Baden-Baden (dpa/lsw) - Despite objections, the mayor of Baden-Baden is sticking to the proposal for an exchange of land with Rastatt in the course of building a new clinic in order to continue to enable Baden-Baden as the place of birth. "It's theoretically possible and I don't see why something should stand in the way of it in practice," said Dietmar Späth (independent) of the German Press Agency.
The background is the planned central clinic in Mittelbaden, in which the three hospitals in Baden-Baden and in the Rastatt district are to be merged. The location that was found to be the most suitable after an examination process is in Rastatt, which would then be entered in the birth certificates of babies born there - and no longer Baden-Baden. This sparked a sometimes controversial debate in the spa town about the relevance of the place of birth. Späth therefore proposed an exchange of land with neighboring Rastatt - so that part of the new clinic would be on Baden-Baden land.
According to the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Interior, municipal and district boundaries can only be changed for reasons of public welfare. These could be the case, for example, when the performance of municipalities is increased. The regional council as the legal supervisory authority must also agree. The Ministry is not aware of a similar case of land exchange.
And currently there is nothing to suggest that Rastatt is playing along: an exchange of districts just to enable a specific entry in a birth certificate is inconceivable, it says there.
