Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald is a Kreis (district) in the south of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Emmendingen, Schwarzwald-Baar, Waldshut, Lörrach and the French départements Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin. The district-free city Freiburg is surrounded by the district.

History

The district was created in 1973 by merging the previous districts Freiburg, Müllheim und Hochschwarzwald.

Geography

Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald is a large and rural district with at least three distinct scenic settings:

1. the flat land at the River Rhine (Oberrheinebene) with the Kaiserstuhl mountain, the Tuniberg , the Breisgau and the Markgräflerland
2. the slopes of the Black Forest mountains, with black forest valleys reaching to the Rhine, like Glottertal , Dreisamtal , Höllental and Münstertal
3. the higher mountain ranges of the Black Forest (Hochschwarzwald), including the highest mountain in the Black Forest, the Feldberg (1493 m)

The district is interesting to tourists. Other characteristic items are wine and forests.

Politics

Politically, the majority of the districts parliament (Kreistag) is traditionally christian democratic-conservative, with higher levels of conservative votes the farer one gets from Freiburg (which has a red-green majority).

Coat of arms

The left half of the coat of arms show the colors of Austria, and the right side the colors of Baden, as both countries owned big part of the district. In the middle it shows an eagle, taken from the coat of arms of the Princes of Fürstenberg. The coat of arms was granted in 1974, and it's very similar to the coat of arms of the previous Freiburg district.

Towns and municipalities

External links

• Official Website