On Monday, the community thanked five Kranzbergers who have been doing voluntary work for many years. At a ceremony on the Pantaleonsberg, Mayor Hermann Hammerl presented them with the citizen’s medal, as well as a pin and a picture behind glass with the crane, the Kranzberger heraldic bird. The honor took place for the second time, last year it had to be suspended due to the pandemic. Former Mayor Robert Scholz held the keynote address, while the Sinfonietta Salon Orchestra of the Ampertal Music School provided the musical setting. “Can you remember a party in Kranzberg that you weren’t there?” Asked the manager Hannelore Neumann, addressing Hermann Ostermeier. “And not just there, but working hard right in the middle of it.” Ostermeier was a founding member of the Schweden-Schützen in 1971 and helped out at festivals and gausshooting, as well as community festivals and roast fish on a stick. “It doesn’t work without the Kranzberg chef,” said Neumann. When Ostermeier is needed, he is always there.
Matthias Rattenhuber is also extremely active: He helps in the neighborhood, takes on driver services, has been involved in the Wippenhausen church choir since 1954, has been a member of the Thalhauser fire brigade since 1955, and was in the Wippenhausen parish council for over 16 years and also six in the Burghausen branch Church caretaker for years, as Neumann enumerated. At town meetings he was also known as a “controversial advocate of Thalhausen”.
With a lot of “heart and soul” Ludwig Rattenstetter has been involved for decades for the shooting club Edelweiß Gremertshausen, as secretary, youth leader and as a shooting master. He was also a co-author of the Gremertshauser Chronik from 1993. According to Hammerl, the Sickenhauser Grottn is one of his great concerns, as it is called in the laudatory speech. Instead of birthday presents, he asked for support to receive them. “And when a bus stop was missing in Sickenhausen, you and your son Uli built one,” Neumann also reminded.
The list of the merits of Ferdinand Rottenfusser is long, he was on the board of the Sweden-Schützen for 28 years, 16 of them as a shooting master. For 40 years he was active in the fire brigade, also in the war club. “With so many clubs, as I’ve heard, you can get confused when choosing your cap,” said Neumann with a smile. Rottenfusser has organized many events. It is an almost unimaginable number – “and the Kranzberg fire brigade would be inconceivable without him,” says Neumann: Johann Bäumel has been a member of the Kranzberg volunteer fire brigade since 1958, was a commander for almost three decades, and has been an honorary commander for 20 years. During his term of office, the purchase of four fire engines, as Hammerl listed, the construction of two fire stations and also the largest festival that ever took place in Kranzberg, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the fire department with more than 100 associations from the area. Commander Erich Frank accepted the award on behalf of Bäumel.
Andreas Adldinger, Franz Braun, Sonja Kieslinger, Monika Mühl, Silvia Tüllmann and Anton Westermeier were honored by the Free State for 18 years of voluntary work in the Kranzberg municipal council.