Bernburg/Könnern. It was supposed to be a small birthday breakfast – but in fact, District Administrator Markus Bauer and fellow firefighters from across the Salzlandkreis district, as well as former colleagues from the district administration, the German Red Cross in Bernburg in the Salzlandkreis district, the police, the THW and the German Armed Forces came to the local fire station in Könnern last Saturday to bid a fitting farewell to District Fire Chief Hans-Ulrich Robitzsch as he retired from active service. At 70 years of age, the Könner native had reached the age limit. The crowd of colleagues who expressed their gratitude and wished Uli, as they call him, all the best for the future showed just how outstanding his service as a firefighter was for the community in the Salzlandkreis and beyond.
District Administrator Markus Bauer was the first to do so in his laudatory speech. He said that he had come to know and appreciate Hans-Ulrich Robitzsch as a reliable person of integrity in all the years in which he worked for the Salzland district as an honorary district fire chief. "You brought different perspectives together and always endeavoured to find compromises and balance. This was not only valuable in terms of the cause, it also characterised our collaboration." The District Administrator emphasised that Hans-Ulrich Robitzsch had set standards both as a fire service leader and as a person - especially in difficult situations. "We all cannot thank you enough for your commitment over the decades." Most recently, he held the position of district fire chief with the rank of chief fire inspector, the highest position in the fire service.
Hans-Ulrich Robitzsch became district fire chief in the Salzland district in 2007. In his almost two decades in this role, he has mastered a number of crises together with the emergency services in the Salzland district. These included the bus accident on the A14 motorway in which 13 people lost their lives, the landslide at Lake Concordia near Nachterstedt in 2009, the floods on the Elbe and Saale rivers in 2013 and the Helme floods in Mansfeld-Südharz in 2024 and, most recently, forest fires in the districts of Wittenberg and Harz. He was also an integral part of the Salzland district's disaster management team. Because he had already been appointed district fire chief in the former district of Bernburg in 1994, he was the longest-serving district fire chief in Saxony-Anhalt at 32 years. Not only was he honoured by the district administrator for his commitment, the 70-year-old also received the German Fire Brigade Association's badge for 50 years of membership. He has already been awarded the Saxony-Anhalt Fire and Disaster Protection Badge of Honour in silver and the service pin for 50 years of active service.
On the occasion of the ceremonial farewell, Hans-Ulrich Robitzsch was first picked up by the Staßfurt traditional group in a W50 and a Wartburg and driven to the fire station. There he was greeted by the marching bands of the volunteer fire brigades from Crüchern and Biere. In addition to many fellow firefighters from the Salzland district, the Chairman of the State Fire Brigade Association, Kai-Uwe Lohse, also came to thank him for his commitment and to honour him.