New citizen service office opens on the 100th anniversary of the town hall!

New citizen service office opens on the 100th anniversary of the town hall!

Joy is very important in Zella-Mehlis: the new citizens' service office will open on August 22, 2025, right on the town hall's 100th birthday. An event that is important not only for the city administration and citizens, but also for the community. The town hall, inaugurated in 1925, has since played a central role in the life of the city after Zella and Mehlis merged in 1919. An exciting chapter in the city's history that is now being celebrated. Reported in southern Thuringia that the new office will be bright, open and barrier-free in order to process citizen concerns quickly. The focus here is on the integration of various services for citizens, which is essential for the modern, fast communication culture of our time.

But it's not just a celebration of the town hall turning one hundred years old. On this special day, a remarkable personality should not go unmentioned: Waltraud Künzel. She is also celebrating her 100th birthday and is equally honored in the city. Waltraud has been living in the DRK retirement home on Feldgasse since the fall and has always felt comfortable there. Her roots lie in the Giant Mountains, and through her foster family she has a rich story that she loves to tell again and again. Growing up with a sister and two brothers, she did a lot even after the war and was active in various offices and as a librarian. As the Zella-Mehlis website reports, sports and traveling were her great passions, and even at 100 years old she remains mobile on walks, supported by a walker.

A celebration for the community

To properly celebrate this double occasion, a large family gathering is taking place in Waltraud's honor. Over the years she has built up a large family with four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, some of whom live in Zella-Mehlis, some in other parts of Germany and even in Austria. It is a nice tradition for the family to keep in touch regularly via telephone and visit each other often.

The 100th anniversary of the town hall is also a sign of the changes that the city has experienced in recent decades. Dresden in the 20th century can be used as a comparison, where the city grew through investments in new cityscape and infrastructure. A report from Saxony shows that the new town hall in Dresden, which was suggested by large bank owners and civil servants, among others, grew out of a similar need for modernization and a lack of space.

Zella-Mehlis is facing an exciting celebration day in which not only the past will be honorably honored, but the course will also be set for the future. The new citizen service office not only sets a direct example of citizen-friendliness, but also creates a bridge between tradition and modernity. It will be interesting to see how the town hall's birthday and Waltraud Künzel's day of honor will be celebrated together - a celebration that will be remembered!