Mühlhausen (dpa/th) – Christian Fliegner from Mühlhausen was honored with the “Thuringian Rose” on Thursday. Mayor Johannes Bruns (SPD) presented it to him in the city hall. Fliegner was honored for his many years of commitment to the social association VdK Hessen-Thüringen. He has been a member there for 18 years and on the board of the Unstrut-Hainich district association for 14 years. According to its own statements, the VdK is committed to helping people with disabilities, pensioners, those in need of care and the chronically ill.
Actually, Fliegner should have received the award at the beginning of July at the Wartburg in Eisenach. But since he was ill at the time, the honor was made up for in Mühlhausen.
The undoped “Thuringian Rose”, which is awarded annually by the Ministry of Social Affairs for voluntary and social commitment, commemorates Saint Elizabeth, who worked in Thuringia more than 800 years ago. As a landgravine, contrary to social expectations, she herself campaigned for the poor and sick and founded a hospital at the foot of the Wartburg. Through her actions, she is still regarded as a symbol of selfless and charitable work.
