Receiving the award in Stuttgart, Mrs Merkel was praised for her “humanitarian attitude in refugee policy” and her “civil courage” over the handling of the crisis in the EU and Germany .

Angela Merkel beamed as she received the Eugen-Bolz-Award for her so-called “open door” policy.

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Cardinal Reinhard Marx also heaped praise on the German Chancellor, calling her a "convincing example" of a Christian.

Mrs Merkel said: "It's a bit strange, because one is used to spending the whole day fighting.”

The German Chancellor used the event to call for Europe to remain united.

She said: "Europe is just as strong as we can hold it together.”