Politically, the majority of the district parliament (Kreistag) is traditionally conservative (CDU), with higher levels of conservative votes the farther the distance from Freiburg (which has a green-red majority).
The left half of the coat of arms show the colors of Austria, and the right side the colors of Baden, as parts of the District belonged to both states at various times. In the middle, the coat of arms shows an eagle, taken from the coat of arms of the Princes of Fürstenberg. The coat of arms was granted in 1974, and it is very similar to the coat of arms of the previous Freiburg district.