David Brandstätter is an Honorary Citizen

In recognition of his exceptional services to media and communication, society and science as well as his outstanding role as a promoter and designer, the University of Würzburg awarded David Brandstätter the title of Honorary Citizen at its 2026 Foundation Festival in the Neubaukirche.

Brandstätter, born on 2 March 1961 in Mallnitz in Carinthia (Austria), has been an outstanding personality who has shaped public life in the Main-Franconia region for decades. At the same time, he has linked media, society and science in a special way.

Straight to Würzburg after leaving school

After graduating from secondary school in Spittal an der Drau in the summer of 1980, he moved to Würzburg in the same year - a decision that would not only have a lasting impact on his own life, but also on the media and social landscape of Lower Franconia.

His association with the Main-Post media group began in autumn 1980 with a freelance job. This was followed by a traineeship from 1981 and then various journalistic positions within the company: first as an editor in the local editorial office in Hammelburg, later in the regional editorial office in Franconia/Bavaria.

Editor-in-chief and managing director of the Main-Post

In 1990 he took over the position of deputy head of the political editorial department, two years later he became deputy editor-in-chief of the Main-Post Group. Finally, in 1993, David Brandstätter became editor-in-chief of the Main-Post media group's newspaper titles.

His area of responsibility grew steadily: in 1995 he was also appointed Managing Director of the Main-Post subsidiary Volksblatt GmbH. He became Managing Director of the Main-Post media group in 2001 and was its sole Managing Director from 2008 - a position he held until the end of 2024.

With foresight and a clear set of values

During this time, he played a key role in shaping the development of one of the most important media companies in the region and led it through a period of far-reaching changes in the media landscape with journalistic persuasiveness, entrepreneurial foresight and a clear set of values.

As a journalist, editor-in-chief and media manager, David Brandstätter always stood for responsible, independent and high-quality reporting. Under his leadership, the Main-Post media group developed into a central voice in the region and an important forum for social discourse, political opinion-forming and cultural exchange.

In addition to his professional activities, he was involved in important institutions in the German media sector, including as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the German Press Agency (dpa) until summer 2024 and as an advisor to the Journalism Commission of the German Bishops' Conference. He also contributed his experience as a media practitioner to academic teaching at the University of Würzburg.

Chairman of the Universitätsbund

His long-standing commitment to the Universitätsbund Würzburg is of particular importance: David Brandstätter has been Chairman of the Society of Friends and Sponsors of the JMU since 2007 and has had an extraordinary influence on its development over seventeen years.

With strategic intuition and great personal commitment, he initiated numerous collaborations with partners from business and society, thereby strengthening the Universitätsbund's ability to act and visibility in the long term - always to the benefit of the university.

Under his leadership, new formats and initiatives were created that intensified the dialogue between the university and the public. With the winter lecture series "Hörsaal on Tour", academic topics are brought directly to the people of the region. Not only through these, but also through the numerous other projects and initiatives during his almost two decades of work for the Universitätsbund, David Brandstätter intensified the connection between the university, business, culture and citizenship with outstanding commitment.

With his personality, his strategic foresight and his many years of commitment, David Brandstätter has made a decisive contribution to anchoring the University of Würzburg even more firmly in the public eye and to developing the Universitätsbund into a powerful network of sponsors, supporters and friends of the university.