States of Germany

Germany is made up of sixteen Lnder (singular Land, colloquially (but rarely in a legal context) called Bundesland, for "federated state") which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries. Often referred to in English by German speakers as "states", the term "Land" (with an uppercase 'L') is used in the official English version of the Basic Law[1] and in UK parliamentary proceedings.[2] However, it is sometimes translated as "federal states" in other publications.[3] Although the term Land applies to all states, some are also described as "states" in German. Each of the states of Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia officially describes itself as a "state" (Staat) and more specifically as a "free state" (Freistaat). Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen are frequently called Stadtstaaten (city-states). The remaining 13 states are called Flchenlnder (literally: area countries).

Contents
[hide]

1 States 2 History

2.1 West Germany 1945-1990 2.2 Reunited Germany 1990-Present 3.1 Government 4.1 Area associations (Landschaftsverbnde) 4.2 Governmental districts (Regierungsbezirke) 4.3 Administrative districts (Kreise) 4.4 Offices (mter) 4.5 Municipalities (Gemeinden)

3 Politics

4 Subdivisions

5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] States

Map of German states and cities in German. After 1945, new states were constituted in all four zones of occupation. In 1949, the states in the three western zones formed the Federal Republic of Germany. This is in contrast to the post-war development in Austria, where the Bund (federation) was constituted first, and then the individual states were created as units of a federal state. The use of the term Lnder dates back to the Weimar constitution of 1919. Before this time, the constituent states of the German Empire were called Staaten. Today, it is very common to use the term Bundesland. However, this term is not used officially, neither by the constitution of 1919 nor by the Basic Law of 1949. Three Lnder are called Freistaat (free state, republic), i.e., Bavaria (since 1919), Saxony (since 1990), and Thuringia (since 1994). There is little continuity between the current states and their predecessors of the Weimar Republic with the exception of the three free states, and the two city-states of Hamburg and Bremen. A new delimitation of the federal territory keeps being debated in Germany though "there are significant differences among the American states and regional governments in other federations without serious calls for territorial changes".[4] However, "the argument the proponents of boundary reform in Germany make is that the German system of dual federalism requires strong Lnder that have the administrative and fiscal capacity to implement legislation and pay for it from own source revenues. [...] But in spite of these and other arguments for boundary reforms, action has not been taken ....[5] Coat of arms State Joine Bunde Germa Head of Populati Pop. d Gov't s- Area n governme on per Capital the coalition rat (km) abbrev nt (thous.) km FRG votes .
[

Winfried The Baden1949 Kretschma Greens, Wrttemberg 6] nn SPD (Greens)

35,75 2

10,755 301 Stuttgart

BW

Coat of arms

State

Joine Bunde Germa Head of Populati Pop. d Gov't s- Area n governme on per Capital the coalition rat (km) abbrev nt (thous.) km FRG votes . Horst 1949 Seehofer (CSU) Klaus Wowereit (SPD) CSU, FDP 6 70,55 2 Munich 12,542 178 (Mnchen ) BY

Bavaria (Bayern)

Berlin

1990[
7]

SPD, CDU

892

3,469

3,89 0

BE

Matthias Brandenburg 1990 Platzeck (SPD) Bremen (Freie Hansestadt Bremen) Hamburg

SPD, The Left

29,47 9

2,500

85 Potsdam

BB

Jens SPD, 1949 Bhrnsen The Gree (SPD) ns Olaf 1949 Scholz (SPD) Volker 1949 Bouffier (CDU)

419

661

1,57 7

HB

SPD

755

1,788

2,36 8

HH

Hesse (Hessen)

CDU, FDP SPD, CDU CDU, FDP SPD, The Greens SPD, The Greens

21,11 5 23,18 0 47,60 9 34,08 5 19,85 3

6,066 287

Wiesbade n

HE

Mecklenburg Erwin 1990 Sellering Vorpommern (SPD) Lower David Saxony 1949 McAllister (Niedersachs (CDU) en) North RhineHannelore Westphalia 1949 Kraft (Nordrhein(SPD) Westfalen) RhinelandPalatinate Kurt Beck 1949 (Rheinland(SPD) Pfalz)

1,639

71 Schwerin

MV

Hanover 7,914 166 (Hannove r) 17,837 523 Dsseldor f

NI

NW

3,999 202 Mainz

RP

Coat of arms

State

Saarland

Joine Bunde Germa Head of Populati Pop. d Gov't s- Area n governme on per Capital the coalition rat (km) abbrev nt (thous.) km FRG votes . Annegret CDU, KrampFDP, Saarbrck 1957 3 2,569 1,018 400 SL Karrenbau The Gree en er (CDU) ns Stanislaw 1990 Tillich (CDU) Reiner 1990 Haseloff (CDU) Peter Harry 1949 Carstensen (CDU) CDU, FDP CDU, SPD CDU, FDP 4 18,41 6 20,44 6 15,79 9 16,17 2 4,143 227 Dresden SN

Saxony (Sachsen) SaxonyAnhalt (SachsenAnhalt) SchleswigHolstein

2,331 116

Magdebur g

ST

2,833 179 Kiel

SH

Christine Thuringia CDU, 1990 Lieberknec (Thringen) SPD ht (CDU)

2,231 138 Erfurt

TH

[edit] History
Further information: History of Germany Federalism has a long tradition in German history. The Holy Roman Empire comprised numerous petty states. The number of territories was greatly reduced during the Napoleonic Wars. After the Congress of Vienna, 39 states formed the German Confederation. The Confederation was dissolved after the Austro-Prussian War and replaced by a North German Federation under Prussian hegemony; this war left Prussia dominant in Germany, and German nationalism would compel the remaining independent states to ally with Prussia in the FrancoPrussian War of 1870-1871, and then to accede to the crowning of King Wilhelm of Prussia as German Emperor. The new German Empire included 25 states (three of them, Hanseatic cities) and the imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. The empire was dominated by Prussia, which controlled 65% of the territory and 62% of the population. After the territorial losses of the Treaty of Versailles, the remaining states continued as republics. These states were gradually de facto abolished under the Nazi regime via the Gleichschaltung process, as the states administratively were largely superseded by the Nazi Gau system.

The Provinces of the Kingdom of Prussia (green) within the German Empire (1871-1918) During the Allied occupation of Germany after World War II, borders were redrawn by the Allied military governments. No single state comprised more than 30% of either population or territory; this was done to prevent any one state from being as dominant within Germany as Prussia had been in the past. Initially, only seven of the pre-War states remained: Baden (in part), Bavaria (reduced in size), Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse (enlarged), Saxony, and Thuringia. The hyphenated Lnder, such as Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia, and SaxonyAnhalt, owed their existence to the occupation powers and were created out of Prussian provinces and smaller states. Upon founding in 1949, West Germany had eleven states. These were reduced to nine in 1952 when three south-western states (South Baden, Wrttemberg-Hohenzollern and WrttembergBaden) merged to form Baden-Wrttemberg. From 1957, when the French-occupied Saarland was returned ("little reunification"), the Federal Republic consisted of ten states, which are called the Old States today. West Berlin was under the sovereignty of the Western Allies and neither a Western German state nor part of one. However, it was in many ways integrated with West Germany under a special status. East Germany (GDR) originally consisted of five states (i.e., Brandenburg, MecklenburgVorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia). In 1952, the Lnder were abolished and the GDR was divided into 14 administrative districts instead. Soviet-controlled East Berlin, despite officially having the same status as West Berlin, was declared the GDR's capital and its 15th district. Just prior to the German reunification on 3 October 1990, East German Lnder were simply reconstituted in roughly their earlier configuration as five new states. The former district of East Berlin joined West Berlin to form the new state of Berlin. Henceforth, the 10 "old states" plus 5 "new states" plus the new state Berlin add up to 16 states of Germany.

The states of the Weimar Republic, with the Free State of Prussia (Freistaat Preuen) as the largest Later, the constitution was amended to state that the citizens of the 16 states had successfully achieved the unity of Germany in free self-determination and that the Basic Law thus applied to the entire German people. Article 23, which had allowed any other parts of Germany to join, was rephrased. It had been used in 1957 to reintegrate the Saar as Saarland into the Federal Republic, and this was used as a model for German reunification in 1990. The amended article now defines the participation of the Federal Council and the 16 German states in matters concerning the European Union. The Lnder can conclude treaties with foreign countries in matters within their own sphere of competence and with the consent of the Federal Government (Article 32 of the Basic Law). The description free state (Freistaat) is merely a historic synonym for republica description used by most German states after the abolishment of monarchy. Today, Freistaat is associated emotionally with a more independent status, especially in Bavaria. However, it has no legal meaning. All sixteen states are represented at the federal level in the Bundesrat (Federal Council), where their voting power merely depends on the size of their population.

[edit] West Germany 1945-1990

Article 29 of the Basic Law states that the "division of the federal territory into Lnder may be revised to ensure that each Land be of a size and capacity to perform its functions effectively". The somewhat complicated provisions regulate that "[r]evisions of the existing division into Lnder shall be effected by a federal law, which must be confirmed by referendum". A new delimitation of the federal territory has been discussed since the Federal Republic was founded in 1949 and even before. Committees and expert commissions advocated a reduction of the number of the Lnder; scientists (Rutz, Miegel, Ottnad etc.) and politicians (Dring, Apel and others) made sometimes very far-reaching proposals for redrawing boundaries but hardly anything came of these public discussions. Territorial reform is sometimes propagated by the richer Lnder as a means to avoid or limit fiscal transfers. To date the only successful reform was the merger of the states of Baden, Wrttemberg-Baden and Wrttemberg-Hohenzollern to the new state of Baden-Wrttemberg in 1952. Delimitations Article 29 reflects a debate on territorial reform in Germany that is much older than the Basic Law. The Holy Roman Empire was a loose confederation of large and petty principalities under the nominal suzerainty of the emperor. Approximately 300 states existed at the eve of the French Revolution in 1789. Territorial boundaries were essentially redrawn as a result of military conflicts and interventions from the outside: from the Napoleonic Wars to the Congress of Vienna, the number of territories decreased from about 300 to 39; in 1866 Prussia annexed the sovereign states of Hanover, Nassau, Hesse-Kassel and the Free City of Frankfurt; the last consolidation came about under Allied occupation after 1945. The debate on a new delimitation of the German territory started in 1919 as part of discussions about the new constitution. Hugo Preuss, the father of the Weimar constitution, drafted a plan to divide the German Reich into 14 roughly equal-sized Lnder. His proposal was turned down due to opposition of the states and concerns of the government. Article 18 of the constitution enabled

a new delimitation of the German territory but set high hurdles: Three fifth of the votes handed in, and at least the majority of the population are necessary to decide on the alteration of territory. In fact, until 1933 there were only four changes of the German map: The 7 Thuringian states united in 1920, whereby Coburg opted for Bavaria, Pyrmont joined Prussia in 1922, and Waldeck did so in 1929. Any later plans to break up the dominating Prussia into smaller states failed because political circumstances were not favorable to state reforms. After the National Socialists seized power in January, 1933, the Lnder increasingly lost importance. They became administrative regions of a centralised country. Three changes are to be noted: on January 1, 1934, Mecklenburg-Schwerin was united with the neighbouring Mecklenburg-Strelitz; and, by the Greater Hamburg Act (Gro-Hamburg-Gesetz), from April 1, 1937, the area of the city-state was extended, while Lbeck lost its independence and became part of the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein.

West Germany (blue) and East Germany (red) and West Berlin (yellow) Between 1946 and 1947, new Lnder were established in all four zones of occupation: Bremen, Hesse, Wrttemberg-Baden, and Bavaria in the American zone; Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, and North Rhine-Westphalia in the British zone; Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden, Wrttemberg-Hohenzollern and the Saarlandwhich later received a special statusin the French zone; Mecklenburg(-Vorpommern), Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia in the Soviet zone. In 1948, the military governors of the three Western Allies handed over the so-called Frankfurt Documents to the minister-presidents in the Western occupation zones. Among other things they recommended to revise the boundaries of the West German Lnder in a way that none should be too big or too small in comparison to the others. As the premiers did not come to an agreement on this question, the Parliamentary Council was supposed to address this issue. Its provisions are reflected in Article 29. There was a binding provision for a new delimitation of the federal territory: the Federal Territory must be revised ... (paragraph 1). Moreover, in territories or parts of territories whose affiliation with a Land had changed after 8 May 1945 without referendum, people were allowed to petition for a revision of the current status within a year after the promulgation of the Basic Law (paragraph 2). If at least one tenth of those entitled to vote in Bundestag elections were in favour of a revision, the federal government had to include the proposal into its legislation. Then a referendum was required in each territory or part of territory whose affiliation was to be changed (paragraph 3). The proposal

should not take effect if within any of the affected territories a majority rejected the change. In this case, the bill had to be introduced again and after passing had to be confirmed by referendum in the Federal Republic as a whole (paragraph 4). The reorganization should be completed within three years after the Basic Law had come into force (paragraph 6). In their letter to Konrad Adenauer the three western military governors approved the Basic Law but suspended Article 29 until a peace treaty was agreed upon. Only the special arrangement for the southwest under Article 118 could enter into force. Foundation of Baden-Wrttemberg In southwestern Germany, territorial revision seemed to be a top priority since the border between the French and American occupation zones was set along the Autobahn KarlsruheStuttgart-Ulm (today the A8). Article 118 said, "The division of the territory comprising Baden, Wrttemberg-Baden and Wrttemberg-Hohenzollern into Lnder may be revised, without regard to the provisions of Article 29, by agreement between the Lnder concerned. If no agreement is reached, the revision shall be effected by a federal law, which shall provide for an advisory referendum.." Since no agreement was reached, a referendum was held on 9 December 1951 in four different voting districts, three of which approved the merger (South Baden refused but was overruled as the result of total votes was decisive). On 25 April 1952, the three former Lnder merged into Baden-Wrttemberg. Petitions With the Paris Agreements West Germany regained (limited) sovereignty. This triggered the start of the one year period as set in paragraph 2 of Article 29. As a consequence, eight petitions for a referendum were launched, six of which were successful:

Reconstitution of the Land Oldenburg 12.9% Reconstitution of the Land Schaumburg-Lippe 15.3% Reintegration of Koblenz and Trier into North Rhine-Westphalia 14.2% Reintegration of Rheinhessen into Hesse 25.3% Reintegration of Montabaur into Hesse 20.2% Reconstitution of the Land Baden 15.1%

The last petition had originally been rejected by the Federal Minister of the Interior in reference to the referendum of 1951. However, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ruled that the rejection was unlawful: the population of Baden had the right to a new referendum because the one of 1951 had taken place under different rules from the ones provided for by article 29. In particular, the outcome of the 1951 referendum did not reflect the wishes of the majority of Baden's population. The two Palatine petitions (for a reintegration into Bavaria and integration into BadenWrttemberg) failed with 7.6% and 9.3%. Further requests for petitions (Lbeck, Geesthacht, Lindau, Achberg, 62 Hessian communities) had already been rejected as inadmissible by the Federal Minister of the Interior or were withdrawn as in the case of Lindau. The rejection was confirmed by the Federal Constitutional Court in the case of Lbeck. Constitutional amendments If a petition was successful paragraph 6 of Article 29 stated that a referendum should be held within three years. Since the deadline passed on 5 May 1958 without anything happening the Hesse state government filed a constitutional complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court in

October 1958. The complaint was dismissed in July 1961 on the grounds that Article 29 had made the new delimitation of the federal territory an exclusive federal matter. At the same time, the Court reaffirmed the requirement for a territorial revision as a binding order to the relevant constitutional bodies. The grand coalition decided to settle the 1956 petitions by setting binding deadlines for the required referendums. The referendums in Lower Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate were due till 31 March 1975, the one in Baden was due till 30 June 1970. The quorum for a successful vote was set to one-quarter of those entitled to vote in Bundestag elections. Paragraph 4 stated that the vote should be disregarded if it contradicted the objectives of paragraph 1. In his investiture address, given on 28 October 1969 in Bonn, Chancellor Willy Brandt proposed that the government would consider Article 29 of the Basic Law as a binding order. For that purpose, an expert commission was established, named after its chairman, the former Secretary of State Professor Werner Ernst. After two years of work, the experts delivered their report in 1973. It provided an alternative proposal for both northern Germany and central and southwestern Germany. In the north, either a single new state consisting of Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Bremen and Lower Saxony should be created (solution A) or two new states, one in the northeast consisting of Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg and the northern part of Lower Saxony (from Cuxhaven to Lchow-Dannenberg) and one in the northwest consisting of Bremen and the rest of Lower Saxony (solution B). In the Center and South West either Rhineland-Palatinate (with the exception of the Germersheim district but including the Rhine-Neckar region) should be merged with Hesse and the Saarland (solution C), the district of Germersheim would then become part of Baden-Wrttemberg. The Palatinate (including the region of Worms) coould also be merged with the Saarland and Baden-Wrttemberg, and the rest of Rhineland-Palatinate would then merge with Hesse (solution D). Both alternatives could be combined (AC, BC, AD, BD). At the same time the commission developed criteria for classifying the terms of Article 29 paragraph 1. The capacity to perform functions effectively was considered most important, whereas regional, historical, and cultural ties were considered as hardly verifiable. To fulfill administrative duties adequately, a population of at least five million per Land was considered as necessary. After a relatively brief discussion and mostly negative responses from the affected Lnder, the proposals were shelved. Public interest was limited or nonexistent. The referendum in Baden was held on 7 June 1970: With 81.9% the vast majority of voters decided for Baden to remain part of Baden-Wrttemberg, only 18.1% were opting for a reconstitution of the old Land Baden. The referendums in Lower Saxony and RhinelandPalatinate, were held on 19 January 1975:

Reconstitution of the Land Oldenburg 31% Reconstitution of the Land Schaumburg-Lippe 39.5% Reintegration of Koblenz and Trier into North Rhine-Westphalia 13% Reintegration of Rheinhessen into Hesse 7.1% Reintegration of Montabaur into Hesse 14.3%

Hence, the two referendums in Lower Saxony were successful. As a consequence legislature was forced to act and decided that both Oldenburg and Schaumburg-Lippe remain with Lower Saxony. Justification was that a reconstitution of Oldenburg and Schaumburg-Lippe would

contradict the objectives of paragraph 1. An appeal against the decision was rejected as inadmissible by the Federal Constitutional Court. On 24 August 1976 the binding provision for a new delimitation of the federal territory was altered into a mere discretionary one. Paragraph 1 was rephrased, now putting the capacity to perform functions in the first place. The option for a referendum in the Federal Republic as a whole (paragraph 4) was abolished. Hence a territorial revision was no longer possible against the will of the affected population.

[edit] Reunited Germany 1990-Present

The debate about a territorial revision started again shortly before the German reunification. While scientists (Rutz and others) and politicians (Gobrecht) suggested introducing only two, three or four Lnder in the GDR, legislation reintroduced the five Lnder that existed until 1952, however, with slightly changed boundaries. Article 118a was introduced into the Basic Law and provided the possibility for Berlin and Brandenburg to merge without regard to the provisions of Article 29, by agreement between the two Lnder with the participation of their inhabitants who are entitled to vote. Article 29 was again modified and provided an option for the Lnder to revise the division of their existing territory or parts of their territory by agreement without regard to the provisions of paragraphs (2) through (7). The state treaty between Berlin and Brandenburg was approved in both parliaments with the necessary two-thirds majority, but in the popular referendum of 5 May 1996 about 63 % voted against the fusion.

[edit] Politics
Germany

Politics and government of Germany Constitution[show] Executive[show] Legislature[show] Judiciary[show] Divisions[show] Elections[show] Foreign policy[show]

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Germany is a federal, parliamentary, representative democratic republic. The German political system operates under a framework laid out in the 1949 constitutional document known as the Grundgesetz (Basic Law). By calling the document Grundgesetz, rather than Verfassung (constitution), the authors expressed the intention that it would be replaced by a proper constitution once Germany was reunited as one state. Amendments to the Grundgesetz generally require a two-thirds majority of both chambers of the parliament; the fundamental principles of the constitution, as expressed in the articles guaranteeing human dignity, the separation of powers, the federal structure, and the rule of law are valid in perpetuity. Despite the original intention, the Grundgesetz remained in effect after the German reunification in 1990, with only minor amendments.

[edit] Government
The Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, the federal 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 states are governed by a cabinet led by a Ministerprsident (Minister-President), together with a unicameral legislative body known as the Landtag (State Diet). The states are parliamentary republics and the relationship between their 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 state's agencies and to carry out the executive duties of the state's government. The governments in Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg are designated by the term Senate. In the three free states of Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia the government is referred to as the State Government (Staatsregierung), and in the other ten states the term Land Government (Landesregierung) is used. Before January 1, 2000, Bavaria had a bicameral parliament, with a popularly elected Landtag, and a Senate made up of representatives of the state's major social and economic groups. The Senate was abolished following a referendum in 1998. The states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg are governed slightly differently from the other states. In each of those cities, the executive branch consists of a Senate of approximately eight selected by the state's parliament; the senators carry out duties equivalent to those of the ministers in the larger states. The equivalent of the Minister-President is the Senatsprsident (President of the Senate) in Bremen, the Erster Brgermeister (First Mayor) in Hamburg, and the Regierender Brgermeister (Governing Mayor) in Berlin. The parliament for Berlin is called the Abgeordnetenhaus (House of Representatives), while Bremen and Hamburg both have a Brgerschaft. The parliaments in the remaining 13 states are referred to as Landtag (State Parliament).

[edit] Subdivisions

The city-states of Berlin and Hamburg are subdivided into boroughs. The state of Bremen consists of two urban districts, Bremen and Bremerhaven, which are not contiguous. In the other states there are the following subdivisions:

[edit] Area associations (Landschaftsverbnde)

The most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia is uniquely divided into two area associations (Landschaftsverbnde), one for the Rhineland, and one for Westphalia-Lippe. This arrangement was meant to ease the friction caused by uniting the two culturally different regions into a single state after World War II. The Landschaftsverbnde now have very little power. The constitution of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern at 75 states the right of Mecklenburg and Vorpommern to form Landschaftsverbnde, although these two constituent parts of the Land are not represented in the current administrative division.

[edit] Governmental districts (Regierungsbezirke)

The large states of Baden-Wrttemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony are divided into governmental districts, or Regierungsbezirke. In Rhineland-Palatinate, these districts were abolished on January 1, 2000, in Saxony-Anhalt on January 1, 2004 and in Lower Saxony on January 1, 2005.

[edit] Administrative districts (Kreise)

Main article: Districts of Germany

Map of German districts. Yellow districts are urban, white are rural. The Districts of Germany (Kreise) are administrative districts, and every state except the citystates of Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen consists of rural districts (Landkreise), District-free Towns/Cities (Kreisfreie Stdte, in Baden-Wrttemberg also called urban districts, or Stadtkreise), cities that are districts in their own right, or local associations of a special kind (Kommunalverbnde besonderer Art), see below. The state of Bremen 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 Stdte, making 429 districts altogether. Each consists of an elected council and an executive, which is chosen either by the council or by the people, depending on the state, the duties of which are comparable to those of a county executive in the United States, supervising local government administration. The Landkreise have primary administrative functions in specific areas, such as highways, hospitals, and public utilities. Local associations of a special kind are an amalgamation of one or more Landkreise with one or more Kreisfreie Stdte to form a replacement of the aforementioned administrative entities at the district level. They are intended to implement simplification of administration at that level. Typically, a district-free city or town and its urban hinterland are grouped into such an association, or Kommunalverband besonderer Art. Such an organization requires the issuing of special laws by the governing state, since they are not covered by the normal administrative structure of the respective states. In 2010 only three Kommunalverbnde besonderer Art exist.

District of Hanover. Formed in 2001 out of the previous rural district of Hanover and the district-free city of Hanover. Regionalverband Saarbrcken (district association Saarbrcken). Formed in 2008 out of the predecessor organization Stadtverband Saarbrcken (city association Saarbrcken), which was already formed in 1974. City region of Aachen. Formed in 2009 out of the previous rural district of Aachen and the district-free city of Aachen.

[edit] Offices (mter)

mter ("offices" or "bureaus"): In some states there is an administrative unit between the districts and the municipalities, called mter (singular Amt), Amtsgemeinden, Gemeindeverwaltungsverbnde, Landgemeinden, Verbandsgemeinden, Verwaltungsgemeinschaften or Kirchspiellandgemeinden.

[edit] Municipalities (Gemeinden)

Municipalities (Gemeinden): 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 6 March 2009) 12,141 municipalities, which are the smallest administrative units in Germany. Cities and towns are municipalities as well, also having city rights or town rights (Stadtrechte). Nowadays, this is mostly just the right to be called a city or town. However, in former times there were many other privileges, including the right to impose local taxes or to allow industry only within city limits. The municipalities are ruled by elected councils and by an executive, the mayor, who is chosen either by the council or directwly by the people, depending on the Bundesland. The "constitution" for the municipalities is created by the states and is uniform throughout a Bundesland (except for Bremen, which allows Bremerhaven to have its own constitution). The municipalities have two major policy responsibilities. First, they administer programs authorized by the federal or state government. Such programs typically relate to youth, schools, public health, and social assistance. Second, Article 28(2) of the Basic Law guarantees the municipalities "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 trading estates. Local authorities foster cultural activities by supporting local artists, building arts centres, and by holding 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, with a total area of 4167.66 km or 1.2 percent of the total area of Germany. Only four unincorporated areas are populated, with a total population of about 2,000. The following table gives an overview.
Unincorporated areas in German states

Number

Area in km

Number

Area in km

Bavaria

216

2725.06

262

2992.78

Lower Saxony

23

949.16

25

1394.10

Hesse

327.05

327.05

Schleswig-Holstein

99.41

99.41

Baden-Wrttemberg

66.98

76.99

Total

246

4167.66

295

4890.33

In 2000, the number of unincorporated areas was 295, with a total area of 4890.33 km. However, the unincorporated areas are continually being incorporated into neighboring municipalities, wholly or partially, most frequently in Bavaria.

Tourism in Germany

Tourists at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin

Netherlands United States Switzerland United Kingdom Italy Austria Belgium France other Overnight stays in 2009 by country of origin[1][2]

9.96 M 4.29 M 3.86 M 3.70 M 3.10 M 2.57 M 2.54 M 2.51 M 22.29 M

According to Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Reports, Germany is rated as one of the safest travel destinations worldwide. Germany is also the third most visited country in Europe, with a total of 369.6 million overnights during 2010.[3][4] This number includes 56.5 million nights by foreign visitors, the majority of foreign tourists in 2009 coming from the Netherlands, the United States and Switzerland (see table). The official body for tourism in Germany is the German National Tourist Board (GNTB), represented worldwide by National Tourist Offices in 29 countries. Surveys by the GNTB include perceptions and reasons for holidaying in Germany, which are as follows: culture (75%), outdoors/countryside (59%), cities (59%), cleanliness (47%), security (41%), modernity (36%), good hotels (35%), good gastronomy/cuisine (34%), good accessibility (30%), cosmopolitanism/hospitality (27%), good shopping opportunities (21%), exciting nightlife (17%) and good price/performance ratio (10%) (multiple answers were possible). More than 30% of Germans spend their holiday in their own country. With more than 133 million foreign visitors (2008) Germany is ranked as the 7th most visited travel destination worldwide. A total of 27.2 billion Euros is spent on travel and tourism: this is equivalent to 3.2% of Germany's GNP.

Contents
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1 History

1.1 Statistics 2.1 Health 2.2 Regions 2.3 Theme routes 2.4 Winter sport 3.1 Events 3.2 Trade fairs

2 Countryside

3 Cities

4 Most visited...

4.1 Protected areas 4.2 Landmarks 4.3 Theme parks

5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] History
The history of tourism in Germany goes back to cities and landscapes being visited for education and recreation. From the late 18th century onwards, cities like Dresden, Munich, Weimar and Berlin were major stops on a European Grand tour. Spas and resorts on the North and Baltic Seas and along the Rhine valley particularly developed during the 19th and early 20th century and since the end of World War II tourism has expanded greatly, as many tourists visit Germany to experience a sense of European history. The countryside has a pastoral aura, while the cities exhibit both a modern and classical feel.

[edit] Statistics
The table below shows the distribution of national and international visitor nights spent in each of the sixteen states of Germany in 2008. With 76.91 million nights spent in hotels, hostels or clinics, Bavaria has the most visitors. With 14.300 nights per 1,000 population, MecklenburgVorpommern has the highest density of tourists.
of whom foreign visitors 8.90 million 17.30 million 6.18 million 0.86 million 0.34 million 1.42 million 6.69 million 1.07 million 3.73 million 8.39 million 4.17 million 0.32 million 1.63 million 0.52 million 2.40 million 0.60 million

state Baden-Wrttemberg Bavaria Berlin Brandenburg Bremen Hamburg Hesse Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Lower Saxony North Rhine-Westphalia Rhineland-Palatinate Saarland Saxony Saxony-Anhalt Schleswig-Holstein Thuringia

# of nights in 2008 43.62 million 76.91 million 17.77 million 9.41 million 1.65 million 7.66 million 27.30 million 23.83 million 36.92 million 41.52 million 18.45 million 2.26 million 15.70 million 6.70 million 21.07 million 8.68 million

nights/pop. 4.1 6.1 5.2 3.7 4.2 4.3 4.5 14.3 4.2 2.3 4.6 2.2 3.7 2.8 7.4 3.8

Forthcoming highlights in Germany are: 20 Years since the Fall of the Berlin Wall, the Oberammergau Passion Play (Bavaria) in 2010, Ruhr 2010 European capital of culture, the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup and the Finals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011.

[edit] Countryside
[edit] Health
See also: List of spa towns in Germany About 242 million nights, or of all nights spent in hotels in Germany, are spent in spa towns.[5] Germany is well known for health tourism, with many of the numerous spa towns having been established at a hot spring, offering convalescence (German: Kur) or preventive care by means of mineral water and/or other spa treatment. Spa towns and seaside resorts carry official designations such as Mineral and mud spas (Mineral- und Moorbder), Healthy climate resorts (Heilklimatische Kurorte), Kneipp cure resorts (Kneippkurorte = water therapy resorts), Seaside resorts (Seebder), Climatic resorts (Luftkurorte), and Recreation resorts (Erholungsorte). The largest and most well known resorts also have casinos, most notably at Bad Wiessee, BadenBaden (Kurhaus), Wiesbaden (Kurhaus), Aachen, Travemnde and Westerland (Kurhaus).

[edit] Regions
See also: Geography of Germany and List of national parks in Germany

dune way on the North Frisian island of Sylt

Stubbenkammer on the Baltic island of Rgen The most visited tourist regions in Germany are the East Frisian and North Frisian Islands, the Baltic Sea coasts of Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, the Bavarian and Black Forest, and the Bavarian Alps. The table below shows the five most visited rural districts in 2008:[6] rank 1 2 3 4 5 district Nordfriesland Rgen Oberallgu Ostholstein Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald # of nights in 2008 6.96 million 5.57 million 5.29 million 5.27 million 4.41 million

Other popular regions include

in the North: Holstein Switzerland, the Lneburg Heath and Harz in the West: Teutoburg Forest, Sauerland, Eifel and the Moselle Valley in the East: Saxon Switzerland, Thringer Wald, Erzgebirge and the Elbe Valley in the South: Taunus, Spessart, Odenwald and Allgu.

[edit] Theme routes

A cuckoo clock, symbol of the Black Forest and Germany. Since the 1930s, local and regional governments have set up various theme routes, to help visitors get to know a specific region and its cultural or scenic qualities. The table below shows some of the most prominent theme routes. Other popular German theme routes include parts of the European Route of Brick Gothic and European Route of Industrial Heritage, the Harz-Heide Road, Bertha Benz Memorial Route and Bergstrasse. route German Wine Road (Deutsche Weinstrae) Romantic Road (Romantische Strae) Schwarzwaldhochstrasse Castle Road (Burgenstrae) Road of Weser Renaissance (Strae der Weserrenaissance) Romanesque Road (Strae der Romanik) German Ferries Route German Timber-Frame Road Deutsche Uhrenstrasse established 1935 1950 1952 1954 theme Palatinate wine route Romanticism Black Forest Castles in Germany Weser Renaissance 1993 2004 1990 Romanesque architecture fords, ferries, bridges and tunnels timber framing (Fachwerk) Cuckoo clock manufacturers, clockface paintings workshops, museums, Black Forest and Baar villages, landscapes length in km 85 km 366 km 60 km 1,000 km 350 km 1,195 km 250 km 3,000 km 320 km

Industrial Heritage Trail (Route der Industriekultur)

Note: This list is incomplete.

industrial heritage of the Ruhr area

400 km

view of Oberstdorf, Oberallgu

[edit] Winter sport

See also: List of ski resorts in the German Alps and List of ski resorts in the German Central Uplands The main winter sport regions in Germany are the Northern Limestone Alps and Ore Mountains, Harz, Fichtelgebirge and Bayerischer Wald of the Central Uplands (Mittelgebirge). First class winter sport infrastructure is available for alpine skiing and snowboarding, bobsledding and cross-country skiing. In most regions, winter sports are limited to the winter months November to February. During the Advent season, many German towns and cities host Christmas markets.

[edit] Cities
See also: Metropolitan regions in Germany

dome of the Reichstag building - one of Berlin's most popular tourist destinations In terms of numbers of overnight stays, travel to the twelve largest cities in Germany more than doubled between 1995 and 2005, the largest increase of any travel destination.[7][citation needed] This increase mainly arises from growth of cultural tourism, often in conjunction with educational or

business travel. Consequently, the provision and supply of more and higher standards of cultural, entertainment, hospitality, gastronomic, and retail services also attract more international guests. The table below shows the ten most visited cities in Germany in 2009. Other cities and towns with over 1 million nights per year are Hanover, Rostock, Bremen, Cuxhaven, Bonn, Freiburg im Breisgau, Mnster, Lbeck, Wiesbaden and Essen. Berlin Munich Hamburg Frankfurt am Main Cologne Dsseldorf Dresden Stuttgart Nuremberg Leipzig Top ten city destinations in 2009 by number of overnight stays (millions)[8] 17.8m 9.8m 7.7m 5.4m 4.3m 3.4m 3.2m 2.7m 2.1m 1.9m

[edit] Events
The table below shows some of the largest annually recurring events in Germany: type Volksfest Volksfest Fun fair Sport event event Oktoberfest Cannstatter Volksfest location Munich Stuttgart # of season visitors 6.0 September/October million September/October notes

locally called 4.2 "Cannstatter million Wasen"

Largest Fair Dsseldorf July/August on the Rhine Sailing Kiel Week regatta World Berlin Marathon Marathon Major Cologne Carnival Kiel Berlin Cologne July/August September February

4.0 million 3.5 million

Carnival parade Gay pride contemporary art exhibition

number of visitors 1.5 for million Rosenmontagszug

Cologne Cologne June/July Pride Quadriennale Dsseldorf September/January Dsseldorf documenta Kassel Kassel

1.2 million
only held every 4 years

0.7 only held every 5 million years

Music festival

Techno music Rock music

Love Parade varies

June/July June/July/August May/June

1.6 million 1.0 million 0.8 million 0.2 million 1.0 million 1.0 million 0.6 million

* Further Events have been canceled following the Love Parade tragedy in 2010

Bochum Bochum Total Rock am Nrburgring Rock Ring and and music Rock im Park Nuremberg Schleswigthroughout Classical Holstein Schleswigmusic Musik Holstein Festival Port of Anniversary Hamburg Hamburg birthday Fireworks Cologne Cologne show Lights Bad Wine festival Wurstmarkt Drkheim Berlin Film festival International Berlin Film Festival Fireworks Rhein in Bonn show Flammen

July/August

May 7 July July February May

0.5 Film festival million 0.5 million

Note: This list only includes the largest, annually recurring events in selected categories. This list may be incomplete.

[edit] Trade fairs

visitors at IAA 2007

a red Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG at IAA 2009 Germany is home to several of the world's largest trade fairgrounds, and many of the international exhibitions are considered trend-setters or industry leaders. Thousands of national and international trade fairs, conventions and congresses are held in Germany annually. In 2008, 10.3 million people visited the 150 largest trade fairs alone. More than half of these visitors come from abroad, more than one third from countries outside Europe. The table below shows some of the most visited trade fairs. trade fair ground city trade fair Internationale Automobilausstellung (IAA) Frankfurt Book Fair ISH Messegelnde Hanover CeBIT Agritechnica Messe Mnchen International Munich BAUMA industry motor show books # of visitors[9][10] 850,000 in
2009 2008

notes
held in Hanover every other year as a truck show

Frankfurt Trade Frankfurt Fair am Main

300,000 in

heating, ventilation and 201,000 in 2009 air conditioning computer expo 512,000 agricultural machinery construction machinery 340,000 in
2007 2007

biennial 87,000 foreign visitors biennial triennial

500,000 in

Messe Berlin

Berlin

architecture, materials, BAU systems engineering International Green sustainable Week (IGW) agriculture Internationale consumer Funkausstellung (IFA) electronics print media boats

212,000 in
2009

biennial

425,000 230,000 in
2010

9,000 foreign visitors

Messe Dsseldorf

Dsseldorf Drupa Boot Dsseldorf

390,000 267.000

230,000 foreign visitors, quadrennial 43,000 foreign visitors

Kunststoffmesse (K) Cologne Trade Cologne Fair gamescom

plastics video games

242,000 in
2007

triennial organised by Leipzig Trade Fair until 2008 as Games Convention

245,000 in
2009

Note: This list only includes trade fairs with 250,000 visitors per year or more. This list may be incomplete.

[edit] Most visited...

[edit] Protected areas
The table below shows the most visited protected areas in Germany. rank protected area Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park Saxon Switzerland National Park Bavarian Forest National Park type National park National Saxony park National Bavaria park MecklenburgNational Jasmund National Park Vorpommern park Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Lower Saxony 1 National Park park Berchtesgaden National National Bavaria Park park Lower Saxony, National Harz National Park Saxony-Anhalt park Schleswig-Holstein Wadden National Schleswig-Holstein Sea National Park 1 park Mainau Island Baden-Wrttemberg
1

location MecklenburgVorpommern

# of visitors in 2002[11] 2.50 million 2.15 million 2.00 million 2.00 million 2.00 million 1.50 million 1.50 million 1.50 million 1.30 million

# of visitors in 2008 3.00 million[12] 2.90 million[13]

Note: This list only includes protected areas with 1 million or more visitors per year. This list may be incomplete. World Heritage Site in Germany

[edit] Landmarks

The Cathedral of Cologne is Germany's most visited landmark The German Tourism Association (Deutscher Tourismusverband) irregularly publishes statistics on the most visited landmarks. With an average of over 6 million visitors entering the cathedral per year, Cologne Cathedral is Germany's most visited landmark. Second and third places go to the Reichstag building in Berlin and the Hofbruhaus in Munich. Other much visited architectural landmarks include the Drosselgasse in Rdesheim (3.0m), the medieval old towns of Rothenburg ob der Tauber (2.5m), Monschau (2.0m) and Bad Mnstereifel (2m), the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and the Holsten Gate in Lbeck 1. # of visitors # of visitors in 2002[14] in 2007 [15] 6.0 million 6.0 million
in 2004

rank 1 2 3

landmark Cologne Cathedral 1 Reichstag building Hofbruhaus Heidelberg Castle

location Cologne Berlin Munich

subject Gothic Cathedral Bundestag Brewery

2.70 2.70 million million[16] in

2006

1.80 million[17]

Heidelberg Renaissance architecture 1.30 million Castle of King Ludwig II 1.36 Neuschwanstein Castle Schwangau 1.25 million of Bavaria million[18] Zwinger and Staatliche Gemldegalerie Alte Dresden Kunstsammlungen 1.20 million Meister Dresden Television and Fernsehturm Berlin 1.10 million observation tower Aachen Cathedral 1 Aachen Imperial Cathedral 1.0 million 1.5 million[19]
Note: This list only includes physical landmarks with 1.0 million visitors per year or more. This list may be incomplete.

World Heritage Site in Germany

[edit] Theme parks

The table below shows some of the most visited theme parks or related facilities in Germany. rank 1 park Europa-Park VW Autostadt Nrburgring Therme Erding Movie Park Germany Legoland Deutschland Berlin Zoological Garden Deutsches Museum Hamburg Planetarium subject Theme Amusement Rust park park Automobile Wolfsburg park Formula One Nrburg park Erding Water park Bottrop Gnzburg Berlin Munich Zoo Museum Movie park location # of visitors in # of visitors in 2002[20] 2008 3.5 million 2.1 million 2.0 million 1.5 million 1.3 million 4.0 million[21]

Miniature park 1.3 million 3.0 million 1.4 million 0.4 million

Hamburg Planetarium

Note: This list only includes the largest theme parks/facilities in selected categories. This list may be incomplete.