I just did a quick check:

The 25.000€ hasn't been raised since the early 1980s. (50.000 DM back then) So to have the same liability today, you would have to put down 65.000€.

So it has gotten increasingly cheaper to start a GmbH in Germany.

This is a very insigthful comment! I also checked and the notary fee I paid 10+ years ago is the same as I paid this year ( for a GmbH founding ).