Hanau Lord Mayor Claus Kaminsky to retire after more than 20 years
Claus Kaminsky will step down as Lord Mayor of Hanau on 30 September 2026 after more than two decades in office, transferring power to Maximilian Bieri.
Longest-serving mayor prepares for retirement
Hanau Lord Mayor Claus Kaminsky will step down on 30 September 2026, ending more than two decades leading the Hessian municipality. At 66 years old, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) official is the longest-serving Lord Mayor across the state of Hesse. A civic farewell celebration takes place on Saturday ahead of his formal retirement at the end of the month. Kaminsky will hand over executive responsibility to 35-year-old Maximilian Bieri, a fellow SPD member who won election as his successor.
Boredom is not an option, but neither is a hammock.
In retirement, Kaminsky aims to dedicate time to his family, gardening, cooking, cycling, and reading historical biographies. He has acquired a season ticket to watch his favoured football club, Eintracht Frankfurt, and plans to take a 125cc Vespa scooter on a trip to Italy. Reflecting on the mayoral transition, Kaminsky offered a single guiding recommendation to Bieri as the younger politician prepares to assume office.
Stay as you are, and be authentic.
Conversion of military garrison and downtown redesign
Kaminsky oversaw extensive structural shifts across Hanau following the withdrawal of United States armed forces early in his tenure. Hanau previously ranked among the largest American military garrison towns in Europe, accommodating 25,000 soldiers and their dependents. The departure freed 340 hectares of land across the city boundaries. The municipal government repurposed the former military tracts into new residential and commercial districts, turning Hanau into a recognised model for military site conversion.
Urban redevelopment also focused directly on revitalising Hanau's central shopping areas against retail decline. The city restructured Freiheitsplatz, formerly an expansive vehicle parking lot, into an active civic zone containing the Forum Hanau shopping centre and the Kulturforum with the city library. Furthermore, the municipal authority redeveloped the former Kaufhof department store into the Stadthof retail and leisure venue.
- US military withdraws 25,000 personnel and frees 340 hectares of garrison land
- Racist shooting attack occurs in Hanau during peacetime
- Hanau completes HUxit to become Hesse's first county-free city since WWII
- Claus Kaminsky formally retires as Lord Mayor after more than two decades
Independence from Main-Kinzig and crisis leadership
Kaminsky views Hanau's administrative exit from the Main-Kinzig district as his primary political achievement. Known locally as "HUxit" after the Hanau vehicle registration prefix HU, the separation took effect at the beginning of 2026. This reform established Hanau as the first municipality in Hesse since the Second World War to secure county-free status. The separation was designed to give the city autonomous authority over municipal policies and elevate its visibility in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region.
The mayor also guided the city through its most difficult crisis during the racist shooting attack of 19 February 2020. Kaminsky described the event as the most terrible day experienced by Hanau during peacetime. When assessing his overall record across more than twenty years, Kaminsky acknowledged occasional mistakes while maintaining that no fundamental strategic error had misdirected the city.
