New Year's appeal from District Administrator Jürgen van der Horst
As the year draws to a close, a new year is already in the starting blocks. In this year's New Year's appeal, District Administrator Jürgen van der Horst reviews the past twelve months - and also looks ahead to the new year 2026.
Dear fellow citizens,
Every year during Advent, I ask myself anew what message I could give the people of the Waldeck-Frankenberg district for the New Year. I think back over the 365 days that will soon be coming to an end and consider what of the countless events will remain in our memories and what is most likely to have an impact in the coming year. At the moment, it's probably the events of the last quarter of the year, simply because they are still the freshest and most vivid. But what will we associate with the year 2025 in a few years' time, what will we talk about, what will we talk about?
The selection includes such impressive exclamation marks as the swearing-in of Donald Trump as President of the United States of America with all its consequences for global politics. The death of Pope Francis or the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War... the recognition of Palestine as a state by some major nations such as Canada... the severe earthquake in Afghanistan with more than 2,200 fatalities... last but not least, the fire in the Hong Kong skyscraper complex that claimed the lives of over 150 people - they all have what it takes to become "global memorabilia 2025".
Completely different topics are likely to be high on the list of priorities when it comes to events in the district. From the still more than precarious budget situation of the municipalities to hospital mergers or the Edersee resolution to concerns about the outbreak of African swine fever and the actual outbreak of bird flu - the regional memorabilia tends to be characterised by worries about direct cuts to the living situation in Waldeck-Frankenberg.
Unfortunately, it is human nature to remember things that have gone wrong, embarrassing situations and all the bad things that have happened to us much more intensely. In doing so, we make life unnecessarily difficult for ourselves with retrospective thoughts about negative things, thereby only reinforcing the everyday feeling that we are living in bad times and only have gloomy prospects for the future. This is not true at all and we quickly realise this when we review the "good news" of 2025 in the district.
For example, we are well on the way to being better able to deal with the consequences of climate change; at the beginning of 2025, we established a climate adaptation management team in the district administration, which consists of two people and will, among other things, draw up an individual catalogue of measures for each municipality to adapt to climate change. We have also taken a major step towards securing the dual study programme in the district: the construction of the new StudiumPlus site of the Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen in Frankenberg is making progress, an important factor for Waldeck-Frankenberg as a location for education and business.
A lot has also happened in terms of broadband mobile phone coverage and the elimination of "white spots" to improve our digital infrastructure in the past year - new mobile phone masts were erected near Haina-Hüttenrode and Hatzfeld-Lindenhof. And last but not least, we can be proud of a highly efficient clinic in the Philipp Soldan town, as the district hospital in Frankenberg was listed as one of "Germany's best hospitals 2025" in the renowned FAZ study. Together with the city hospital in Korbach, we will have a sustainable joint hospital at two locations after the upcoming hospital merger in 2026. This will enable us to offer all people in the region the best possible and sustainable healthcare.
As you can see from this list, dear fellow citizens, there was truly enough in the past year to make us look to the future with confidence. And that is exactly what I would like to give you for 2026 - be confident, don't let yourself be taken in by negative headlines, see the many good events that you encounter again and again everywhere. I am sure that with such a positive attitude, the new 365 days in the district of Waldeck-Frankenberg will be a success. I wish you and your loved ones a relaxed, harmonious New Year and only the very best for 2026.
Your District Administrator Jürgen van der Horst