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Germany is a federation made up of 16
States, known in
German language as
Länder (singular
Land). Since
Land is the literal German word for "country", the term
Bundesländer (federal states; singular
Bundesland) is commonly used colloquially as it is more specific, though technically incorrect within the corpus of
German law.
The cities of Berlin and Hamburg are states in their own right, termed
Stadtstaaten (city states), while Bremen (state) consists of two Urban districts of Germanys. The remaining 13 states are termed
Flächenländer (area states).
States
After the end of the
Second World War, the
Länder in the western part of the former
Deutsches Reich were constituted as administrative areas first and subsequently federated into the
Bund or Federal Republic of Germany. This is in contrast to post-war development in
Austria, where the
Bund was constituted first, and then the individual states were created as units of a federal system. In
Austria, the
States of Austria are also referred to as
Länder in the
Constitution of Austria.
The use of the term
Länder (countries) instead of
Staaten (states) is in accordance with German political tradition, where the concept of Germany as an entity has always existed, either as a confederation or an alliance of several smaller independent kingdoms and duchies dating from the 9th century. Many of the current Länder have the same names and generally occupy the same areas as their namesakes, the former sovereign countries (for example Bavaria and Saxony).
Overview
{| style="clear:both;" class="sortable"|- style="background-color:#bbbbbb;"
! class="unsortable" | Coat of arms
! Land
! Joined
the federation
! Head of government
! Government-
coalition
! Votes in
[Bundesrat
! Area (km²)
! Inhabitants
(Mio)
! Inhabitants
per km²
! Capital
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
| ]
| [Baden-Württemberg
| 1949In 1949 the Länder [South Baden , [Württemberg-Baden and [Württemberg-Hohenzollern joined the federation. These Länder were in 1952 united in the current Bundesland Baden-Württemberg.
| [Günther Oettinger ([Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands)
| align="center"| CDU/[Freie Demokratische Partei
| align="center"| 6
| align="right"| 35,752
| align="right"| 10,739
| align="right"| 300
| [Stuttgart
|- style="background-color:#dddddd;"
| ]
| [Bayern
| 1949
| [Günther Beckstein ([Christlich-Soziale Union in Bayern)
| align="center"| CSU
| align="center"| 6
| align="right"| 70,552
| style="text-align:right" | 12,488
| style="text-align:right" | 177
| [Munich
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
| ]
| [Berlin
| 1990Berlin is only since the [Deutsche Wiedervereinigung a full Bundesland, even though ''Berlin (West)'' during the division was mostly treated as one. See also[Berlin-Frage.
| [Klaus Wowereit ([Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands)
| align="center"| SPD/[Die Linke
| align="center"| 4
| align="right"| 892
| style="text-align:right" | 3,395
| style="text-align:right" | 3,807
| –
|- style="background-color:#dddddd;"
| ]
| [Brandenburg
| 1990
| [Matthias Platzeck (SPD)
| align="center"| SPD/CDU
| align="center"| 4
| align="right"| 29,479
| style="text-align:right" | 2,559
| style="text-align:right" | 87
| [Potsdam
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
| ]
| [Bremen (state)
| 1949
| [Jens Böhrnsen (SPD)
| align="center"| SPD/[Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
| align="center"| 3
| align="right"| 404
| style="text-align:right" | 0,663
| style="text-align:right" | 1,641
| –
|- style="background-color:#dddddd;"
| ]
| [Hamburg
| 1949
| [Ole von Beust (CDU)
| align="center"| CDU
| align="center"| 3
| align="right"| 755
| style="text-align:right" | 1,774
| style="text-align:right" | 2,309
| –
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
| ]
| [Hessen
| 1949
| [Roland Koch (CDU)
| align="center"| CDU
| align="center"| 5
| align="right"| 21,115
| style="text-align:right" | 6,075
| style="text-align:right" | 289
| [Wiesbaden
|- style="background-color:#dddddd;"
| ]
| [Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
| 1990
| [Harald Ringstorff (SPD)
| align="center"| SPD/CDU
| align="center"| 3
| align="right"| 23,180
| style="text-align:right" | 1,707
| style="text-align:right" | 74
| [Schwerin
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
| ]
| [Niedersachsen
| 1949
| [Christian Wulff (CDU)
| align="center"| CDU/FDP
| align="center"| 6
| align="right"| 47,624
| style="text-align:right" | 7,997
| style="text-align:right" | 168
| [Hannover
|- style="background-color:#dddddd;"
| ]
| [Nordrhein-Westfalen
| 1949
| [Jürgen Rüttgers (CDU)
| align="center"| CDU/FDP
| align="center"| 6
| align="right"| 34,085
| style="text-align:right" | 18,029
| style="text-align:right" | 530
| [Düsseldorf
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
| ]
| [Rheinland-Pfalz
| 1949
| [Kurt Beck (SPD)
| align="center"| SPD
| align="center"| 4
| align="right"| 19,853
| style="text-align:right" | 4,053
| style="text-align:right" | 204
| [Mainz
|- style="background-color:#dddddd;"
| ]
| [Saarland
| 1957
| [Peter Müller (CDU) (CDU)
| align="center"| CDU
| align="center"| 3
| align="right"| 2,569
| style="text-align:right" | 1,050
| style="text-align:right" | 409
| [Saarbrücken
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
| ]
| [Saxony
| 1990
| [Georg Milbradt (CDU)
| align="center"| CDU/SPD
| align="center"| 4
| align="right"| 18,416
| style="text-align:right" | 4,250
| style="text-align:right" | 232
| [Dresden
|- style="background-color:#dddddd;"
| ]
| [Sachsen-Anhalt
| 1990
| [Wolfgang Böhmer (CDU)
| align="center"| CDU/SPD
| align="center"| 4
| align="right"| 20,446
| style="text-align:right" | 2,470
| style="text-align:right" | 121
| [Magdeburg
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
| ]
| [Schleswig-Holstein
| 1949
| [Peter Harry Carstensen (CDU)
| align="center"| CDU/SPD
| align="center"| 4
| align="right"| 15,799
| style="text-align:right" | 2,833
| style="text-align:right" | 179
| [Kiel
|- style="background-color:#dddddd;"
| ]
| [Thuringia
| 1990
| [Dieter Althaus (CDU)
| align="center"| CDU
| align="center"| 4
| align="right"| 16,172
| style="text-align:right" | 2,335
| style="text-align:right" | 144
| [Erfurt
|}
History
During the initial occupation of Germany after World War II, the territory in each Occupation Zone was re-organized into new
Länder to prevent any one
Land from ever dominating Germany (as Prussia had done). Initially, only 7 of the pre-War
Länder survived: Bavaria, Bremen, Hamburg, Baden, Saarland, Saxony, and Thuringia. The rest were amalgamations of Prussian provinces and smaller
Länder. For example, the Prussian Province of Saxony and the
Land of Anhalt were merged to create Saxony-Anhalt.
Initially, in 1949, West Germany had eleven states, which were reduced to nine in 1952 as three south-western states (South Baden,
Württemberg-Hohenzollern and Württemberg-Baden) merged to form Baden-Württemberg. Since 1957, when the French-occupied Saarland was allowed to join (the "small reunification"), the Federal Republic consisted of ten states. West Berlin was in many ways integrated with West Germany, but due to its special status de jure under the sovereignty of the Western Allies, did not officially constitute a
Land or part of one.
In
East Germany, originally five
Länder (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony) existed, until 1952, when the GDR divided them into 14 administrative districts (
Bezirke). Soviet-controlled East Berlin, despite officially having the same status as West Berlin, was declared capital of the GDR, as a (15th) district.
Just prior to the
German reunification on
3 October1990, 14 of the East German districts (not including East Berlin) reconstituted themselves, mainly along the old borders, into the five New Länder. The former district of East Berlin joined West Berlin to form the new
Land of Berlin. Thus the 10 old states plus 5 new states plus Berlin add up to 16.
Later, the
Grundgesetz was changed to state that the citizens of the 16 states had successfully achieved unity in freedom, and that the basic law now covers all German people. Article 23, which had allowed "other parts of Germany" to join, was abolished as its continued inclusion might have been regarded as an invitation for other German-speaking states and areas to join (e.g. Austria, South Tyrol, Liechtenstein, the Swiss cantons, Alsace, Luxembourg, and Eastern Belgium).
Unlike other federations, the German States retain the right to act on their own behalf at an international level. They retain the status of subjects of international law, independently from their status as members of a federation. This unique status is enshrined in Articles 23, 24, and 32 of the Basic Law.
The 16
Länder, by reference to the numbers on the map above, are:
Baden-Württemberg
Bavaria (Freistaat Bayern)
Berlin
Brandenburg
Bremen (state) (Freie Hansestadt Bremen)
Hamburg (Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg)
Hesse (Hessen)
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)
Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen)
North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen)
Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz)
Saarland
Free State of Saxony (Freistaat Sachsen)
Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt)
Schleswig-Holstein
Thuringia (Freistaat Thüringen)
The description
Free state (government) (
Freistaat) is merely used for historical reasons. Legally a
Freistaat is no different from the other states. The usual official name is
Land of . Each
Land is represented at the federal level in the
Bundesrat (Germany) ("Federal Council").
Structure of government
, with the
Prussia (
Freistaat Preußen) as the largest (green) within the German Empire (1871-1918)
The Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Federation constitution, stipulates that the structure of each Federal State's government must "conform to the principles of republican, democratic, and social government, based on the rule of law" (Article 28).
Most of the
Länder are governed by a cabinet led by a
Minister-President (Minister-President), together with a unicameral legislature known as the
Landtag (State Diet (assembly)). The relationship between the legislative and executive branches mirrors that of the federal system: the legislatures are popularly elected for four or five years (depending on the state), and the Minister-President is then chosen by a majority vote among the
Landtag's members. The Minister-President appoints a cabinet to run the ''Land'''s agencies and to carry out the executive duties of the
Land's government.The governments in
Berlin, Bremen (state) and Hamburg are designated by the term
Senate. In the three
free state (government)s of
Bavaria,
Free State of Saxony and
Thuringia the government is referred to as the
State Government (Staatsregierung), and in the other ten
Länder the term
Land Government (Landesregierung) is used.
Before
January 1 2000, Bavaria had a bicameral parliament, with a popularly elected
Landtag of Bavaria, and an appointed
Senate made up of representatives of the state's major social and economic groups. The Senate was abolished following a referendum in 1998.
The
Länder of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg are governed slightly differently from the other states. In each of these cities, the executive branch consists of a Senate of approximately eight selected by the
Land's parliament; the senators carry out duties equivalent to those of the ministers in the larger
Länder. The equivalent of the Minister-President is the
Senatspräsident (President of the Senate) in Bremen, the
Erster Bürgermeister (First Mayor) in Hamburg, and the
Regierender Bürgermeister (Governing Mayor) in Berlin. The parliament for Berlin is called the
Abgeordnetenhaus (House of Representatives), while Bremen and Hamburg both have a
Bürgerschaft. The parliaments in the remaining 13
Länder are referred to as
Landtag (State Parliament).
Politics
Politics at the state level often carries implications for federal politics. Opposition victories in elections for State Parliaments, which take place throughout the federal government's four-year term, can weaken the federal government, because state governments have assigned seats in the "
Bundesrat of Germany" (the upper chamber of the federal parliament), which must also approve many laws after passage by the "
Bundestag" (the lower chamber of the federal parliament). State elections are viewed as a barometer of support for the policies of the federal government. If the parties of the governing coalition lose support in successive
Land elections, those results may foreshadow political difficulties for the federal government. In the early 1990s, the opposition
Social Democratic Party of Germany commanded a two-thirds majority in the
Bundesrat, making it particularly difficult for the governing Christian Democratic Union (Germany)/Christian Social Union of Bavaria-
Freie Demokratische Partei coalition to achieve the constitutional changes it sought; by 2003 the situation was the reverse, with an SPD-led government being severely hindered by a large CDU majority in the
Bundesrat. This led to Konrad Adenauer and Gerhard Schröder losing the
Chancellor of Germany in 1963 and 2005 respectively because their governments became unable to decisively act, thus losing popular support, all because of the efforts of the various state leaders in the Bundesrat in blocking legislation.
The powers of the state governments and legislatures in their own territories have been much diminished in recent decades due to ever-increasing federal legislation. A commission has been formed to examine the possibility of instituting a clearer separation of federal and state powers. The states, in particular, are responsible for cultural development, law enforcement and the educational system in its entirety (both primary and secondary schools, and the universities as well).
== Further subdivisions ==The
city-states of Berlin and Hamburg are subdivided into
boroughs. The state of Bremen consists of two List of German urban districts,
Bremen (city) and Bremerhaven, which are not contiguous. In the other
Länder there are the following subdivisions:
Landschaftsverbände
Landschaftsverband ("area associations"): The most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia is uniquely divided into two Landschaftsverbände, one for the
Rhineland, one for
Westphalia-
Lippe. This was meant to ease the friction caused by uniting the two culturally quite different regions into a single Land after World War II. The Landschaftsverbände retain very little power today.
Regierungsbezirke
Regierungsbezirke ("governmental districts"): The large states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony are divided into administrative regions, or
Regierungsbezirke.In Rhineland-Palatinate, the
Regierungsbezirke were dissolved on January 1 2000, in Saxony-Anhalt on
January 1 2004 and in Lower Saxony on
January 1 2005.
Kreise
Districts of Germany (administrative districts): Every state (except the city states Berlin, Hamburg and
Bremen (state)) consists of List of German rural districts,
Landkreise, and List of German urban districts,
Stadtkreise (also:
Kreisfreie Städte), cities which are districts in their own right. The state of
Bremen (state) consists of two urban districts, while Berlin and Hamburg are states and urban districts at the same time.
There are 313
Landkreise and 116
Kreisfreie Städte, making 439 districts all together. Each consists of an elected council and an executive, who is chosen by either the council or the people, depending on the
Bundesland, and whose duties are comparable to those of a county executive in the United States of America, supervising local government administration. The
Landkreise have primary administrative functions in specific areas, such as highways, hospitals, and public utilities.
Ämter
Amt (political division) ("offices"): In some states there is an administrative unit between districts and municipalities. These units are called
Ämter (singular
Amt),
Amtsgemeinden,
Landgemeinden,
Verbandsgemeinden,
Verwaltungsgemeinschaften or
Kirchspiellandgemeinden.
Gemeinden
Municipality ("municipalities"): Every rural district and every Amt is subdivided into municipalities, while every urban district is a municipality in its own right. There are (as of
1 March as of 2006) 12,320 municipalities, which are the smallest administrative units in Germany. Cities are municipalities as well, which have city rights (
Stadtrecht). Nowadays, this is mostly just the right to be called a city. However, in older times it included many privileges, such as the right to impose its own taxes or to allow industry only within city limits.
Gemeinden are ruled by elected councils and an executive, the mayor, who is chosen by either the council or the people, depending on the
Bundesland. The "constitution" for the
Gemeinden is created by the Länder and is uniform throughout a
Bundesland (except for Bremen, which allows Bremerhaven to have its own constitution).
Gemeinden have two major policy responsibilities. First, they administer programs authorized by the federal or
Land government. Such programs typically might relate to youth, schools, public health, and social assistance. Second, Article 28(2) of the Basic Law guarantees
Gemeinden "the right to regulate on their own responsibility all the affairs of the local community within the limits set by law." Under this broad statement of competence, local governments can justify a wide range of activities. For instance, many municipalities develop and expand the economic infrastructure of their communities through the development of industrial parks.
Local authorities foster cultural activities by supporting local artists, building arts' centres, and by having fairs. Local government also provides public utilities, such as gas and electricity, as well as public transportation. The majority of the funding for municipalities is provided by higher levels of government rather than from taxes raised and collected directly by themselves.
In five of the German states, there are
unincorporated areas, in many cases unpopulated forest and mountain areas, but also four Bavarian lakes, that are not part of any municipality. As of January 1, 2005, there were 246 such areas, most of them in
Bavaria, with a total area of 4167.66 km², or 1.2 percent of the total area of Germany. The following table gives an overview.
{] || align="right" | 216 || align="right" | 2725.06 || align="right" | 262 || align="right" | 2992.78|-| Lower Saxony ] || align="right" | 4 || align="right" | 327.05 || align="right" | 4 || align="right" | 327.05|-|
Schleswig-Holstein ] || align="right" | 1 || align="right" | 66.98 || align="right" | 2 || align="right" | 76.99|-|
Total || align="right" | 246 || align="right" | 4167.66 || align="right" | 295 || align="right" | 4890.33|-|}
The table shows that in 2000 the number of unincorporated areas was still 295, with a total area of 4890.33 km². Unincorporated areas are continually being incorporated into neighboring municipalities, wholly or partially, most frequently in Bavaria.
Only four unincorporated areas are populated, with an aggregate population of about 2000.
See also
External links
- CityMayors feature on Germany subdivisions
References
Germany is a
federation made up of 16
States, known in
German language as
Länder (singular
Land). Since
Land is the literal German word for "country", the term
Bundesländer (federal states; singular
Bundesland) is commonly used colloquially as it is more specific, though technically incorrect within the corpus of German law.
The cities of
Berlin and Hamburg are states in their own right, termed
Stadtstaaten (city states), while Bremen (state) consists of two
Urban districts of Germanys. The remaining 13 states are termed
Flächenländer (area states).
States
After the end of the
Second World War, the
Länder in the western part of the former Deutsches Reich were constituted as administrative areas first and subsequently federated into the
Bund or Federal Republic of Germany. This is in contrast to post-war development in Austria, where the
Bund was constituted first, and then the individual states were created as units of a federal system. In Austria, the States of Austria are also referred to as
Länder in the Constitution of Austria.
The use of the term
Länder (countries) instead of
Staaten (states) is in accordance with German political tradition, where the concept of Germany as an entity has always existed, either as a confederation or an alliance of several smaller independent kingdoms and duchies dating from the 9th century. Many of the current Länder have the same names and generally occupy the same areas as their namesakes, the former sovereign countries (for example Bavaria and Saxony).
Overview
{| style="clear:both;" class="sortable"|- style="background-color:#bbbbbb;"
! class="unsortable" | Coat of arms
! Land
! Joined
the federation
! Head of government
! Government-
coalition
! Votes in
[Bundesrat
! Area (km²)
! Inhabitants
(Mio)
! Inhabitants
per km²
! Capital
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
| ]
| [Baden-Württemberg
| 1949In 1949 the Länder [South Baden , [Württemberg-Baden and [Württemberg-Hohenzollern joined the federation. These Länder were in 1952 united in the current Bundesland Baden-Württemberg.
| [Günther Oettinger ([Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands)
| align="center"| CDU/[Freie Demokratische Partei
| align="center"| 6
| align="right"| 35,752
| align="right"| 10,739
| align="right"| 300
| [Stuttgart
|- style="background-color:#dddddd;"
| ]
| [Bayern
| 1949
| [Günther Beckstein ([Christlich-Soziale Union in Bayern)
| align="center"| CSU
| align="center"| 6
| align="right"| 70,552
| style="text-align:right" | 12,488
| style="text-align:right" | 177
| [Munich
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
| ]
| [Berlin
| 1990Berlin is only since the [Deutsche Wiedervereinigung a full Bundesland, even though ''Berlin (West)'' during the division was mostly treated as one. See also[Berlin-Frage.
| [Klaus Wowereit ([Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands)
| align="center"| SPD/[Die Linke
| align="center"| 4
| align="right"| 892
| style="text-align:right" | 3,395
| style="text-align:right" | 3,807
| –
|- style="background-color:#dddddd;"
| ]
| [Brandenburg
| 1990
| [Matthias Platzeck (SPD)
| align="center"| SPD/CDU
| align="center"| 4
| align="right"| 29,479
| style="text-align:right" | 2,559
| style="text-align:right" | 87
| [Potsdam
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
| ]
| [Bremen (state)
| 1949
| [Jens Böhrnsen (SPD)
| align="center"| SPD/[Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
| align="center"| 3
| align="right"| 404
| style="text-align:right" | 0,663
| style="text-align:right" | 1,641
| –
|- style="background-color:#dddddd;"
| ]
| [Hamburg
| 1949
| [Ole von Beust (CDU)
| align="center"| CDU
| align="center"| 3
| align="right"| 755
| style="text-align:right" | 1,774
| style="text-align:right" | 2,309
| –
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
| ]
| [Hessen
| 1949
| [Roland Koch (CDU)
| align="center"| CDU
| align="center"| 5
| align="right"| 21,115
| style="text-align:right" | 6,075
| style="text-align:right" | 289
| [Wiesbaden
|- style="background-color:#dddddd;"
| ]
| [Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
| 1990
| [Harald Ringstorff (SPD)
| align="center"| SPD/CDU
| align="center"| 3
| align="right"| 23,180
| style="text-align:right" | 1,707
| style="text-align:right" | 74
| [Schwerin
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
| ]
| [Niedersachsen
| 1949
| [Christian Wulff (CDU)
| align="center"| CDU/FDP
| align="center"| 6
| align="right"| 47,624
| style="text-align:right" | 7,997
| style="text-align:right" | 168
| [Hannover
|- style="background-color:#dddddd;"
| ]
| [Nordrhein-Westfalen
| 1949
| [Jürgen Rüttgers (CDU)
| align="center"| CDU/FDP
| align="center"| 6
| align="right"| 34,085
| style="text-align:right" | 18,029
| style="text-align:right" | 530
| [Düsseldorf
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
| ]
| [Rheinland-Pfalz
| 1949
| [Kurt Beck (SPD)
| align="center"| SPD
| align="center"| 4
| align="right"| 19,853
| style="text-align:right" | 4,053
| style="text-align:right" | 204
| [Mainz
|- style="background-color:#dddddd;"
| ]
| [Saarland
| 1957
| [Peter Müller (CDU) (CDU)
| align="center"| CDU
| align="center"| 3
| align="right"| 2,569
| style="text-align:right" | 1,050
| style="text-align:right" | 409
| [Saarbrücken
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
| ]
| [Saxony
| 1990
| [Georg Milbradt (CDU)
| align="center"| CDU/SPD
| align="center"| 4
| align="right"| 18,416
| style="text-align:right" | 4,250
| style="text-align:right" | 232
| [Dresden
|- style="background-color:#dddddd;"
| ]
| [Sachsen-Anhalt
| 1990
| [Wolfgang Böhmer (CDU)
| align="center"| CDU/SPD
| align="center"| 4
| align="right"| 20,446
| style="text-align:right" | 2,470
| style="text-align:right" | 121
| [Magdeburg
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
| ]
| [Schleswig-Holstein
| 1949
| [Peter Harry Carstensen (CDU)
| align="center"| CDU/SPD
| align="center"| 4
| align="right"| 15,799
| style="text-align:right" | 2,833
| style="text-align:right" | 179
| [Kiel
|- style="background-color:#dddddd;"
| ]
| [Thuringia
| 1990
| [Dieter Althaus (CDU)
| align="center"| CDU
| align="center"| 4
| align="right"| 16,172
| style="text-align:right" | 2,335
| style="text-align:right" | 144
| [Erfurt
|}
History
During the initial occupation of Germany after World War II, the territory in each Occupation Zone was re-organized into new
Länder to prevent any one
Land from ever dominating Germany (as Prussia had done). Initially, only 7 of the pre-War
Länder survived: Bavaria, Bremen, Hamburg, Baden, Saarland, Saxony, and Thuringia. The rest were amalgamations of Prussian provinces and smaller
Länder. For example, the Prussian Province of Saxony and the
Land of Anhalt were merged to create Saxony-Anhalt.
Initially, in 1949,
West Germany had eleven states, which were reduced to nine in 1952 as three south-western states (
South Baden, Württemberg-Hohenzollern and
Württemberg-Baden) merged to form
Baden-Württemberg. Since 1957, when the French-occupied
Saarland was allowed to join (the "small reunification"), the Federal Republic consisted of ten states. West Berlin was in many ways integrated with West Germany, but due to its special status de jure under the sovereignty of the Western Allies, did not officially constitute a
Land or part of one.
In East Germany, originally five
Länder (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony) existed, until 1952, when the GDR divided them into 14 administrative districts (
Bezirke). Soviet-controlled East Berlin, despite officially having the same status as West Berlin, was declared capital of the GDR, as a (15th) district.
Just prior to the
German reunification on
3 October1990, 14 of the East German districts (not including East Berlin) reconstituted themselves, mainly along the old borders, into the five
New Länder. The former district of
East Berlin joined West Berlin to form the new
Land of Berlin. Thus the 10 old states plus 5 new states plus Berlin add up to 16.
Later, the Grundgesetz was changed to state that the citizens of the 16 states had successfully achieved unity in freedom, and that the basic law now covers all German people. Article 23, which had allowed "other parts of Germany" to join, was abolished as its continued inclusion might have been regarded as an invitation for other German-speaking states and areas to join (e.g. Austria, South Tyrol, Liechtenstein, the Swiss cantons, Alsace, Luxembourg, and Eastern Belgium).
Unlike other federations, the German States retain the right to act on their own behalf at an international level. They retain the status of subjects of international law, independently from their status as members of a federation. This unique status is enshrined in Articles 23, 24, and 32 of the Basic Law.
The 16
Länder, by reference to the numbers on the map above, are:
Baden-Württemberg
Bavaria (Freistaat Bayern)
Berlin
Brandenburg
Bremen (state) (Freie Hansestadt Bremen)
Hamburg (Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg)
Hesse (Hessen)
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)
Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen)
North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen)
Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz)
Saarland
Free State of Saxony (Freistaat Sachsen)
Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt)
Schleswig-Holstein
Thuringia (Freistaat Thüringen)
The description
Free state (government) (
Freistaat) is merely used for historical reasons. Legally a
Freistaat is no different from the other states. The usual official name is
Land of . Each
Land is represented at the federal level in the
Bundesrat (Germany) ("Federal Council").
Structure of government
, with the Prussia (
Freistaat Preußen) as the largest (green) within the
German Empire (1871-1918)
The Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, the
Federation constitution, stipulates that the structure of each Federal State's government must "conform to the principles of republican, democratic, and social government, based on the rule of law" (Article 28).
Most of the
Länder are governed by a cabinet led by a
Minister-President (Minister-President), together with a
unicameral legislature known as the
Landtag (State
Diet (assembly)). The relationship between the legislative and executive branches mirrors that of the federal system: the legislatures are popularly elected for four or five years (depending on the state), and the Minister-President is then chosen by a
majority vote among the
Landtag's members. The Minister-President appoints a cabinet to run the ''Land'''s agencies and to carry out the executive duties of the
Land's government.The governments in Berlin,
Bremen (state) and Hamburg are designated by the term Senate. In the three
free state (government)s of
Bavaria,
Free State of Saxony and
Thuringia the government is referred to as the
State Government (Staatsregierung), and in the other ten
Länder the term
Land Government (Landesregierung) is used.
Before
January 1 2000, Bavaria had a bicameral parliament, with a popularly elected
Landtag of Bavaria, and an appointed Senate made up of representatives of the state's major social and economic groups. The Senate was abolished following a
referendum in 1998.
The
Länder of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg are governed slightly differently from the other states. In each of these cities, the executive branch consists of a Senate of approximately eight selected by the
Land's parliament; the senators carry out duties equivalent to those of the ministers in the larger
Länder. The equivalent of the Minister-President is the
Senatspräsident (President of the Senate) in Bremen, the
Erster Bürgermeister (First Mayor) in Hamburg, and the
Regierender Bürgermeister (Governing Mayor) in Berlin. The parliament for Berlin is called the
Abgeordnetenhaus (House of Representatives), while Bremen and Hamburg both have a
Bürgerschaft. The parliaments in the remaining 13
Länder are referred to as
Landtag (State Parliament).
Politics
Politics at the state level often carries implications for federal politics. Opposition victories in elections for State Parliaments, which take place throughout the federal government's four-year term, can weaken the federal government, because state governments have assigned seats in the "Bundesrat of Germany" (the upper chamber of the federal parliament), which must also approve many laws after passage by the "Bundestag" (the lower chamber of the federal parliament). State elections are viewed as a barometer of support for the policies of the federal government. If the parties of the governing coalition lose support in successive
Land elections, those results may foreshadow political difficulties for the federal government. In the early 1990s, the opposition
Social Democratic Party of Germany commanded a two-thirds majority in the
Bundesrat, making it particularly difficult for the governing
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)/
Christian Social Union of Bavaria-Freie Demokratische Partei coalition to achieve the constitutional changes it sought; by 2003 the situation was the reverse, with an SPD-led government being severely hindered by a large CDU majority in the
Bundesrat. This led to Konrad Adenauer and
Gerhard Schröder losing the
Chancellor of Germany in 1963 and 2005 respectively because their governments became unable to decisively act, thus losing popular support, all because of the efforts of the various state leaders in the Bundesrat in blocking legislation.
The powers of the state governments and legislatures in their own territories have been much diminished in recent decades due to ever-increasing federal legislation. A commission has been formed to examine the possibility of instituting a clearer separation of federal and state powers. The states, in particular, are responsible for cultural development, law enforcement and the educational system in its entirety (both primary and secondary schools, and the universities as well).
== Further subdivisions ==The
city-states of Berlin and Hamburg are subdivided into boroughs. The state of Bremen consists of two List of German urban districts,
Bremen (city) and Bremerhaven, which are not contiguous. In the other
Länder there are the following subdivisions:
Landschaftsverbände
Landschaftsverband ("area associations"): The most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia is uniquely divided into two Landschaftsverbände, one for the
Rhineland, one for
Westphalia-Lippe. This was meant to ease the friction caused by uniting the two culturally quite different regions into a single Land after World War II. The Landschaftsverbände retain very little power today.
Regierungsbezirke
Regierungsbezirke ("governmental districts"): The large states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony are divided into administrative regions, or
Regierungsbezirke.In Rhineland-Palatinate, the
Regierungsbezirke were dissolved on January 1
2000, in Saxony-Anhalt on
January 1 2004 and in Lower Saxony on
January 1 2005.
Kreise
Districts of Germany (administrative districts): Every state (except the city states
Berlin,
Hamburg and
Bremen (state)) consists of List of German rural districts,
Landkreise, and
List of German urban districts,
Stadtkreise (also:
Kreisfreie Städte), cities which are districts in their own right. The state of
Bremen (state) consists of two urban districts, while Berlin and Hamburg are states and urban districts at the same time.
There are 313
Landkreise and 116
Kreisfreie Städte, making 439 districts all together. Each consists of an elected council and an executive, who is chosen by either the council or the people, depending on the
Bundesland, and whose duties are comparable to those of a county executive in the United States of America, supervising local government administration. The
Landkreise have primary administrative functions in specific areas, such as highways, hospitals, and public utilities.
Ämter
Amt (political division) ("offices"): In some states there is an administrative unit between districts and municipalities. These units are called
Ämter (singular
Amt),
Amtsgemeinden,
Landgemeinden,
Verbandsgemeinden,
Verwaltungsgemeinschaften or
Kirchspiellandgemeinden.
Gemeinden
Municipality ("municipalities"): Every rural district and every Amt is subdivided into municipalities, while every urban district is a municipality in its own right. There are (as of 1 March
as of 2006) 12,320 municipalities, which are the smallest administrative units in Germany. Cities are municipalities as well, which have city rights (
Stadtrecht). Nowadays, this is mostly just the right to be called a city. However, in older times it included many privileges, such as the right to impose its own taxes or to allow industry only within city limits.
Gemeinden are ruled by elected councils and an executive, the mayor, who is chosen by either the council or the people, depending on the
Bundesland. The "constitution" for the
Gemeinden is created by the Länder and is uniform throughout a
Bundesland (except for Bremen, which allows Bremerhaven to have its own constitution).
Gemeinden have two major policy responsibilities. First, they administer programs authorized by the federal or
Land government. Such programs typically might relate to youth, schools, public health, and social assistance. Second, Article 28(2) of the Basic Law guarantees
Gemeinden "the right to regulate on their own responsibility all the affairs of the local community within the limits set by law." Under this broad statement of competence, local governments can justify a wide range of activities. For instance, many municipalities develop and expand the economic infrastructure of their communities through the development of industrial parks.
Local authorities foster cultural activities by supporting local artists, building arts' centres, and by having fairs. Local government also provides public utilities, such as gas and electricity, as well as public transportation. The majority of the funding for municipalities is provided by higher levels of government rather than from taxes raised and collected directly by themselves.
In five of the German states, there are unincorporated areas, in many cases unpopulated forest and mountain areas, but also four Bavarian lakes, that are not part of any municipality. As of January 1, 2005, there were 246 such areas, most of them in
Bavaria, with a total area of 4167.66 km², or 1.2 percent of the total area of Germany. The following table gives an overview.
{] || align="right" | 216 || align="right" | 2725.06 || align="right" | 262 || align="right" | 2992.78|-|
Lower Saxony ] || align="right" | 4 || align="right" | 327.05 || align="right" | 4 || align="right" | 327.05|-| Schleswig-Holstein ] || align="right" | 1 || align="right" | 66.98 || align="right" | 2 || align="right" | 76.99|-|
Total || align="right" | 246 || align="right" | 4167.66 || align="right" | 295 || align="right" | 4890.33|-|}
The table shows that in 2000 the number of unincorporated areas was still 295, with a total area of 4890.33 km². Unincorporated areas are continually being incorporated into neighboring municipalities, wholly or partially, most frequently in Bavaria.
Only four unincorporated areas are populated, with an aggregate population of about 2000.
See also
External links
- CityMayors feature on Germany subdivisions
References
States of Germany - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Germany is a Federal Republic made up of sixteen states, known in German as Länder (singular Land). Since Land is the literal German word for "country", the term Bundesländer ...
Category:States of Germany - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
English Wikipedia article: States of Germany Commons related category: States of Germany
European Countries - Germany
This page provides general information on Germany ... Member States of the EU Germany: Year of EU entry: Founding member; Political system: Federal republic; Capital city: Berlin ...
Category:States of Germany - Wikimedia Commons
This category covers the 16 federated States of Germany (or Länder, singular Land) of Germany. The 16 Länder, by reference to the numbers on the map above, are:
Germany States
States of Germany Buy data Donate Updates: In the book "Administrative Subdivisions of Countries", the HASC code for Brandenburg was given as DE.BR, matching the ISO 3166-2 code
Embassy of the United States - Berlin, Germany: Homepage
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Highlights of Germany - Federal States - North Rhine-Westphalia ...
North Rhine-Westphalia, with its state capital Düsseldorf, is the most densely populated federal state in Germany. As well as being a leading ind...
Highlights of Germany
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