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Bamberg Strikes Deal on Ankerzentrum With Time-Limited Extension, Path to City Ownership

Details will be presented on December 19 at a special council session attended by Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann.

Overview

  • The city confirmed the facility will continue operating beyond December 31, 2025 on a temporary basis, with no new end date announced.
  • Bamberg secured assurance it can take ownership of the site as part of the compromise, which Mayor Andreas Starke called the key to an agreement.
  • The Bavarian Interior Ministry backed continued operations, citing the lack of a comparable facility in Upper Franconia.
  • Contracts had been set to expire at the end of 2025 after the city pushed for closure and considered legal action, prompting negotiations.
  • The center opened in 2015 on a former U.S. Army site to centralize first reception and agencies for asylum processing, and occupancy fell from about 1,500 in May 2024 to roughly 700 in May 2025.