Farewell to Olaf Raschke: Meißen celebrates a mayor full of successes

Farewell to Olaf Raschke: Meißen celebrates a mayor full of successes

A special day for Meißen: On October 27, 2025, Olaf Raschke, the city's long-time mayor, was ceremoniously farewelled. On his last day at work, around 140 guests gathered at the wine cooperative, including many local personalities, to honor Raschke's achievements. Prominent representatives such as District Administrator Ralf Hänsel, his predecessor Arndt Steinbach and savings bank boss Rainer Schikatzki were among those present.

The celebration began with a short trip from the Meissen fire department, which brought Raschke to the venue. The authority president and former auditor Petra Hannß gave an emotional laudatory speech in which she recalled Raschke's inauguration 21 years ago. During this time, he reduced the city's per capita debt to a tenth and channeled more than 98 million euros into urban development.

Successes and challenges

Raschke's term of office was not only characterized by successes. Under his leadership, over 70 million euros in funding flowed into important projects such as schools, daycare centers and sports facilities. A total of 67 million euros were invested in schools, 8 million euros in daycare centers and 6.5 million euros in sports facilities. The renovation of the town hall and the commissioning of a new S-Bahn stop were also on the agenda.

But there were challenges. Floods and the unresolved problem surrounding the Hamburger Hof were always the focus of his term in office. Raschke himself emphasized that he was only the coach and the successes would not have been possible without his committed team. His wife Claudia also spoke positively about the time they spent together and his exemplary commitment.

A new section for Meissen

A highlight of the farewell was the symbolic handover of a golden baton to his successor Markus Renner. Renner, who has served as finance mayor since 2016 and received 58.5 percent of the vote in the first round, will be in charge of the office in the future. He received broad support from almost all 26 city council members, including the CDU, the Greens, the SPD and the Left. Raschke, for his part, said he would sign the city of Meißen's Golden Book and remember the positive developments of the last few years.

For Markus Renner, who ran as an independent candidate, it will be an exciting task to continue the positive changes in Meißen. He enters a complicated political landscape in which the Saxon AfD has been the strongest force in the city council since June 2024. René Jurisch, a candidate close to the AfD, received 30.5 percent of the votes and shows how diverse opinions are in Meißen.

Olaf Raschke will be fondly remembered by the citizens of Meißen - not just as mayor, but as someone who led the city away from the financial abyss. Whether the challenges of the coming years can be mastered depends largely on the cooperation of everyone involved.