Another Corona year is drawing to a close – and another is on the march. The big fireworks will not appear on this New Year’s Eve either. The rules of the federal states at a glance.
The big bang happened this year before New Year’s Eve – on the day when the federal government imposed a ban on firecrackers at the turn of the year. The Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg has confirmed the nationwide sales ban for fireworks on New Year’s Eve. According to information from Tuesday evening, it rejected several complaints against a first-instance decision by the Berlin Administrative Court on Tag.
The judges pointed out that due to the complaints submitted at short notice, a sufficiently reliable assessment of the legality of the regulation was impossible. The fact that the ban on firecrackers could prevent a further burden on the hospitals, which are particularly busy due to the corona pandemic, therefore prevails in the weighing of the consequences. This means that the ban on the sale of rockets and firecrackers issued by federal ordinance can no longer be challenged.
New Year’s Eve guests without firecrackers
It is the second turn of the year that Germans celebrate largely without fireworks. And not only the colorful popping in the sky will be missing. There won’t be any big New Year’s Eve parties this year either. Because of the rapidly spreading virus variant Omikron, the federal government imposed contact restrictions after the Christmas holidays, also for those who had been vaccinated and those who had recovered. They are only allowed to meet in groups of a maximum of ten people. Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach recently appealed to the population to only meet in small groups. How New Year’s Eve can be celebrated this year differs in some federal states.
Where is it allowed to party and bang? An overview
Baden-Württemberg: In general, there is a curfew in restaurants between 10.30 p.m. and 5.00 a.m. On New Year’s Eve, it doesn’t start until 1.00 a.m. For New Year’s Eve parties, up to ten people (vaccinated or recovered) can meet indoors. Outside there can even be up to 50 people. However, some municipalities impose a collection ban on New Year’s Eve. Then the limit of a maximum of ten people also applies in public places. Igniting fireworks or firecrackers is then prohibited there. It is allowed, however, to set off old firecrackers from previous years on private property.
Bavaria: Celebrations in public places are prohibited. In addition, alcohol may not be consumed on “public traffic areas in city centers and in other public places in the open air, where people are either confined or not only temporarily”. The district administrative authorities determine exactly where this prohibition applies. On December 31, gatherings of more than ten people are prohibited from 3 p.m. until 9 a.m. the following day. The curfew for restaurateurs is lifted on New Year’s Eve.
Berlin: Rockets and blasters are allowed on private properties. Fireworks are prohibited in public squares and streets (you can find an overview here). For private meetings, those stipulated by the federal government apply Person restrictions.
Brandenburg: Gatherings are forbidden on New Year’s Eve, no firecrackers apply to busy places. New Year’s Eve celebrations can take place with a maximum of ten people, provided everyone is vaccinated and recovered. Apply in hotspot regions for unvaccinated exit restrictions also on New Year’s Eve. You are not allowed to be in public space after 10 p.m.
Bremen: The Hanseatic city sells, carries and burns Fireworks completely prohibited. This applies to both public and private spaces. Private celebrations are allowed with a maximum of ten people take place – provided they are all vaccinated or have recovered. Stricter rules apply to the unvaccinated.
Hamburg: Fireworks may not be carried or set off on public property on New Year’s Eve. Between December 31, 3 p.m. and January 1, 9 a.m., no more than ten people are allowed to stand together in public spaces.
Hesse: Exists on December 31st and January 1st a ban on firecrackers in public places. Missiles, crackers and batteries must not be detonated. However, snap peas, snap frogs and sparklers are allowed. Meetings are limited to a maximum of ten people (vaccinated or recovered).
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Fireworks may not be sold or set off on the Baltic Sea over New Year’s Eve and New Year’s. According to State ordinance Gatherings are also prohibited.
Lower Saxony: Until January 15th, the requirements of warning level 3 apply to restaurants and other public areas. This means that everyday life is primarily determined by the 2G-plus regulation. Clubs are closed, events with more than 500 people are prohibited. Burning fireworks is prohibited on busy public roads. Which places are affected regulate the municipalities.
North Rhine-Westphalia:There will be no big New Year’s Eve parties. At the turn of the year, gatherings of more than ten people in crowded squares and streets are prohibited.
Rhineland-Palatinate: Here the regulations vary depending on the district and city. You can find an overview here.
Saarland: Gatherings of more than ten people in public spaces are prohibited on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Eve. Firecrackers are prohibitedIf you don’t want to do without fireworks completely, you can fall back on small fireworks. Demons, sparklers and fire tops are allowed.
Saxony: A night curfew has been in effect for particularly affected corona hotspots since November. On New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Eve, celebrations in public places are also prohibited. Fireworks may not be carried or set off there.
Saxony-Anhalt: Because the state parliament in Magdeburg has determined the epidemic situation, the districts and independent cities have the opportunity to impose further measures – for example on New Year’s Eve. For those who have been vaccinated or have recovered, the recommendation is not to meet more than ten people.
Schleswig-Holstein: Authorities can restrict contacts to certain group sizes for streets, paths and squares that are expected to be crowded on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s.
Thuringia: New Year’s Eve events in public spaces are prohibited. Fireworks may not be carried or set off there either.
Criticism of the fireworks ban comes from the Federal Association of Pyrotechnics (BVPK). “The government did not submit a risk analysis either before the ban was issued or during the administrative procedure,” criticized the organization on Wednesday. It is disappointing that no fundamental discussion of factual arguments has taken place, according to the association. He is considering taking legal action on the issue. “We want an objective discourse,” said board member Ingo Schubert. A scientifically based survey of the number of injuries caused by fireworks is necessary.
Then we’ll go shopping somewhere else …
While the sale of fireworks is prohibited in Germany, the business with illegal firecrackers in the Czech Republic and smuggling across the border are apparently flourishing. “We are seeing a significant increase this year compared to 2020,” said a spokesman for the Federal Police Inspectorate in Selb in Upper Franconia. Compared to the time before the corona pandemic, the federal police in Selb, Waidhaus and Waldmünchen near the German-Czech border did not observe any increase.
Firecrackers are currently being seized almost every day, said the spokesman for the Federal Police in Selb. On Tuesday alone, young people with several kilograms of fireworks were caught in the area in three cases. On the same day, veil investigators near Furth in the forest found 30 kilograms of prohibited firecrackers during three controls, as the federal police announced on Wednesday. Often there are occasional buyers, such as commuters from the Czech Republic, who bring something or private individuals who shop for themselves or for some friends, said the federal police spokesman. Sometimes the perpetrators also want to resell the goods.
Usually the firecrackers are bought on markets near the border. According to the Federal Police, however, experience has shown that these fireworks are often fake and sometimes dangerous. Anyone caught with illegal firecrackers must expect reports under the Explosives Act. In addition, the polluters have to pay for the costly destruction of the firecrackers.
A few days before New Year’s Eve, the TÜV warned of illegal rockets and firecrackers. “You should definitely stay away from firecrackers that are offered on markets abroad, via suspicious social media channels or in the back room of kiosks,” said the TÜV association in Berlin on Monday. Many illegal blasts would have a much stronger explosion effect than legal products. Celebrating people should therefore only set off fireworks that are permitted in Germany.
It is not always easy to tell at a glance whether fireworks are legal or not. According to the TÜV, illegal firecrackers often have names such as M80, M100, Blockbuster or Quarterpounder. In Germany, every fireworks product must have a CE mark and the test number of the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM). The manufacturer’s registration number on the fireworks is also important.
Sources: DPA, “Saarbrücker Zeitung”, SWR Aktuell, NDR, Buten un Binnen, Corona State Ordinance Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Hessen.de, MSGIV Brandenburg, Bavarian Broadcasting