"Hamburg was your territory, and the Michel was your anchor": Since Friday, a plaque in front of the Hamburg Michel commemorates Jan Fedder.
"Bye, Jan Fedder". These words of farewell are written on the large brass plaque that was left in the ground in front of the Hamburg Michel on Friday afternoon (September 4th) in honor of Jan Fedder (1955-2019). The plaque is intended to pay tribute once more to the deceased "Großtstadtrevier" actor. "Hamburg was your territory, and Michel was your anchor," it says.
According to information from the North German Broadcasting Corporation, around 150 people from all over Germany had come to attend the ceremony on the church square, which was not public for corona reasons. Why exactly there? Fedder was baptized in the main church of St. Michaelis, he celebrated his confirmation and wedding there and his funeral service also took place there.
A place next to Helmut Schmidt
There are now over 200 such so-called Michel panels on the church square in Hamburg. Fedder's memorial plaque was placed in a special place, next to that for former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt (1918-2015). "Jan would have liked that very much," said Marion Fedder, who had been married to the actor since 2000. "He was a great admirer of Helmut Schmidt. The two were unique for Hamburg."
Jan Fedder died on December 30, 2019 at the age of 64 after a long illness. For almost 30 years he played the police officer Dirk Matthies in the ARD crime series "Großstadtrevier".