Overview
- Interior Minister Michael Ebling announced that the statewide ordinance will take effect at the end of November to coincide with the Christmas market season.
- Police and municipal enforcement will carry out random checks on buses, trams and trains, including designated control days in larger cities, with no additional staffing planned.
- Violations will be treated as administrative offenses punishable by fines of up to €10,000, with local authorities able to issue warnings at their discretion.
- Exceptions include newly purchased kitchen knives, pocketknives for hiking and tradespeople’s tools, provided they are packed away and not readily accessible.
- The measure aligns with broader restrictions in other German regions after increased knife incidents; the state recorded 553 knife-related cases last year, about half in public spaces.