Eberhard Riedel named honorary citizen of Lauter

Today Thursday Eberhard Riedel was awarded honorary citizenship by his hometown Lauter. What a great honor for my father, as it is the highest honor that can be bestowed in Saxony!

As part of the Erzgebirge Association’s annual festival, the mayor of Lauter-Bernsbach, Thomas Kunzmann, ceremoniously presented him with the certificate. Many friends and companions had come to celebrate with Ebs, as his friends and associates call him.

The small paragraph published in the citizen information in advance, puts it well: “It is proposed that Eberhard Riedel’s birthplace Lauter, today Lauter-Bernsbach, honor the ‘Ebs’, the best Alpine skier of the GDR, with honorary citizenship for his sporting achievements.”

The honorary citizenship is primarily a dignity that places my father’s athletic work in the Ore Mountains at the center. Born and raised in Lauter, his love of sport and impulse to move were in his blood. As a young boy he discovered skiing as his passion. Like possessed he rode from the village to the mountain Morgenleithe several times a day, then fearlessly plunged into the valley. At the ‘Ebertbank’, Ebs and friends laid out a downhill course to train together.

Soon several supporters from the village shared Eberhard’s enthusiasm and supported the then-young boy. Even though life and his career later took him far afield, my father will never forget his roots in Lauter. Lauter was always the center for him when it came to home. Everything began here and who knows: perhaps my father would never have become what he is if he hadn’t had this sports-oriented environment in Lauter.

And it is not the first honor for “Ebs”. In 2023 my father was named honorary citizen of the highest-altitude German town Oberwiesenthal on the occasion of his 85th birthday, for his athletic achievements and his work for the town.

That his homeland community is now also giving him this recognition is truly special! Heartfelt congratulations, Dad!