In many German cities, Christopher Street Day (CSD) events face right-wing counter-protests. Köthen, a town in Saxony-Anhalt, is no exception. In 2024, the day before Pride there was a butyric acid attack allegedly carried out by members of the neo-Nazi party “Der III. Weg” (TheColu.mn reported). Instead of support, a year later the authorities subjected organizers to harassment: in 2025 the district banned toilet trailers and supply stands, and the city’s public order office even cut the power on the day of the event (TheColu.mn reported).
Köthen’s mayor, Christina Buchheim, wants nothing to do with the CSD. The former member of the state parliament does not belong to the CDU or the AfD, but to The Left. In an interview with the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung (paywalled) in December 2025 she made it clear she did not even want to speak with the Pride organizers. They had previously asked for a meeting. “The confrontation with the city of Köthen is far from over,” co-organizer Falko Jentsch told TheColu.mn.
Left-wing mayor filed a criminal complaint
Jentsch, together with Julian Miethig, had in September 2025 been reported by the left-wing mayor for defamation and libel (TheColu.mn reported). The background was the dispute over the CSD Köthen’s restrictions last July. After the district issued a ban on toilet trailers and supply stands, the organizers filed suit — with success. In an Instagram post they criticized harassment, bureaucratic hurdles, and a lack of willingness to cooperate from the city authorities, the City of Köthen, and the Anhalt-Bitterfeld district. The city countered and, according to MDR, announced that future cooperation with the CSD would be ruled out. A few weeks later, criminal charges followed against Falko Jentsch and Julian Miethig.
There was no indictment. The investigations by the public prosecutor were already closed in January, yet the two Pride organizers still do not expect constructive support from the city. In a region that offers queer people few spaces, the newly founded CSD Köthen e.V. fights alone for visibility and community spaces. This is “not a completely new situation,” says Jentsch — even at Köthen’s first two CSDs there was “no real cooperation.”
For the two organizers, the impression continues that the charges were mainly meant as leverage and public discrediting. That’s why their own lawsuit against the city administration continues — a continuation-for-declaratory-judgment action before the Halle Administrative Court to determine whether the 2025 CSD Köthen restrictions were lawful. The city administration should have conducted a proper review of the CSD’s special-use, argue Jentsch and Miethig. The outcome of the case remains open.
We would have liked to speak with Christina Buchheim about the destructive dispute in her city and a way out of the deadlock. She did not respond to a written request and four phone calls from TheColu.mn.
Trotz allem: Volles Programm rund um den CSD Köthen
Yet the conflicts of last year do not stop Köthen’s CSD. As early as September of last year, Falko Jentsch and Julian Miethig filed for a Pride festival to be held on July 11, 2026. It is slated to begin at 12 p.m. at Köthen’s Market Square, where this year’s street festival with a subsequent march is planned — under which conditions remains unclear. In addition, there will be a campaign week meant to make queer themes visible and to reach people in Köthen and the surrounding area (see the program). Besides Falko Jentsch and Julian Miethig, a dozen more people are now involved in planning.
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Zwar sei die größte Unsicherheit aus Sicht der Organisator*innen weiterhin der Umgang von Stadt und Landkreis mit der angemeldeten Veranstaltung. Gleichzeitig mache man seine Arbeit nicht davon abhängig, so Jentsch: “Der CSD Köthen entsteht aus der Community heraus.”
Der CSD 2026 steht unter dem Motto “Trotz Widerstand — Vielfalt gewinnt”.
