Five people were killed in accidents, many others were seriously injured and hundreds were arrested across Germany as the country celebrated the start of the year.
The celebration was said to be largely peaceful, although significant damage was also caused by fireworks that included spherical shells.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, a 24-year-old man died when a fire extinguisher exploded, and two men were fatally injured in accidents in Saxony.
A 45-year-old man died in Oschatz, east of Leipzig, and a 50-year-old man was fatally injured in Hartha near Chemnitz. The two men were handling fireworks when they exploded.
In Hamburg, a 20-year-old man died when a home fire extinguisher exploded, and a 21-year-old man was fatally injured in northern Brandenburg.
In Berlin alone, the police arrested at least 390 people for a series of crimes, and 15 officers and members of the fire brigade were injured, the senator inside Iris Spranger told dpa.
“I condemn these actions in the strongest possible terms and expect them to be dealt with consistently and prosecuted,” she said.
There were also attacks on police officers in Leipzig, when people set rubbish on fire and built barricades. About 50 people threw fireworks and bottles at officers.
The offenses mainly involved grievous bodily harm, breach of the peace, and breaches of the Explosives Act, police said.
In Cologne, two officers were injured by firefighters, local police said. Similar incidents were reported in Hamburg.
In Munich, hundreds of people rioted and also attacked officers, with a police spokesman saying they included around 200 to 300 people from left-wing groups.
Kiel police said they were attacked by a larger group of people when officers tried to protect a parachute. Patrol cars arrived in front of the parachute and about 70 to 80 people approached them.
Meanwhile in Bonn, teenagers at the train station aimed a rocket at a sleeping homeless man, police said. He was in shock, while the suspects filmed the attack with a mobile phone.
Despite the hundreds of people who were arrested in the capital, Berlin police said on Wednesday that the night had been a success.
Most of the arrests were related to violations of laws related to the use of fireworks or weapons, a police spokesman said.
Fireworksare banned on some streets and fireworksare only allowed to be set off in Berlin on New Year's Eve from 6pm (1700 GMT) until New Year's morning New at 7 am. Violations risk fines of up to €10,000 ($10,401).
Fifteen police officers were injured during the night, one of whom had to undergo surgery after being hit by illegal fireworks, police said.
More than 3,000 additional police officers were deployed in addition to the 1,000 or so police officers in patrol cars and otherwise deployed on the streets.
There had been no serious violence and it paid off that the police had protected firefighters during the operation, another police spokesman said in a video published on X.
Police officers have been frustrated by pyrotechnics in the Connewitz district as riots broke out on New Year's Eve. Sebastian Willnow/dpa
