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Germany is a Federal Republic made up of 16 States , known in German as ''Länder'' (transliterated as Laender in English, singular '''''Land'''''). Since ''Land'' is also the German word for "country", the term '''''Bundesländer''''' ("states of the federation"; singular '''''Bundesland''''') is commonly used as it is more specific. Three cities ( Berlin , Hamburg and Bremen ) have their own states. The remaining 13 states are termed ''Flächenländer'' ("area states"). The term "Bundesland" might seem to imply a subordination of the German ''Länder'' to the federal ''Bund'', but this does not reflect the autonomy of the ''Länder'' in international relations. The correct term, which is also used by the Grundgesetz , is therefore ''Länder''. This differentiation is important, because after the end of the Second World War , the ''Länder'' in the western part of the former Deutsches Reich were constituted as administrative areas first and then federated into the ''Bund'' or Federal Republic of Germany. This was in contrast to the post-war development in Austria , where the ''Bund'' was erected first, and then the states as units of a federal system followed. In Austria , the States are also referred to as ''Länder'' in the Constitution . STATES Each ''Land'' is represented at the federal level in the '' Bundesrat '' ("Federal Council"). The 16 ''Länder'', by reference to the numbers on the map to the right, are: # Baden-Württemberg # Free State Of Bavaria (''Freistaat Bayern'') # Berlin # Brandenburg # Free Hanseatic City Of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen'') # Free And Hanseatic City Of Hamburg (''Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg'') # Hesse (''Hessen'') # Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (''Mecklenburg-Vorpommern'') # Lower Saxony (''Niedersachsen'') # North Rhine-Westphalia (''Nordrhein-Westfalen'') # Rhineland-Palatinate (''Rheinland-Pfalz'') # Saarland # Free State Of Saxony (''Freistaat Sachsen'') # Saxony-Anhalt (''Sachsen-Anhalt'') # Schleswig-Holstein # Free State Of Thuringia (''Freistaat Thüringen'') The description '' Free State '' / ''Freistaat'' is merely used for historical reasons. Legally a ''Freistaat'' is not different from the other states. Prior to Reunification in 1990, West Germany consisted of ten states while in 1952 East Germany reorganized its territory into 15 administrative districts. After Germany reunited on October 3 1990 , 14 of these districts were reverted into the five ''Länder'' Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony as existed up until 1952. The former district of East Berlin was combined with West Berlin to form the new state of Berlin. STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT , with the Free State Of Prussia (''Freistaat Preußen'') as the largest]] (green) within the German Empire ( 1871 - 1918 )]] The Basic Law Of The Federal Republic Of Germany , the country's 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 {Link without Title} ). Most of the ''Länder'' are governed by a among the ''Landtag'' The Gouverments in Berlin , Bremen and Hamburg are called Senate , in the three Free State s Bavaria , Saxony and Thuringia it is called as ''State Gouverment'', in the ten other lands as ''Land Gouverment''. Prior to January 1 2000 , Bavaria had a bicameral parliament, with a popularly elected ''Landtag'' , and an appointed Senate made up of representatives of the state's major social and economic groups. The Senate was abolished following a Referendum in 1998 . The ''Länder'' of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, are governed slightly differently from the other states. In each of these cities, the executive branch consists of a Senate of approximately eight selected by the ''Land'''s parliament; the senators carry out duties equivalent to those of the ministers in the larger ''Länder''. The equivalent of the Minister-President is the ''Senatspräsident'' ("President of the Senate") in Bremen, the ''Erster Bürgermeister'' ("First Mayor") in Hamburg, and the ''Regierender Bürgermeister'' ("Governing Mayor") in Berlin. The parliament for Berlin is called the ''Abgeordnetenhaus'' ("House of Representatives"), while Bremen and Hamburg both have a ''Bürgerschaft''. POLITICS Politics at the state level often carry implications for federal politics. Opposition victories in ''Landtag'' elections, which take place throughout the federal government's four-year term, can weaken the coalition forming the federal government. This led to all Konrad Adenauer , Willy Brandt , and Gerhard Schröder losing the Federal Chancellorship , in 1963 , 1974 and 2005 respectively. State elections are viewed as a barometer of support for the policies of the federal government. If the parties of the governing coalition lose support in successive ''Land'' elections, those results may foreshadow political difficulties for the federal government. The outcome of ''Land'' elections also directly affects the composition of the ''Bundesrat'' ("Federal Council"), one of the two bodies of the federal Parliament , which can again cause the federal government difficulties. For example, in the early 1990s , the opposition SPD commanded a two-thirds majority in the ''Bundesrat'', making it particularly difficult for the governing CDU / CSU - FDP coalition to achieve the constitutional changes it sought; by 2003 the situation was the reverse, with an SPD-led government being severely hindered by a large CDU majority in the ''Bundesrat''. The powers of the state governments and legislatures in their own territories have been much diminished in recent decades with an ever-increasing amount of federal legislation. A commission has been formed to examine the possibility of instituting a clearer separation of federal and state powers, to address this issue. FURTHER SUBDIVISIONS The City-state s of Berlin and Hamburg are subdivided into Borough s. The state Bremen consists of two Urban Districts , Bremen and Bremerhaven . In the other ''Länder'' there are the following subdivisions: Landschaftsverbände , one for Westphalia - Lippe . This was meant to ease the friction caused by uniting the two culturally quite different regions into a single Land after World War II . The Landschaftsverbände retain little power today. Regierungsbezirke Regierungsbezirk e ("governmental districts"): The large states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony are divided into administrative regions, or Regierungsbezirke. In Rhineland-Palatinate, the Regierungsbezirke were dissolved on January 1 2000 , in Saxony-Anhalt on January 1 2004 and in Lower Saxony on January 1 2005 . Kreise consists of two urban districts, while Berlin and Hamburg are states and urban districts at the same time. There are 323 ''Landkreise'' and 116 ''Kreisfreie Städte'', making 439 districts altogether. Each consists of an elected council and an executive, who is selected by the council and whose duties are comparable to those of a US county manager, supervising local government administration. The ''Landkreise'' have primary administrative functions in specific areas, such as highways, hospitals, and public utilities. Ämter Ämter ("offices"): In some states there is an administrative unit between districts and municipalities. These units are called ''Ämter'' (singular ''Amt''), ''Amtsgemeinden'', ''Samtgemeinden'', ''Verbandsgemeinden'' or ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaften''. Gemeinden ''). Nowadays this is mostly just the right to be called a city; however, in older times it included many privileges such as to have their own taxes or to allow industry inside cities only. Gemeinden are ruled by elected councils and an executive, the mayor, who is chosen by either the council or the people, depending on the Bundesland. The "constitution" for the Gemeinden is created by the Länder and is uniform throughout a Land (except for Bremen, which allows Bremerhaven to have its own constitution). Gemeinden have two major policy responsibilities. First, they administer programs authorized by the federal or Land government. Such programs typically might relate to youth, schools, public health, and social assistance. Second, Article 28(2) of the Basic Law guarantees Gemeinden "the right to regulate on their own responsibility all the affairs of the local community within the limits set by law." Under this broad statement of competence, local governments can justify a wide range of activities. For instance, many municipalities develop the economic infrastructure of their communities through the development of industrial parks. Local authorities foster cultural activities by supporting local artists, building arts centers, and/or having fairs. Local government also provides basic public utilities, such as gas and electricity, as well as public transportation. Most of these functions are currently ( 2003 ) under threat since the communities are notoriously badly financed; the fact that they receive most of their money from the other levels instead of from taxes they themselves set the rates of and collect is a big factor in this. 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 Jan. 01, 2005, there were 246 such areas, most of them in Bavaria , with a total area of 4167.66 km2, or 1.2 percent of the total area of Germany. The following table gives an overview. The table shows that in 2000 the number of unincorporated areas was still 295, with a total area of 4890.33 km2. Unincorporated areas are continually being incorporated into neighboring municipalities, wholly or partially, most frequently in Bavaria. Only four unincorporated areas are populated, with an aggregate population of about 2000. SEE ALSO
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