Eisenach (dpa/th) – The winners of the Thuringian Rose were honored at the Wartburg in Eisenach on Thursday. Since the award had to be canceled last year due to the corona pandemic, the winners of both 2021 and 2022 were awarded, as the Ministry of Social Affairs announced. 25 women and men who are “above average and wholeheartedly involved in voluntary and charitable work” were honored.

The range of honorary activities and projects of the honorees can hardly be described comprehensively. It ranges from the master baker, who sells baked goods from the day before at a reduced price and thus saves them from being destroyed, to looking after the elderly and people with disabilities, to accompanying the dying. The organization of festivals and the preservation of monuments are also among the tasks to which the volunteers devote themselves free of charge.

According to the information provided, the Thuringian rose is reminiscent of Saint Elisabeth, who worked in Thuringia more than 800 years ago. As a landgravine, contrary to social expectations, she campaigned for the poor and sick herself and founded a hospital at the foot of the Wartburg. Through her actions, she is still a symbol of selfless and charitable work, it said.