At the initiative of Mllheim and Titisee-Neustadt, the license plates of the old districts – ML and NEW – will be reintroduced. The district council has the final say.
ML – The license plate number of the old quarter of Mllheim has almost completely disappeared from the streets of the region. But now he may experience a resurrection. In the district council of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald an attempt is being made to introduce the ML as a so-called hallmark, just like the NEU indicator (for Neustadt) of the old district of Hochschwarzwald.
The subject is on the agenda of the district council’s committee on economy, transport and the environment next Monday. The motion for a resolution recommends that the district administration be charged with taking the necessary steps to reintroduce the ML and NEW license plates and make the appropriate resources available. At the next meeting of the Mllheim city council, Wednesday 19 October, a resolution supporting the reintroduction will be passed, if the majority of the committee agrees. The district council will then make the final decision on November 14th.
District reform brought new license plates
With the 1973 district reform, which dissolved the district of Mllheim and most of the municipalities of the old district were added to the new district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald and Bad Bellingen, Schliengen, Kandern and Malsburg-Marzell to the district of Lrrach, the Even the ML license plate has become obsolete. Vehicles that were registered before the district reform have retained the old license plate, but today – almost 50 years later – it has almost disappeared. It is most likely seen in old agricultural vehicles.
The possibility of reintroducing the old license plates was created as early as 2012. In fact, most of the districts of Baden-Wrttemberg that have historic center locations in their area have re-approved these plates, the latest around 2021 the district of Waldshut-Tiengen with the license plate SK. Not so – until now – the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district. In December 2012 he spoke out against the reintroduction of the old license plates. The reason given at the time was that this would involve a considerable amount of administrative work and would be against the merger of the sub-areas of the district.
“Particular effect of identity formation”
The mayor of Mllheim, Martin Lffler, no longer sees arguments as data. Apparently Lffler, along with Meike Folkerts, the mayor of Titisee-Neustadt, has pushed the issue into the background for a long time. “A lot of people don’t care about the license plate number, but there are also people who would really like it. So why not offer it if it’s possible?” Says Lffler. And the administrative project for the city council says: “Historical characteristics have a particular identity effect in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district, which the characteristic of the urban district of Freiburg cannot develop in the same way”.
Administrative expenses are financed through royalties
Lffler sees a higher administrative burden only temporarily, for example if there is greater demand from car owners who wish to change the license plate. In case of new registrations, it would no longer have any role. And for the administration, the offer is cost-neutral, “because the temporary additional staff costs are financed entirely through taxes,” says the administration account.
If the initiative were approved by the district council, all residents in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district would have the possibility to choose between the plates FR, ML and NEU already in the middle of 2023. In other words: a woman from Neuchâtel could also screw NEW on his car because it somehow fits, just like a car owner from Schluchsee might, for whatever reason, opt for the ML. Furthermore, it is foreseen that the neighboring districts with the municipalities of the old district, for ML which would be the district of Lörrach, have the possibility to issue old license plates.
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