Maximiliansorden for Georg Ertl and Jörg Vogel

The Bavarian Maximiliansorden is an order that ist awarded every two years for outstanding achievements in science and the arts. The number of living holders of the order should not exceed 100. With the nine new recipients, this circle currently consists of a total of 95 people.

Minister President Markus Söder presented the orders on 3 December 2025 in the Antiquarium of the Munich Residence: "The Maximiliansorden is the most prestigious award of the Free State of Bavaria, the 'Bavarian Nobel Prize'. It is a pleasure and a great honour to be able to award it to scientists and artists who have rendered outstanding services to Bavaria!"

Two new recipients from Würzburg

Among the newly honoured are the Würzburg professors Georg Ertl (Medicine) and Jörg Vogel (Infection Biology).

Jörg Vogel: Pioneer of RNA biology

Jörg Vogel has been Director of the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) since 2017 and Professor of Molecular Infection Biology and Head of the Institute of the same name at the University of Würzburg since 2009.

As a globally recognised scientist in RNA biology, Jörg Vogel is considered a pioneer in the application and development of high-throughput sequencing methods. These technologies make it possible to analyse a large number of genes simultaneously. They make it possible, for example, to analyse individual infected cells or the interactions between pathogenic bacteria and their hosts.

According to Vogel, it is a great pleasure and honour to receive this prestigious award. It not only honours him personally, but is also representative of the innovative and radiant power of Würzburg as a centre of science: "I am extremely grateful to have found my research home in Bavaria, in Würzburg. With our Helmholtz Institute and a strong network with the University and the University Hospital, we have the very best conditions here to conduct excellent cutting-edge research."

Honours: Jörg Vogel was honoured with the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize in 2017 for his outstanding achievements. In 2019, he received the Feldberg Prize for German-British exchange in the life sciences. Vogel is a full member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the American and European Academies of Microbiology.

Georg Ertl: Groundbreaking work on heart failure

The 75-year-old Professor of Medicine Georg Ertl was honoured for his outstanding achievements in cardiology. His pioneering work on the understanding and treatment of heart failure has opened up new avenues of research and established innovative treatment concepts.

Between 1999 and 2017, Georg Ertl headed the Medical Clinic and Polyclinic I at the University Hospital of Würzburg. He played a key role in the founding of the Deutsches Zentrum für Herzinsuffizienz (German Centre for Heart Failure, DZHI) Würzburg in 2010. This internationally recognised institution combines research and patient care in an exemplary manner.

"The DZHI was of course created as a joint effort, in which not least my former employees, who continue to run the centre so successfully today, but also my wife played a major role," said the newly crowned recipient.

As Medical Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors , Georg Ertl steered the fortunes of Würzburg University Hospital from 2016 to 2020. He has been a senior professor at the DZHI since 2020 and has been Secretary General of the German Society of Internal Medicine since 2019.

Other recipients of the order

Personalities from Würzburg who have been awarded the Maximiliansorden include

• Professor Eva-Bettina Bröcker, Dermatology
• Professor Jörg Hacker, Infection Biology
• Professor Bert Hölldobler, Zoology
• Professor Ulrich Konrad, Music Research
• Professor Laurens Molenkamp, Physics
• Professor Volker ter Meulen, Virology

Facts about the Bavarian Maximiliansorden

The Bavarian Maximiliansorden is the most renowned honour of the Free State of Bavaria for outstanding achievements in science and art. The order was founded in 1853 by King Maximilian II and was initially awarded until 1932. It was reintroduced in 1980.