The
County of Breisgau () and
County of Baar () were formed on the territory of the present district in the 8th century. Both counties belonged to the
Duchy of Alemannia. The eastern part, the upper reaches of the
Danube and
Neckar, came under the
Carolingian dominion of the
Ahalolfings. Following the disintegration of the
Frankish Empire in 843, the area became part of
East Francia and part of it, from 920, the
Duchy of Swabia. In 1368, the
Breisgau went into the hands of the
House of Habsburg (see
Anterior Austria). The
Swabian princes of Fürstenberg dominated the Baar, while the area south of Freiburg, the
Markgräflerland, ended up with the margraves of
Baden. In 1805/06, after the end of the
Napoleonic Wars, the region became part of the
Grand Duchy of Baden. The district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald was established as part of the district reform of Baden-Württemberg on 1 Jan 1973, mainly from the former rural districts of
Freiburg,
Müllheim and
Hochschwarzwald (with its head office in Neustadt in the Black Forest). In addition, the municipality of
Unadingen from the district of Donaueschingen was incorporated. Other municipalities were integrated into the city of Freiburg. The southern part of the district of Müllheim went to
Lörrach and some municipalities were transferred from the old district of Hochschwarzwald to
Waldshut. Later, more municipalities were incorporated into the city of Freiburg:
Munzingen on 1 July 1973,
Hochdorf on 1 September 1973 and
Ebnet and
Kappel on 1 July 1974. On 1 September 1973, the municipality of Schönenbach, which belonged to the district of Waldshut, was added. On 1 January 1974 Kiechlinsbergen was ceded to Emmendingen. On 1 April 1974 Leiselheim followed. On 18 March 1975 Grünwald was added from the district of Waldshut was added (moving from
Bonndorf im Schwarzwald to
Lenzkirch). The three old districts were formed in 1939 from the of the same name that had been established in the early nineteenth century when large numbers of them were formed as the area became part of Baden. In the course of the history the were changed several times, until in 1936 only those of Freiburg, Müllheim, Neustadt im Schwarzwald and Staufen were left. Staufen was divided between Freiburg and Müllheim. The district of Neustadt, founded in 1939, was renamed Hochschwarzwald in 1956. Following the completion of the municipal form, the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald comprised 50 municipalities, including ten towns. There are no large county towns. The largest town is
Müllheim, the smallest municipality is
Heuweiler. The most recent town is
Bad Krozingen (from 1 September 2005). == Population growth ==