This highest honor of the city of Salzgitter was celebrated at a festive city reception with around 70 guests at the Hotel am See. The evening was accompanied by music from Klaus Händel on the saxophone.

Mayor Frank Klingebiel was delighted to welcome the guests to the city reception right at the beginning of the year: "The honorary citizenship as the highest award of the city is an outstanding distinction and a special sign of our great appreciation for the many years of diverse commitment to the common good in Salzgitter."

After a minute's silence in memory of City Councillor Dr. Dirk Härdrich, who passed away on 24 December 2025, the honorary citizenship was conferred.

Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel had the honor of paying tribute to the special services of Salzgitter native and former Chief Human Resources Officer of Salzgitter AG and former Finance Minister of Lower Saxony Peter-Jürgen Schneider. Klingebiel: "Peter-Jürgen Schneider is the supra-regional face of Salzgitter. He has had an unparalleled professional and political career in which he has always had the positive development of his home town of Salzgitter in mind. He was and is a doer who rolls up his sleeves and takes action, and at the same time a visionary who never tires of looking ahead, developing ideas and bringing them to the streets. The final location of the Ostfalia University, the voluntary resettlement of the citizens in Watenstedt, the transfer of the apartments of Salzgitter AG's own Glück Auf Immobilien GmbH to the municipal housing association Salzgitter mbH as a joint housing association and BONA SZ are just a few of the projects that Peter-Jürgen has developed and implemented with me."

The second laudatory speech, given by First Mayor Stefan Klein, was dedicated to Wolfgang Schneider's enormous achievements. He emphasized "Wolfgang Schneider was a member of Salzgitter City Council for 30 years, twelve of which he spent as parliamentary group leader. He manages to get people on board, is tough on issues, but fair with each other. The positive development of our city and the region was and is close to his heart. This is also demonstrated by his 34 years of voluntary work in the regional association's assembly."

The laudatory speech for Werner Kubitza was held by Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel. He paid tribute to his many years of intensive commitment to Salzgitter as an industrial location and to job security. "In times of crisis, Werner Kubitza went beyond his limits for the good of the people. For example, when our "steelworks", the heart of our city, were threatened with sale, which was prevented in part by his tireless commitment and courageous action. For twelve years, he was the first authorized representative of IG Metall Salzgitter - Peine, who sacrificially took care of the interests of the workforce and the positive economic development of our large industrial companies in particular. This was not just his job, but his passionate calling."

Second Mayor Christian Striese then gave the eulogy for Angelika Stramiello, who founded the women's shelter in 1979 and ran it until 2010. "She was the founding mother and source of ideas for our women's shelter, which was the third of its kind in the whole of Germany at the time. It is thanks to her that women in need found and still find refuge from their abusers, help and support there. And it is thanks to her that the issue of violence against women is much better known today than it was in the 1970s. She has made Salzgitter and our world a little better."

Unfortunately, Jürgen Hattop was unable to attend. Mayor Frank Klingebiel commented on the award of honorary citizenship to him: "Jürgen Hattop and his late wife Helga always had the common good of our city of Salzgitter at heart. Jürgen Hattop volunteered for 20 years as a councillor for the interests of our citizens. With the foundation set up by the couple after the sale of their pharmacy in 2011 from the proceeds of the sale, they were and still are able to do a lot of good in our town. Their life's work is a good example of what is possible with voluntary work in our city."

The awarding of the honorary citizenship was based on proposals made by Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel and the parliamentary groups of the Salzgitter City Council, which were unanimously agreed in the Council of Elders. The broad political consensus on the extraordinary merits of the five honorees was demonstrated by the unanimous decision of the Salzgitter City Council at its meeting on 29.10.2025, on which the award is based.