Image info: Newly elected board of directors and executive committee of the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Society: from left to right: Rayk Peiser, Ingo Peschel, Michael Thomas, Dirk Heinecke, Hartmut Jahn, Luisa Töpel, Bruno Most, Udo Mänicke, Jörg Riemer, Norma Henkel and honorary president Hansgeorg Kling. © Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Gesellschaft e.V., photo: Vincent Grätsch
Upon request, we would be happy to send you the photo in high resolution. Please contact: info@jahn-museum.de
Press release from August 27, 2026
Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Gesellschaft e. V. elects new board and expands its presidium – Surgeon General Dr. Bruno Most new president
The Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Society is a nationwide, non-profit organization dedicated to the research, communication, and critical examination of the life and work of Friedrich Ludwig Jahn and the history of the German gymnastics movement. As the operator of the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Museum in Freyburg (Unstrut), the society preserves and promotes an authentic site of memory and education concerning German sports and democratic history. Since 2019, the Jahn Museum has been part of the „Places of Democratic History“ network.
The general assembly of the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Gesellschaft e. V. elected a new executive board and an expanded presidium on August 21, 2026. All candidates were elected unanimously. With this new election, the Jahn Society is initiating a generational shift and, at the same time, a significant expansion of its professional and social network.
Dr. med. Bruno Most from Weißenfels was elected as the new president. The Bundeswehr Surgeon General has been the commander of the Medical Service Operational Support Command in Weißenfels since June 2025. With his many years of leadership and organizational experience as well as his expertise in military history, he aims to help shape the work of the Jahn Society in the future.
The new vice president is Hartmut Jahn from Ahorn near Coburg. The former artistic gymnast, who has been active on a voluntary basis in gymnastics for many years, looks back on around 60 years of club and association work. He has been chairman of the Coburg-Frankenwald gymnastics district since 2006; from 2019 to 2023 he was vice president of the Bavarian Gymnastics Federation.
Rayk Peiser (Burgenlandkreis District Sports Federation) and Dr. Norma Henkel, as Managing Director and Museum Director, were confirmed as Treasurer. The Executive Committee will continue to include Udo Mänicke (Mayor of Freyburg) and Prof. Ingo Peschel (physicist and expert in the history of gymnastics, Berlin). Dr. Michael Thomas (historian and sports scientist, Magdeburg), Dr. Dirk Heinecke (historian and sports scientist, Naumburg), Luisa Töpel, M.A. (museologist and managing director of the Saxony-Anhalt Museum Association, Bernburg), and Jörg Riemer (Germanist and local politician, Weißenfels) were elected as new members of the Executive Committee.
With the new board members, the Jahn Society gains additional expertise in sports and regional history, museum studies, cultural management, schools and education, association work, and municipal and regional cultural work. This is intended to strategically further develop the nationwide Jahn Society through a broad professional base and anchor it more strongly at the regional level.
With special thanks, the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Society bids farewell to its outgoing president, Dr. Josef Ulfkotte, and its outgoing vice president, Dr. Gerlinde Rohr, neither of whom ran for re-election. The general meeting recognized their many years of commitment and significant dedication to the development of the Jahn Society and the Jahn Museum. Hansgeorg Kling, Josef Ulfkotte's predecessor in office, will continue to serve on the executive committee as honorary president.
Jahn Gymnastics Festival and Interim Exhibition
The new election coincides with a particularly eventful time for the Jahn Society. Around the time of the Jahn Gymnastics Festival, the interim exhibition of the Jahn Museum was opened in the Jahn Hall of Honor on August 19, 2026. The historic Jahn residence will remain closed due to general renovation work, expected until 2029. With the interim exhibition, the museum will remain accessible to visitors even during the construction phase.
The interim exhibition combines parts of the previous permanent exhibition with previously unseen collection items and recent acquisitions, while also providing insight into the history of the Jahn memorial sites and the gymnastics festivals. At the same time, the Jahn Society views this transitional period as an opportunity to open up its collection anew and further advance the redesign of the future permanent exhibition.
