Орден Pour-le-Merite за заслуги в науке и искусстве.

Учрежден в 1740 году королем Фридрихом II по случаю вступления на престол как награда за военные и гражданские заслуги.

В 1810 году статут ордена был изменен и орден стал исключительно военной наградой. В 1813 году установлены золотые дубовые листья как элемент, усиливающий значение награды. В 1842 году Фридрих Вильгельм IV учредил гражданскую линию этого ордена с особым знаком для награждения художников и ученых.

On May 31, 1842 a separate division of the Order was created by Friedrich Wilhelm IV to honor prominent artists and scientists. This division of the Order has remained active to this very day. Membership in the Order was limited to thirty Germans and thirty foreign members. On the day of establishment, 56 members were named and came from all fields of the arts and sciences. The first elected chancellor of the Order was Alexander von Humboldt, a German naturalist.

The medal is hung from a silver and black striped ribbon just like the military award and is worn suspended from the neck. The Order insignia has remained the same through the years. The gold medal is circular like a wheel and the center is a circular medallion with a Prussian eagle upon it. The spokes form the letter F and the Roman numerals II, representing the cypher of Friedrich II. The rim is a light blue enamelled band bearing the name Pour le Merite and a five petal flower at the top. Four crowns are arranged at the right angles around the edge. The back of the medal is plain polished gold and is sometimes privately engraved.