About the city

Rottenburg

The small town influencing German migration policy

Key Takeaways

  • 1

    Rottenburg stands out as a result of its long-lasting civic engagement, which started in the summer of 2015 and is still going strong.

  • 2

    Despite its relatively small size, Rottenburg has been a driving actor in establishing a Solidarity City network in both Germany and Europe. It also takes a visible public stance against existing migration policies.

What is unique about Rottenburg?

Bringing together “Cities of Safe Harbours": Rottenburg, a small town in one of the richest regions in Germany, made national headlines when Mayor Stephan Neher (CDU, Christian Democrats) made an urgent plea for the direct in-take of refugees from the Mediterranean. In summer 2019, he said: “If it comes down to it, I'll get a local bus driver to go down to Italy and pick up the people himself". Since then, Rottenburg has taken a leading role in networking with municipalities to encourage them to welcome refugees and has assumed the coordination role of the "Cities of Safe Harbours" alliance for Baden-Württemberg.

What are the key factors?

An active mayor and a strong civil society: Rottenburg is able to draw on strong civil society welcome structures that were formed locally in 2015. Through the Mayor's numerous public interventions, it has emerged as one of the most important voices in the movement for community refugee reception in Germany. These interventions have attracted national attention because Rottenburg is governed by a conservative party. As a politician from Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats party, Neher was able to influence the debate in a different way from cities governed by the left.

What are the most outstanding results so far?

Combining local engagement and advocacy work: Rottenburg successfully combined local engagement and policy innovation with advocacy work not only on a national level but also internationally. Locally, Rottenburg proved how civic engagement can become an integral part of municipal integration strategies, by formalising the civic solidarity that emerged in summer 2015. Rottenburg also helped set up several national and international city networks advocating for more municipal autonomy in refugee policy.

Political activities and advocacy beyond the city level

At the centre of German and European municipal networking: Despite its relatively small size, Rottenburg has been a driving actor in establishing a network of solidarity cities in Germany. In September of 2019, Rottenburg hosted the network’s first working meeting, which, by then, dozens of other municipalities had joined. In June of 2021, Rottenburg was one of the municipalities that helped organise the first European Cities Conference on Refugee Reception “From the City to the Sea in Palermo”. Mayor Neher has spoken out publicly on many occasions in favour of a distribution key for cities willing to take in refugees.

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The city report contains more information about the city’s migration and inclusion policies and selected local approaches. Report from 2021, updated in 2023.

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