serbian author of many internationally renowned novels. He was held in Auschwitz concentration camp, Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camp, Buchenwald during 1944 and 1945. He was Secretary Genera ...

* Sarah Kirsch * Hans-Reinhard Koch * Hilmar Kopper *

Reiner Kunze Reiner Kunze (born 16 August 1933 in Oelsnitz, Erzgebirge, Saxony) is a German writer and GDR dissident. He studied media and journalism at the University of Leipzig. In 1968, he left the GDR state party SED following the communist Warsaw Pact ...

* Werner Leich * Peter Maser *

Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann (née Kleemann, born 7 September 1966) is a German former speed skater. She is a three-time Olympic gold medallist, winning the 3000 metres in 1992 and 1998 and the 5000 metres in 1992. She won a total of eight Olympic m ...

* Peter Röhlinger * Stephan Schambach * Lothar Späth * Bernhard Vogel *

Nike Wagner Nike Wagner () (born 9 June 1945) is a German dramaturge, arts administrator and author. She directed the festival , and has been the director of the Beethovenfest from 2014. The daughter of Wieland Wagner, she is a great-granddaughter of Richar ...

Günter Weiler Günter Friedrich Weiler (born 27 April 1951 in Duisburg, West Germany) is a retired lieutenant general of the German Army, the Bundeswehr. From 16 September 2010 until 9 April 2013, he was the Deputy Inspector General of the Bundeswehr. Initial ...

References

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

Culture of Thuringia {{Odm-stub