Verwaltungsgericht Freiburg

In 1947, the state of Baden established the Verwaltungsgericht Freiburg. This administrative court, right here before us, has witnessed a fascinating evolution. Originally, it held jurisdiction over several districts, including Freiburg, Neustadt, Müllheim, Lörrach, and Emmendingen. Its reach even extended to the city of Freiburg itself. The Verwaltungsgericht Freiburg’s initial office was nestled within the Freiburg district office on Fürstenbergstraße. For a short period in 1948, the administrative court in Baden-Baden handled its duties. By the end of 1949, the Verwaltungsgericht Freiburg found its first dedicated premises at Zasiusstraße 35/1. This marked a significant step in its growth. Several relocations followed before the court finally settled at Dreisamstraße 9 in 1958. An annex was added at Dreisamstraße 9a in 1978. The court also briefly occupied locations on Talstraße and Basler Straße. Since December 2001, the Verwaltungsgericht Freiburg has resided in its current building on Habsburgerstraße. This modern structure was built on the former site of the Kepler-Gymnasium, whose tower still stands as a silent witness to the past. The court’s early days saw a small number of judges and chambers. They primarily dealt with legal matters stemming from the aftermath of the war. Over time, the Verwaltungsgericht Freiburg expanded significantly, especially with the redistribution of asylum procedures across all administrative courts in Baden-Württemberg. At one point, it boasted ten chambers. Towards the end of the 1990s, a significant decline in asylum applications, coupled with a shift of social welfare cases to social courts, led to a decrease in workload. This resulted in a reduction to six chambers between mid-2002 and the end of 2008. The resurgence of asylum applications in 2016 prompted another expansion of chambers. In the following years, nearly 60 judges served the Verwaltungsgericht Freiburg. This temporary surge led to the opening of a branch office on Konrad-Goldmann-Straße 8 in July 2019, which closed again in December 2022. As of January 1, 2023, the Verwaltungsgericht Freiburg houses 38 judges and 28 other employees, some working part-time. Each chamber typically handles cases from a specific city or district and specializes in certain areas of law. All chambers also share responsibility for asylum procedures, distributed by country of origin.