States of Germany

8/3/2019 States of Germany

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States of GermanyGermany is made up of sixteenLnder(singularLand, colloquially (but rarely in a legal context)calledBundesland, for "federated state") which are partly sovereign constituent states of theFederal Republic of Germany.Landliterally 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 theBasic Law[1] and in UK parliamentary proceedings.[2] However, it is sometimes translated as"federal states" in other publications.[3]

Although the termLandapplies to all states, some are also described as "states" in German. Eachof the states ofBavaria,Saxony, and Thuringiaofficially describes itself as a "state" (Staat) andmore specifically as a "free state" (Freistaat). Berlin, Hamburg andBremen are frequently calledStadtstaaten (city-states).

The remaining 13 states are calledFlchenlnder(literally: area countries).

Contents[hide]

1 States

2 History

2.1 West Germany 1945-1990

2.2 Reunited Germany 1990-Present

3 Politics

3.1 Government

4 Subdivisions

4.1 Area associations ( Landschaftsverbnde )

4.2 Governmental districts ( Regierungsbezirke )

4.3 Administrative districts ( Kreise )

4.4 Offices ( mter )

4.5 Municipalities ( Gemeinden )

5 See also

6 References

7 External links

[edit] States
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federated_statehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constituent_countryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_(administrative_division)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_Law_for_the_Federal_Republic_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavariahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuringiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuringiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen_(state)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen_(state)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City-statehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=States_of_Germany&action=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federated_statehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constituent_countryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_(administrative_division)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_Law_for_the_Federal_Republic_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavariahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuringiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen_(state)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City-statehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=States_of_Germany&action=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany


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Map of German states and cities in German.

After 1945, new states were constituted in all fourzones of occupation. In 1949, the states in the

three western zones formed the Federal Republic of Germany. This is in contrast to the post-wardevelopment in Austria, where theBund(federation) was constituted first, and then theindividual states were created as units of a federal state.

The use of the termLnderdates back to the Weimar constitution of 1919. Before this time, theconstituent states of the German Empire were called Staaten. Today, it is very common to usethe termBundesland. However, this term is not used officially, neither by the constitution of1919 nor by the Basic Law of 1949. ThreeLnderare calledFreistaat(free state, republic), i.e.,Bavaria (since 1919), Saxony (since 1990), and Thuringia (since 1994). There is little continuitybetween the current states and their predecessors of theWeimar Republic with the exception ofthe 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 aresignificant differences among the American states and regional governments in other federationswithout serious calls for territorial changes".[4] However, "the argument the proponents ofboundary reform in Germany make is that the German system of dual federalism requires strongLnder that have the administrative and fiscal capacity to implement legislation and pay for itfrom own source revenues. [...] But in spite of these and other arguments for boundary reforms,action has not been taken ....[5]

Coatof

armsState

Joined

theFRG

Head ofgovernme

nt

Gov'tcoalition

Bundes -

ratvotes

Area(km)

Population

(thous.)

Pop.perkm

Capital

German

abbrev.

Baden-Wrttemberg

1949[6]

WinfriedKretschmann(Greens)

TheGreens,

SPD6

35,752

10,755 301Stuttgart BW
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied-occupied_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied-occupied_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimar_constitutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimar_Republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimar_Republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundesrat_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundesrat_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundesrat_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-2:DEhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-2:DEhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-2:DEhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-2:DEhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winfried_Kretschmannhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winfried_Kretschmannhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winfried_Kretschmannhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuttgarthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberg_(lesser).svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Deutschland_politisch_2010.pnghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Deutschland_politisch_2010.pnghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied-occupied_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimar_constitutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimar_Republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundesrat_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundesrat_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundesrat_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-2:DEhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-2:DEhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-2:DEhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winfried_Kretschmannhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winfried_Kretschmannhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winfried_Kretschmannhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuttgart


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Coatof

armsState

Joined

theFRG

Head ofgovernme

nt

Gov'tcoalition

Bundes -

ratvotes

Area(km)

Population

(thous.)

Pop.perkm

Capital

German

abbrev.

Bavaria(Bayern) 1949HorstSeehofer(CSU)

CSU,FDP 6 70,552 12,542 178Munich(Mnchen)

BY

Berlin1990[7]

KlausWowereit(SPD)

SPD,CDU

4 892 3,4693,89

0 BE

Brandenburg 1990MatthiasPlatzeck

(SPD)

SPD,The Left

429,47

92,500 85Potsdam BB

Bremen(FreieHansestadtBremen)

1949JensBhrnsen(SPD)

SPD,The Gree

ns3 419 661

1,577

HB

Hamburg 1949OlafScholz(SPD)

SPD 3 755 1,7882,36

8 HH

Hesse(Hessen)

1949VolkerBouffier(CDU)

CDU,FDP

521,11

56,066 287

Wiesbaden

HE

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

1990ErwinSellering(SPD)

SPD,CDU

323,18

01,639 71Schwerin MV

LowerSaxony(Niedersachsen)

1949DavidMcAllister(CDU)

CDU,FDP

647,60

97,914 166

Hanover(Hannover)

NI

North Rhine-Westphalia(Nordrhein-Westfalen)

1949HanneloreKraft(SPD)

SPD, TheGreens

634,08

517,837 523

Dsseldorf

NW

Rhineland-Palatinate(Rheinland-Pfalz)

1949Kurt Beck(SPD)

SPD, TheGreens

419,85

33,999 202Mainz RP
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavariahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horst_Seehoferhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horst_Seehoferhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munichhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Wowereithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Wowereithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthias_Platzeckhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthias_Platzeckhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potsdamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen_(state)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jens_B%C3%B6hrnsenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jens_B%C3%B6hrnsenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Scholzhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Scholzhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hessehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volker_Bouffierhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volker_Bouffierhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiesbadenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiesbadenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburg-Vorpommernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburg-Vorpommernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburg-Vorpommernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erwin_Selleringhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erwin_Selleringhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwerinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Saxonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Saxonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_McAllister_(politician)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_McAllister_(politician)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanoverhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Rhine-Westphaliahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Rhine-Westphaliahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannelore_Krafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannelore_Krafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%BCsseldorfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%BCsseldorfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhineland-Palatinatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhineland-Palatinatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Beckhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainzhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_Rhineland-Palatinate.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_North_Rhine-Westfalia.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_Lower_Saxony.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_Mecklenburg-Western_Pomerania_(great).svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_Hesse.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_Hamburg.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bremen_Wappen(Mittel).svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brandenburg_Wappen.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_Berlin.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bayern_Wappen.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavariahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horst_Seehoferhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horst_Seehoferhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munichhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Wowereithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Wowereithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthias_Platzeckhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthias_Platzeckhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potsdamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen_(state)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jens_B%C3%B6hrnsenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jens_B%C3%B6hrnsenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Scholzhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Scholzhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hessehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volker_Bouffierhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volker_Bouffierhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiesbadenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiesbadenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburg-Vorpommernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburg-Vorpommernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburg-Vorpommernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erwin_Selleringhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erwin_Selleringhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwerinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Saxonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Saxonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_McAllister_(politician)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_McAllister_(politician)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanoverhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Rhine-Westphaliahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Rhine-Westphaliahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannelore_Krafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannelore_Krafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%BCsseldorfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%BCsseldorfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhineland-Palatinatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhineland-Palatinatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Beckhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainz


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Coatof

armsState

Joined

theFRG

Head ofgovernme

nt

Gov'tcoalition

Bundes -

ratvotes

Area(km)

Population

(thous.)

Pop.perkm

Capital

German

abbrev.

Saarland 1957

Annegret

Kramp-Karrenbauer(CDU)

CDU,

FDP,The Greens

3 2,569 1,018 400Saarbrcken SL

Saxony(Sachsen)

1990StanislawTillich(CDU)

CDU,FDP

418,41

64,143 227Dresden SN

Saxony-Anhalt(Sachsen-Anhalt)

1990ReinerHaseloff(CDU)

CDU,SPD

420,44

62,331 116

Magdeburg

ST

Schleswig-Holstein

1949

PeterHarryCarstensen(CDU)

CDU,FDP

415,79

92,833 179Kiel SH

Thuringia(Thringen)

1990ChristineLieberknecht (CDU)

CDU,SPD

416,17

22,231 138Erfurt TH

[edit] HistoryFurther information:History of Germany

Federalism has a long tradition in German history. TheHoly Roman Empire comprisednumerous petty states. The number of territories was greatly reduced during theNapoleonicWars. After the Congress of Vienna, 39 states formed theGerman Confederation. TheConfederation was dissolved after the Austro-Prussian Warand replaced by aNorth GermanFederationunder Prussian hegemony; this war left Prussia dominant in Germany, and Germannationalism would compel the remaining independent states to ally with Prussia in the Franco-Prussian Warof 1870-1871, and then to accede to the crowning of King Wilhelm of Prussia asGerman Emperor. The new German Empire included 25 states (three of them, Hanseatic cities)and the imperial territory ofAlsace-Lorraine. The empire was dominated by Prussia, whichcontrolled 65% of the territory and 62% of the population. After the territorial losses of theTreaty of Versailles, the remaining statescontinued as republics. These states were gradually defacto abolished under the Nazi regime via the Gleichschaltungprocess, as the statesadministratively were largely superseded by the Nazi Gau system.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saarlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annegret_Kramp-Karrenbauerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annegret_Kramp-Karrenbauerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annegret_Kramp-Karrenbauerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annegret_Kramp-Karrenbauerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saarbr%C3%BCckenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saarbr%C3%BCckenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislaw_Tillichhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislaw_Tillichhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dresdenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxony-Anhalthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxony-Anhalthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reiner_Haseloffhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reiner_Haseloffhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdeburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdeburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleswig-Holsteinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleswig-Holsteinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Harry_Carstensenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Harry_Carstensenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Harry_Carstensenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kielhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuringiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_Lieberknechthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_Lieberknechthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_Lieberknechthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erfurthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=States_of_Germany&action=edit&section=2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleinstaatereihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Warshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Warshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Warshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_Viennahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Confederationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Confederationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austro-Prussian_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austro-Prussian_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_German_Federationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_German_Federationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_German_Federationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_German_Federationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco-Prussian_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco-Prussian_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco-Prussian_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanseatic_Leaguehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alsace-Lorrainehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alsace-Lorrainehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Versailleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Versailleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_division_of_Weimar_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_division_of_Weimar_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleichschaltunghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleichschaltunghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_division_of_Nazi_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_division_of_Nazi_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_Thuringia.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_Schleswig-Holstein.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wappen_Sachsen-Anhalt.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_Saxony.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coa_de-saarland.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saarlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annegret_Kramp-Karrenbauerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annegret_Kramp-Karrenbauerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annegret_Kramp-Karrenbauerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saarbr%C3%BCckenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saarbr%C3%BCckenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislaw_Tillichhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislaw_Tillichhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dresdenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxony-Anhalthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxony-Anhalthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reiner_Haseloffhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reiner_Haseloffhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdeburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdeburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleswig-Holsteinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleswig-Holsteinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Harry_Carstensenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Harry_Carstensenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Harry_Carstensenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kielhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuringiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_Lieberknechthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_Lieberknechthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_Lieberknechthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erfurthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=States_of_Germany&action=edit&section=2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleinstaatereihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Warshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Warshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_Viennahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Confederationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austro-Prussian_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_German_Federationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_German_Federationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco-Prussian_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco-Prussian_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanseatic_Leaguehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alsace-Lorrainehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Versailleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_division_of_Weimar_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleichschaltunghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_division_of_Nazi_Germany


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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 theAllied military governments. No single state comprised more than 30% of either population orterritory; this was done to prevent any one state from being as dominant within Germany asPrussia 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. Thehyphenated Lnder, such as Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt, owed their existence to the occupation powers and were created out of Prussianprovinces and smaller states.

Upon founding in 1949, West Germany had eleven states. These were reduced to nine in 1952when three south-western states (South Baden,Wrttemberg-Hohenzollern and Wrttemberg-Baden) merged to form Baden-Wrttemberg. From 1957, when the French-occupied Saarlandwas returned ("little reunification"), the Federal Republic consisted of ten states, which are calledthe Old Statestoday. West Berlin was under the sovereignty of the Western Allies and neither aWestern German state nor part of one. However, it was in many ways integrated with WestGermany under a special status.

East Germany(GDR) originally consisted of five states (i.e., Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia). In 1952, the Lnder were abolished andthe 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 its15th district.

Just prior to the German reunification on 3 October 1990, East German Lnder were simplyreconstituted in roughly their earlier configuration as fivenew states. The former district ofEastBerlin 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.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Prussiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied_Occupation_Zones_in_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied_Occupation_Zones_in_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Badenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C3%BCrttemberg-Hohenzollernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C3%BCrttemberg-Hohenzollernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C3%BCrttemberg-Badenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C3%BCrttemberg-Badenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saarlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_states_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_states_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_division_of_the_German_Democratic_Republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_reunificationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_federal_stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_federal_stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_federal_stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Berlinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Berlinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Deutsches_Reich_1925_b.pnghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Prussiamap.gifhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Prussiamap.gifhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Prussiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied_Occupation_Zones_in_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Badenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C3%BCrttemberg-Hohenzollernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C3%BCrttemberg-Badenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C3%BCrttemberg-Badenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saarlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_states_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_division_of_the_German_Democratic_Republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_reunificationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_federal_stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Berlinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Berlin


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The states of the Weimar Republic, with the Free State of Prussia (Freistaat Preuen) as thelargest

Later, the constitution was amended to state that the citizens of the 16 states had successfullyachieved 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 SaarasSaarland into the FederalRepublic, and this was used as a model for German reunification in 1990. The amended articlenow defines the participation of the Federal Council and the 16 German states in mattersconcerning the European Union.

The Lnder can conclude treaties with foreign countries in matters within their own sphere ofcompetence 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 descriptionused by most German states after the abolishment of monarchy. Today,Freistaatis associatedemotionally with a more independent status, especially in Bavaria. However, it has no legalmeaning. All sixteen states are represented at the federal level in theBundesrat(FederalCouncil), 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 berevised 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 intoLnder 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 wasfounded in 1949 and even before. Committees and expert commissions advocated a reduction ofthe number of the Lnder; scientists (Rutz, Miegel, Ottnad etc.) and politicians (Dring, Apeland others) made sometimes very far-reaching proposals for redrawing boundaries but hardly

anything came of these public discussions. Territorial reform is sometimes propagated by thericher 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-Badenand Wrttemberg-Hohenzollern to the new state of Baden-Wrttemberg in 1952.

Delimitations

Article 29 reflects a debate on territorial reform inGermanythat is much older than the BasicLaw. The Holy Roman Empire was a loose confederationof large and petty principalities underthe nominal suzeraintyof the emperor. Approximately 300 states existed at the eve of the FrenchRevolution in 1789.

Territorial boundaries were essentially redrawn as a result of military conflicts and interventions

from the outside: from theNapoleonic Wars to the Congress of Vienna, the number of territoriesdecreased from about 300 to 39; in 1866 Prussia annexed the sovereign states ofHanover,Nassau, Hesse -Kassel and the Free City of Frankfurt; the last consolidation came about underAllied occupation after 1945.

The debate on a new delimitation of the German territory started in 1919 as part of discussionsabout the new constitution. Hugo Preuss, the father of the Weimar constitution, drafted a plan todivide the German Reichinto 14 roughly equal-sized Lnder. His proposal was turned down dueto opposition of the states and concerns of the government. Article 18 of the constitution enabled
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a new delimitation of the German territory but set high hurdles: Three fifth of the votes handedin, and at least the majority of the population are necessary to decide on the alteration ofterritory. In fact, until 1933 there were only four changes of the German map: The 7 Thuringianstates united in 1920, whereby Coburgopted forBavaria, Pyrmont joined Prussia in 1922, andWaldeckdid so in 1929. Any later plans to break up the dominating Prussia into smaller statesfailed because political circumstances were not favorable to state reforms.

After the National Socialists seized power in January, 1933, the Lnder increasingly lostimportance. They became administrative regions of a centralised country. Three changes are tobe noted: on January 1, 1934, Mecklenburg-Schwerin was united with the neighbouringMecklenburg- Strelitz; and, by the Greater Hamburg Act (Gro-Hamburg-Gesetz), from April 1,1937, the area of the city-state was extended, while Lbecklost its independence and becamepart of the Prussian province ofSchleswig-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, andNorth Rhine-Westphalia in the British zone; Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden,Wrttemberg-Hohenzollernand the Saarlandwhich later received a special statusin theFrench zone; Mecklenburg(- Vorpommern ), Brandenburg,Saxony,Saxony-Anhalt, andThuringia in the Soviet zone.

In 1948, the military governors of the three Western Allies handed over the so-called FrankfurtDocuments to the minister-presidents in the Western occupation zones. Among other things theyrecommended to revise the boundaries of the West German Lnder in a way that none should betoo big or too small in comparison to the others.

As the premiers did not come to an agreement on this question, the Parliamentary Councilwassupposed to address this issue. Its provisions are reflected in Article 29. There was a bindingprovision 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 hadchanged after 8 May 1945 without referendum, people were allowed to petition for a revision ofthe current status within a year after the promulgation of the Basic Law (paragraph 2). If at leastone tenth of those entitled to vote in Bundestag elections were in favour of a revision, the federalgovernment had to include the proposal into its legislation. Then a referendum was required ineach territory or part of territory whose affiliation was to be changed (paragraph 3). The proposal
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should not take effect if within any of the affected territories a majority rejected the change. Inthis case, the bill had to be introduced again and after passing had to be confirmed by referendumin the Federal Republic as a whole (paragraph 4). The reorganization should be completed withinthree years after the Basic Law had come into force (paragraph 6).

In their letter to Konrad Adenauerthe three western military governors approved the Basic Law

but suspended Article 29 until a peace treaty was agreed upon. Only the special arrangement forthe 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 borderbetween the French and American occupation zones was set along the Autobahn Karlsruhe-Stuttgart-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 regardto the provisions of Article 29, by agreement between the Lnder concerned. If no agreement isreached, the revision shall be effected by a federal law, which shall provide for an advisoryreferendum.." Since no agreement was reached, a referendum was held on 9 December1951 infour different voting districts, three of which approved the merger (South Badenrefused but was

overruled as the result of total votes was decisive). On 25 April 1952, the three former Lndermerged into Baden-Wrttemberg.

Petitions

With the Paris Agreements West Germany regained (limited) sovereignty. This triggered thestart of the one year period as set in paragraph 2 of Article 29. As a consequence, eight petitionsfor 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 ofKoblenz and TrierintoNorth Rhine-Westphalia 14.2%

Reintegration ofRheinhessen intoHesse25.3% Reintegration ofMontabaurinto 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 referenceto the referendum of 1951. However, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ruled that therejection was unlawful: the population of Baden had the right to a new referendum because theone of 1951 had taken place under different rules from the ones provided for by article 29. Inparticular, the outcome of the 1951 referendum did not reflect the wishes of the majority ofBaden's population.

The two Palatinepetitions (for a reintegration into Bavaria and integration into Baden-

Wrttemberg) 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 theFederal Minister of the Interior or were withdrawn as in the case of Lindau. The rejection wasconfirmed 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 heldwithin three years. Since the deadline passed on 5 May 1958 without anything happening theHesse state government filed a constitutional complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court in
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October 1958. The complaint was dismissed in July 1961 on the grounds that Article 29 hadmade 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 relevantconstitutional 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 till31 March 1975, the one in Baden was due till 30 June 1970. The quorum for a successful votewas set to one-quarter of those entitled to vote in Bundestag elections. Paragraph 4 stated that thevote should be disregarded if it contradicted the objectives of paragraph 1.

In his investiture address, given on 28 October 1969 in Bonn, ChancellorWilly Brandt proposedthat the government would consider Article 29 of the Basic Law as a binding order. For thatpurpose, an expert commission was established, named after its chairman, the former Secretaryof State Professor Werner Ernst. After two years of work, the experts delivered their report in1973. It provided an alternative proposal for both northern Germany and central andsouthwestern 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 therest of Lower Saxony (solution B). In the Center and South West either Rhineland-Palatinate(with the exception of the Germersheim districtbut including the Rhine-Neckarregion) shouldbe merged with Hesse and the Saarland (solution C), the district of Germersheim would thenbecome part of Baden-Wrttemberg.

The Palatinate (including the region ofWorms) coould also be merged with the Saarland andBaden-Wrttemberg, and the rest of Rhineland-Palatinate would then merge with Hesse (solutionD). Both alternatives could be combined (AC, BC, AD, BD).

At the same time the commission developed criteria for classifying the terms of Article 29paragraph 1. The capacity to perform functions effectively was considered most important,

whereas regional, historical, and cultural ties were considered as hardly verifiable. To fulfilladministrative duties adequately, a population of at least five million per Land was considered asnecessary.

After a relatively brief discussion and mostly negative responses from the affected Lnder, theproposals 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 votersdecided for Baden to remain part of Baden-Wrttemberg, only 18.1% were opting for areconstitution of the old Land Baden. The referendums in Lower Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate, 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 wasforced to act and decided that both Oldenburg and Schaumburg-Lippe remain with LowerSaxony. Justification was that a reconstitution of Oldenburg and Schaumburg-Lippe would
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contradict the objectives of paragraph 1. An appeal against the decision was rejected asinadmissible by the Federal Constitutional Court.

On 24 August 1976 the binding provision for a new delimitation of the federal territory wasaltered into a mere discretionary one. Paragraph 1 was rephrased, now putting the capacity toperform 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 againstthe 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 Lnderthat existed until 1952,however, with slightly changed boundaries.

Article 118a was introduced into the Basic Law and provided the possibility for Berlin andBrandenburg to merge without regard to the provisions of Article 29, by agreement between thetwo 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 oftheir existing territory or parts of their territory by agreement without regard to the provisionsof paragraphs (2) through (7).

The state treaty between Berlin and Brandenburg was approved in both parliaments with thenecessary two-thirds majority, but in the popular referendum of 5 May 1996 about 63 % votedagainst the fusion.

[edit] Politics

Germany

This article is part of the series:

Politics and government ofGermany

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 politicalsystem operates under a framework laid out in the 1949 constitutional document known as theGrundgesetz (Basic Law). By calling the document Grundgesetz, rather than Verfassung(constitution), the authors expressed the intention that it would be replaced by a properconstitution once Germany was reunited as one state.

Amendments to the Grundgesetz generally require a two-thirds majority of both chambers of theparliament; the fundamental principles of the constitution, as expressed in the articlesguaranteeing human dignity, the separation of powers, the federal structure, and the rule of laware valid in perpetuity. Despite the original intention, the Grundgesetz remained in effect afterthe German reunification in 1990, with only minor amendments.

[edit] Government

The Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, the federalconstitution, stipulates that thestructure 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 aregoverned by a cabinet led by a Ministerprsident(Minister-President), together with aunicamerallegislative body known as theLandtag(State Diet). The states areparliamentaryrepublics and the relationship between their legislative and executive branches mirrors that of thefederal system: the legislatures are popularly elected for four or five years (depending on thestate), and the Minister-President is then chosen by amajority vote among theLandtag'smembers. 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 andHamburg are designated by the term Senate. In the threefree statesofBavaria,Saxony and Thuringiathe government is referred to as the StateGovernment(Staatsregierung), and in the other ten states the termLand Government(Landesregierung) is used. Before January 1, 2000, Bavaria had a bicameral parliament, with apopularly electedLandtag, and aSenate made up of representatives of the state's major socialand economic groups. The Senate was abolished following a referendumin 1998. The states ofBerlin, Bremen, and Hamburg are governed slightly differently from the other states. In each ofthose cities, the executive branch consists of a Senate of approximately eight selected by thestate's parliament; the senators carry out duties equivalent to those of the ministers in the largerstates. The equivalent of the Minister-President is the Senatsprsident(President of the Senate)

in Bremen, theErster Brgermeister(First Mayor) in Hamburg, and theRegierenderBrgermeister(Governing Mayor) in Berlin. The parliament for Berlin is called theAbgeordnetenhaus (House of Representatives), while Bremen and Hamburg both have aBrgerschaft. The parliaments in the remaining 13 states are referred to asLandtag(StateParliament).

[edit] Subdivisions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_present-day_nations_and_stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_present-day_nations_and_stateshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Atlas_of_Germanyhttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Atlas_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Politicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Politics_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template_talk:Politics_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Politics_of_Germany&action=edithttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=States_of_Germany&action=edit&section=6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_Law_of_the_Federal_Republic_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_Law_of_the_Federal_Republic_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_(government)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister-Presidenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicameralhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicameralhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legislaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landtaghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_(assembly)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentary_republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentary_republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentary_republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majority_votehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majority_votehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen_(state)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_state_(government)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_state_(government)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavariahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_State_of_Saxonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_State_of_Saxonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuringiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuringiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landtag_of_Bavariahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referendumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referendumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=States_of_Germany&action=edit&section=7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_present-day_nations_and_stateshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Atlas_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Politicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Politics_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template_talk:Politics_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Politics_of_Germany&action=edithttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=States_of_Germany&action=edit&section=6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_Law_of_the_Federal_Republic_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_(government)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister-Presidenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicameralhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legislaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landtaghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_(assembly)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentary_republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentary_republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majority_votehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen_(state)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_state_(government)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavariahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_State_of_Saxonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuringiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landtag_of_Bavariahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referendumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=States_of_Germany&action=edit&section=7


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The city-statesof Berlin and Hamburg are subdivided intoboroughs. The state of Bremenconsists of two urban districts,Bremenand Bremerhaven, which are not contiguous. In the otherstates there are the following subdivisions:

[edit] Area associations (Landschaftsverbnde)

The most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia is uniquely divided into two areaassociations (Landschaftsverbnde), one for the Rhineland, and one forWestphalia-Lippe. Thisarrangement was meant to ease the friction caused by uniting the two culturally different regionsinto a single state afterWorld War II. TheLandschaftsverbnde now have very little power.

The constitution ofMecklenburg-Vorpommern at 75 states the right ofMecklenburg andVorpommern to formLandschaftsverbnde, although these two constituent parts of theLandarenot represented in the current administrative division.

[edit] Governmental districts (Regierungsbezirke)

The large states of Baden-Wrttemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxonyare divided into governmental districts, orRegierungsbezirke.

In Rhineland-Palatinate, these districts were abolished on January 1, 2000, in Saxony-Anhalt onJanuary 1, 2004 and in Lower Saxony on January 1, 2005.

[edit] Administrative districts (Kreise)

Main article: Districts of Germany
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City-statehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City-statehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boroughhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_German_urban_districtshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_German_urban_districtshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen_(city)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen_(city)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremerhavenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremerhavenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=States_of_Germany&action=edit&section=8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landschaftsverbandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westphaliahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westphaliahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lippehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburg-Vorpommernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorpommernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=States_of_Germany&action=edit&section=9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regierungsbezirkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=States_of_Germany&action=edit&section=10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Districts_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Administrative_divisions_of_Germany.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Administrative_divisions_of_Germany.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City-statehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boroughhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_German_urban_districtshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen_(city)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremerhavenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=States_of_Germany&action=edit&section=8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landschaftsverbandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westphaliahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lippehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburg-Vorpommernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorpommernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=States_of_Germany&action=edit&section=9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regierungsbezirkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=States_of_Germany&action=edit&section=10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Districts_of_Germany


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Map of German districts. Yellow districts are urban, white are rural.

The Districts of Germany (Kreise) are administrative districts, and every state except the city-states ofBerlin, Hamburg andBremen consists ofrural districts (Landkreise), District-freeTowns/Cities (Kreisfreie Stdte, in Baden-Wrttemberg also called urban districts, orStadtkreise), cities that are districts in their own right, or local associations of a special kind(Kommunalverbnde besonderer Art), see below. The state ofBremen consists of two urbandistricts, while Berlin and Hamburg are states and urban districts at the same time.

There are 313Landkreise and 116Kreisfreie Stdte, making 429 districts altogether. Eachconsists 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 executivein the United States, supervising local government administration. TheLandkreise have primaryadministrative 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 ormoreKreisfreie Stdte to form a replacement of the aforementioned administrative entities at thedistrict 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 anassociation, orKommunalverband besonderer Art. Such an organization requires the issuing ofspecial laws by the governing state, since they are not covered by the normal administrativestructure of the respective states.

In 2010 only threeKommunalverbnde besonderer Artexist.

District of Hanover. Formed in 2001 out of the previous rural district of Hanover and thedistrict-free city ofHanover.

Regionalverband Saarbrcken(district association Saarbrcken). Formed in 2008 out ofthe 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 andthe district-free city ofAachen.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Districts_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen_(state)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen_(state)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_German_rural_districtshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_German_rural_districtshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_German_urban_districtshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_German_urban_districtshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen_(state)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_of_Americahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_of_Americahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinterlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanover_(district)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanoverhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanoverhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saarbr%C3%BCcken_(district)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saarbr%C3%BCckenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aachen_(district)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aachenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aachenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Landkreise,_Kreise_und_kreisfreie_St%C3%A4dte_in_Deutschland_2011-09-04.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Landkreise,_Kreise_und_kreisfreie_St%C3%A4dte_in_Deutschland_2011-09-04.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Districts_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen_(state)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_German_rural_districtshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_German_urban_districtshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen_(state)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_of_Americahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinterlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanover_(district)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanoverhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saarbr%C3%BCcken_(district)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saarbr%C3%BCckenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aachen_(district)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aachen


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[edit] Offices (mter)

mter("offices" or "bureaus"): In some states there is an administrative unit between thedistricts and the municipalities, calledmter(singularAmt),Amtsgemeinden,Gemeindeverwaltungsverbnde,Landgemeinden, Verbandsgemeinden,Verwaltungsgemeinschaften orKirchspiellandgemeinden.

[edit] Municipalities (Gemeinden)Municipalities(Gemeinden): Every rural district and every Amt is subdivided intomunicipalities, while every urban district is a municipality in its own right. There are (as of 6March 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 timesthere were many other privileges, including the right to impose local taxes or to allow industryonly within city limits.

The municipalities are ruled by elected councils and by an executive, the mayor, who is choseneither by the council or directwly by the people, depending on theBundesland. The

"constitution" for the municipalities is created by the states and is uniform throughout aBundesland(except for Bremen, which allows Bremerhaven to have its own constitution).

The municipalities have two major policy responsibilities. First, they administer programsauthorized 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 themunicipalities "the right to regulate on their own responsibility all the affairs of the localcommunity within the limits set by law." Under this broad statement of competence, localgovernments can justify a wide range of activities. For instance, many municipalities developand expand the economic infrastructure of their communities through the development ofindustrialtrading 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 wellas public transportation. The majority of the funding for municipalities is provided by higherlevels 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 forestand mountain areas, but also four Bavarian lakes that are not part of any municipality. As ofJanuary 1, 2005, there were 246 such areas, with a total area of 4167.66 km or 1.2 percent of thetotal area of Germany. Only four unincorporated areas are populated, with a total population ofabout 2,000. The following table gives an overview.

Unincorporated areas in German states

NumberArea in

kmNumber

Area inkm

Bavaria 216 2725.06 262 2992.78
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=States_of_Germany&action=edit&section=11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amt_(political_division)http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=States_of_Germany&action=edit&section=12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipalityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipalityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stadtrechthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trading_estatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trading_estatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trading_estatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unincorporated_areahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavariahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=States_of_Germany&action=edit&section=11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amt_(political_division)http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=States_of_Germany&action=edit&section=12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipalityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stadtrechthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trading_estatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unincorporated_areahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavaria


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Lower Saxony 23 949.16 25 1394.10

Hesse 4 327.05 4 327.05

Schleswig-Holstein 2 99.41 2 99.41

Baden-Wrttemberg 1 66.98 2 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 neighboringmunicipalities, wholly or partially, most frequently in Bavaria.

Tourism in Germany

Tourists at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Saxonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hessehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleswig-Holsteinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg_Gatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brandenburg_Gate_in_Berlin.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brandenburg_Gate_in_Berlin.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Saxonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hessehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleswig-Holsteinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg_Gate


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Netherlands 9.96 MUnited States 4.29 MSwitzerland 3.86 MUnited Kingdom 3.70 MItaly 3.10 M

Austria 2.57 MBelgium 2.54 MFrance 2.51 Mother 22.29 M

Overnight stays in 2009 by country of origin[1][2]

According to Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Reports,Germanyis rated as one of thesafest 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 millionnights 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 theGerman National Tourist Board (GNTB),represented worldwide by National Tourist Offices in 29 countries. Surveys by the GNTBinclude 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 133million foreign visitors (2008) Germany is ranked as the 7th most visited travel destinationworldwide. A total of 27.2 billion Euros is spent on travel and tourism: this is equivalent to 3.2%of Germany's GNP.

Contents[hide]

1 History

1.1 Statistics

2 Countryside

2.1 Health

2.2 Regions

2.3 Theme routes 2.4 Winter sport

3 Cities

3.1 Events

3.2 Trade fairs

4 Most visited...
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4.1 Protected areas

4.2 Landmarks

4.3 Theme parks

5 See also

6 References

7 External links

[edit] HistoryThe history oftourism in Germany goes back to cities and landscapes being visited foreducation and recreation. From the late 18th century onwards, cities like Dresden,Munich,Weimarand Berlin were major stops on a European Grand tour. Spas and resorts on the Northand Baltic Seas and along the Rhine valley particularly developed during the 19th and early 20thcentury and since the end ofWorld War IItourism has expanded greatly, as many tourists visitGermany 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 eachof the sixteen states of Germany in 2008. With 76.91 million nights spent in hotels, hostels orclinics, Bavaria has the most visitors. With 14.300 nights per 1,000 population, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has the highest density of tourists.

state # of nights in 2008of whom foreign

visitorsnights/pop.

Baden-Wrttemberg 43.62 million 8.90 million 4.1

Bavaria 76.91 million 17.30 million 6.1Berlin 17.77 million 6.18 million 5.2Brandenburg 9.41 million 0.86 million 3.7Bremen 1.65 million 0.34 million 4.2Hamburg 7.66 million 1.42 million 4.3Hesse 27.30 million 6.69 million 4.5Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 23.83 million 1.07 million 14.3Lower Saxony 36.92 million 3.73 million 4.2

North Rhine-Westphalia 41.52 million 8.39 million 2.3Rhineland-Palatinate 18.45 million 4.17 million 4.6Saarland 2.26 million 0.32 million 2.2Saxony 15.70 million 1.63 million 3.7Saxony-Anhalt 6.70 million 0.52 million 2.8Schleswig-Holstein 21.07 million 2.40 million 7.4Thuringia 8.68 million 0.60 million 3.8

Forthcoming highlights in Germany are: 20 Years since the Fall of theBerlin Wall, theOberammergau Passion Play (Bavaria) in 2010, Ruhr2010 European capital of culture, the 2011FIFA Women's World Cup and the Finals of theEurovision Song Contest 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tourism_in_Germany&action=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dresdenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dresdenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munichhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_tourhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tourism_in_Germany&action=edit&section=2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavariahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburg-Vorpommernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburg-Vorpommernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavariahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen_(state)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hessehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburg-Vorpommernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Saxonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Rhine-Westphaliahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhineland-Palatinatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saarlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxony-Anhalthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleswig-Holsteinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuringiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wallhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wallhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberammergau_Passion_Playhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhrhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhrhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_FIFA_Women's_World_Cuphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_FIFA_Women's_World_Cuphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest_2011http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest_2011http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tourism_in_Germany&action=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dresdenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munichhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_tourhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tourism_in_Germany&action=edit&section=2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavariahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburg-Vorpommernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburg-Vorpommernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavariahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen_(state)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hessehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburg-Vorpommernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Saxonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Rhine-Westphaliahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhineland-Palatinatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saarlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxony-Anhalthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleswig-Holsteinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuringiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wallhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberammergau_Passion_Playhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhrhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_FIFA_Women's_World_Cuphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_FIFA_Women's_World_Cuphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest_2011


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[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 forhealth tourism, with many of the numerous spa towns having beenestablished at a hot spring, offering convalescence (German:Kur) or preventive care by means ofmineral waterand/or other spa treatment. Spa towns and seaside resorts carry officialdesignations such as Mineral and mud spas (Mineral- und Moorbder), Healthy climate resorts(Heilklimatische Kurorte), Kneipp cure resorts (Kneippkurorte = water therapy resorts), Seasideresorts (Seebder), Climatic resorts (Luftkurorte), and Recreation resorts (Erholungsorte). Thelargest and most well known resorts also have casinos, most notably at Bad Wiessee,Baden-Baden (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 ofSylt

Stubbenkammeron the Baltic island ofRgen

The most visited tourist regions in Germany are the East FrisianandNorth Frisian Islands, theBaltic Sea coasts ofHolstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, theUpper 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 district # of nights in 2008

1 Nordfriesland 6.96 million2 Rgen 5.57 million3 Oberallgu 5.29 million4 Ostholstein 5.27 million5 Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald 4.41 million
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tourism_in_Germany&action=edit&section=3http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tourism_in_Germany&action=edit&section=4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spa_towns_in_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spa_townshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_tourismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_springhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_waterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_waterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kneipphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casinohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casinohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Wiesseehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden-Badenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden-Badenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden-Badenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurhaus_(Baden-Baden)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiesbadenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiesbadenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aachenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aachenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travem%C3%BCndehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westerland,_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tourism_in_Germany&action=edit&section=5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_parks_in_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frisian_Islandshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasmund_National_Parkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%BCgenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%BCgenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourist_regionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Frisian_Islandshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Frisian_Islandshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Frisian_Islandshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holsteinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburg-Vorpommernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Middle_Rhine_Valleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Middle_Rhine_Valleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavarian_Foresthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Foresthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Foresthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavarian_Alpshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavarian_Alpshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rural_districts_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordfrieslandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%BCgen_(district)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberallg%C3%A4uhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostholsteinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breisgau-Hochschwarzwaldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:096_-_Stubbenkammer.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:096_-_Stubbenkammer.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:D%C3%BCnenweg_auf_Sylt.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:D%C3%BCnenweg_auf_Sylt.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tourism_in_Germany&action=edit&section=3http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tourism_in_Germany&action=edit&section=4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spa_towns_in_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spa_townshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_tourismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_springhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_waterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kneipphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casinohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Wiesseehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden-Badenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden-Badenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurhaus_(Baden-Baden)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiesbadenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aachenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travem%C3%BCndehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westerland,_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tourism_in_Germany&action=edit&section=5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_parks_in_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frisian_Islandshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasmund_National_Parkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%BCgenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourist_regionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Frisian_Islandshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Frisian_Islandshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holsteinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburg-Vorpommernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Middle_Rhine_Valleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavarian_Foresthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Foresthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavarian_Alpshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rural_districts_of_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordfrieslandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%BCgen_(district)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberallg%C3%A4uhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostholsteinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald


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Other popular regions include

in the North: Holstein Switzerland, the Lneburg Heath and Harz

in the West: Teutoburg Forest, Sauerland, Eifel and theMoselle Valley

in the East: Saxon Switzerland,Thringer Wald,Erzgebirge and the Elbe Valley

in the South: Taunus, Spessart, Odenwald andAllgu.[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 helpvisitors get to know a specific region and its cultural or scenic qualities. The table below showssome of the most prominent theme routes. Other popular German theme routes include parts ofthe European Route of Brick Gothic and European Route of Industrial Heritage, theHarz- HeideRoad,Bertha Benz Memorial Route and Bergstrasse.

routeestablished theme

length inkm

German Wine Road (DeutscheWeinstrae)

1935 Palatinatewine route 85 km

Romantic Road (RomantischeStrae)

1950 Romanticism 366 km

Schwarzwaldhochstrasse 1952 Black Forest 60 kmCastle Road(Burgenstrae) 1954 Castles in Germany 1,000 kmRoad of Weser Renaissance(Strae der Weserrenaissance)

Weser Renaissance 350 km

Romanesque Road(Strae derRomanik) 1993 Romanesque architecture 1,195 km

German Ferries Route 2004 fords, ferries, bridges and tunnels 250 kmGerman Timber-Frame Road 1990 timber framing(Fachwerk) 3,000 km

Deutsche Uhrenstrasse

Cuckoo clockmanufacturers, clock-face paintings workshops, museums,Black Forest and Baar villages,landscapes

320 km
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holstein_Switzerlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BCneburg_Heathhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harzhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teutoburg_Foresthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauerlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eifelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moselle_(river)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moselle_(river)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxon_Switzerlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxon_Switzerlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%BCringer_Waldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%BCringer_Waldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erzgebirgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbe_Valleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taunushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spessarthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odenwaldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allg%C3%A4uhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allg%C3%A4uhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tourism_in_Germany&action=edit&section=6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Route_of_Brick_Gothichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Route_of_Industrial_Heritagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harz-Heide_Roadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harz-Heide_Roadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harz-Heide_Roadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha_Benz_Memorial_Routehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha_Benz_Memorial_Routehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergstra%C3%9Fe_Routehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Wine_Roadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palatinate_(wine_region)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palatinate_(wine_region)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_routehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_Roadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanticismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwarzwaldhochstra%C3%9Fehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Foresthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Roadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Roadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_castles_in_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_of_Weser_Renaissancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weser_Renaissancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanesque_Roadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanesque_Roadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanesque_architecturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_F%C3%A4hrstra%C3%9Fehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Timber-Frame_Roadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timber_framinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timber_framinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fachwerkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Deutsche_Uhrenstrasse&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuckoo_clockhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuckoo_clockhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Du200613.gifhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Du200613.gifhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holstein_Switzerlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BCneburg_Heathhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harzhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teutoburg_Foresthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauerlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eifelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moselle_(river)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxon_Switzerlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%BCringer_Waldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erzgebirgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbe_Valleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taunushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spessarthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odenwaldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allg%C3%A4uhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tourism_in_Germany&action=edit&section=6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Route_of_Brick_Gothichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Route_of_Industrial_Heritagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harz-Heide_Roadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harz-Heide_Roadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha_Benz_Memorial_Routehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergstra%C3%9Fe_Routehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Wine_Roadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palatinate_(wine_region)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_routehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_Roadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanticismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwarzwaldhochstra%C3%9Fehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Foresthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Roadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_castles_in_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_of_Weser_Renaissancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weser_Renaissancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanesque_Roadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanesque_architecturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_F%C3%A4hrstra%C3%9Fehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Timber-Frame_Roadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timber_framinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fachwerkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Deutsche_Uhrenstrass

States of Germany

Documents

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