Overview

• On July 8, the Bavarian Administrative Court ruled that a 1.5-metre wooden crucifix at the entrance of Hallertau-Gymnasium violated two former students’ negative religious freedom and ordered its removal.
• The court determined that Bavaria’s 2018 Kreuzerlass does not cover gymnasiums and declined to allow a full revision, though parties may lodge a complaint within one week.
• The school has refused to remove the crucifix, arguing the decision was based on the individual circumstances of the two plaintiffs and is not yet legally binding.
• Bavaria’s Kultusministerin Anna Stolz has launched a review of the court’s legal reasoning and is evaluating possible policy adjustments for state schools.
• CSU leaders Klaus Holetschek and Florian Herrmann have described the ruling as an isolated case that leaves the Kreuzerlass intact, while Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has urged schools to continue displaying crosses.