Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald District

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

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

Geography
Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald is a large and rural district with at least three distinct landscapes:


 * 1) the river plain of the Upper 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, such as 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 economy is based on tourism, wine, and forestry.

Politics
Politically, the majority of the district parliament (Kreistag) is traditionally conservative (CDU), with higher levels of conservative votes the farther the distance from Freiburg (which has a red-green majority).