TheFederal Republic of Germany is afederation and consists of sixteen partly sovereignstates (German:Länder,sing.Land).[a][1][2] Of the 16 states, 13 are so-called "area-states" (Flächenländer); in these, below the level of the state government, there is a division into local authorities (counties and county-level cities) that have their own administration. Two states,Berlin andHamburg, arecity-states, in which there is no separation between state government and local administration. The state ofBremen is a special case: the state consists of the cities ofBremen, for which the state government also serves as the municipal administration, andBremerhaven, which has its own local administration separate from the state government. It is therefore a mixture of a city-state and an area-state.Three states,Bavaria,Saxony, andThuringia, use the appellationFreistaat ("free state"); this title is merely stylistic and carries no legal or political significance (similar to theUS states that call themselves a commonwealth).
The next major change occurred withGerman reunification in 1990, in which the territory of the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) became part of the Federal Republic, by accession of there-established eastern states ofBrandenburg, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), Saxony (Sachsen),Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt), and Thuringia (Thüringen), and the reunification of West andEast Berlin into a city state. A referendum in 1996 to merge Berlin with surrounding Brandenburg failed to reach the necessary majority vote in Brandenburg, while a majority of Berliners voted in favour.
It was the individual states that formed the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. This contrasted with post-war developments inAustria, where the national federation (Bund) was established first, and the individual states were subsequently defined as units within that federal framework.[citation needed]
The German use of the termLänder ("lands") dates back to theWeimar Constitution of 1919. Previously, thestates of the German Empire had been calledStaaten ("states"). Today, it is common to use the termBundesland (federatedLand).[citation needed] Officially, the term “Bundesland” appears in neither the 1919 constitution nor the current one. ThreeLänder call themselvesFreistaaten ("free states", an older German term for "republic"): Bavaria (since 1919), Saxony (originally from 1919 and again since 1990), and Thuringia (since 1994). Of the 17 states at the end of theWeimar Republic, six still exist (though partly with different borders):
Prussia wasdivided among the states ofBerlin,Brandenburg,Lower Saxony,North Rhine-Westphalia,Rhineland-Palatinate,Saxony-Anhalt andSchleswig-Holstein. The erstwhilePrussian provinces ofBrandenburg,Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein andHanover formed the core of the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony, respectively. The Prussian provinces ofWestphalia andRhineland contributed most territory to the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and Rhineland province contributed about half of the territory of the state of Rhineland Palatinate. Most of the Prussian province ofHesse-Nassau was merged with the existing state of Hesse. Some territories bordering other states were annexed to the bordering state. Also, Prussia had exclaves that were surrounded by other states. These became part of their surrounding states. All states, exceptBavaria, now have territory of the former Free State of Prussia. Other former Prussian territories lying east of the riversNeisse andOder were lost in 1945 and are now part ofPoland orRussia. They are Silesia (Upper and Lower), Pomerania, West Prussia-Posen, and East Prussia respectively.
Possible boundary changes between states continue to be debated in Germany, in contrast to how there are "significant differences among the American states and regional governments in other federations without serious calls for territorial changes" in those other countries.[3] Arthur B. Gunlicks summarizes the main arguments for boundary reform in Germany: "the German system of dual federalism requires strongLänder that have the administrative and fiscal capacity to implement legislation and pay for it from own source revenues. Too manyLänder also make coordination among them and with the federation more complicated."[4] But several proposals have failed so far; territorial reform remains a controversial topic in German politics and public perception.[5]
Federalism has a long tradition in German history. Until the early 19th century, the majority of the territory that later became Germany was part of theHoly Roman Empire, which in 1796 was made up of more than 300 individual political entities subject to theHoly Roman Emperor in Vienna. The number of states was greatly reduced during theNapoleonic Wars (1796–1814), and the Empire itself was abolished in 1806. TheCongress of Vienna, which restructured Europe after the wars, created the highly federalized 39-stateGerman Confederation in 1815.[12] The Confederation was dissolved after theAustro-Prussian War (1866) in which Prussia defeated theAustrian Empire and effectively excluded it from taking part in the eventualunification of Germany.[13]
TheTreaty of Versailles at the end ofWorld War I stripped the former German Empire of 12 to 13 percent of its land area and population, the majority of it from Prussia.[17] Only Alsace–Lorraine, which had never attained full statehood, was wholly lost to Germany. The newWeimar Republic remained federal in nature, with a total of 17 states. Seven small states in east-central Germany consolidated intoThuringia in 1920,Coburg chose to merge into Bavaria (also in 1920), and Prussia absorbedPyrmont and Waldeck (1921 and 1929). During the Weimar period, there were a number of unsuccessful proposals to make radical changes to Germany's state structure,seven short-lived unrecognized states, four of them self-declared soviet republics during theGerman revolution of 1918–1919, plus two separatist republics in theRhineland in 1923/24.
After theNazi Party seized power in January 1933, the states were gradually abolished and reduced to provinces under the Nazi regime via theGleichschaltung process, as the states administratively were largely superseded by theNaziGau system. Three changes are of particular note: on 1 January 1934,Mecklenburg-Schwerin was united with neighbouringMecklenburg-Strelitz; and, by theGreater Hamburg Act (Groß-Hamburg-Gesetz) of 1937, the territory of the city-state was extended, whileLübeck lost its independence and became part of the Prussianprovince of Schleswig-Holstein.
Former German territory that lay east of theOder-Neisse line fell under either Polish or Soviet administration but attempts were made at least symbolically not to abandon sovereignty well into the 1960s. The formerprovinces ofFarther Pomerania,East Prussia,Silesia andPosen-West Prussia fell under Polish administration with the Soviet Union taking the area around Königsberg (now Kaliningrad), pending a final peace conference with Germany which eventually never took place.[18] More than 8 million Germans had beenexpelled from these territories that had formed part of the German-speaking lands for centuries and which mostly did not have sizable Polish minorities before 1945. However, no attempts were made to establish new states in these territories, as they lay outside the jurisdiction of West Germany at that time.
In 1948, the military governors of the threeWestern Allies handed over the so-calledFrankfurt Documents to the minister-presidents in the Western occupation zones. Among other things, they recommended revising the boundaries of the West German states in a way that none of them should be too large or too small in comparison with the others.
As the premiers did not come to an agreement on this question, theParliamentary Council was supposed to address this issue. Its provisions are reflected in Article 29 of theBasic Law. 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 aLand had changed after 8 May 1945 without a 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 a 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). Article 29 states that "the division of the federal territory into Länder may be revised to ensure that eachLand be of a size and capacity to perform its functions effectively".
In their letter toKonrad Adenauer, the three western military governors approved the Basic Law but suspended Article 29 until such time as a peace treaty should be concluded. Only the special arrangement for the southwest under Article 118 could enter into force.
Upon its founding in 1949,West Germany thus had eleven states. These were reduced to nine in 1952 when three south-western states (South Baden,Württemberg-Hohenzollern, andWürttemberg-Baden) merged to formBaden-Württemberg. From 1957, when the French-occupiedSaar Protectorate was returned and formed into theSaarland, the Federal Republic consisted of ten states, which are referred to as 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.
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 states; academics (Werner Rutz,Meinhard Miegel,Adrian Ottnad, etc.) and politicians (Walter Döring,Hans Apel, and others) made proposals – some of them far-reaching – for redrawing boundaries but hardly anything came of these public discussions. Territorial reform is sometimes propagated by the richer states as a means to avoid or reducefiscal transfers.
The three states that merged to form Baden-Württemberg in 1952
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 Karlsruhe-Stuttgart-Ulm (today theA8). Article 118 stated "The division of the territory comprisingBaden,Württemberg-Baden andWürttemberg-Hohenzollern intoLänder may be revised, without regard to the provisions of Article 29, by agreement between theLänder 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, areferendum 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 states merged to form Baden-Württemberg.
With theParis Agreements in 1954, 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 referendums were launched, six of which were successful:
The last petition was originally rejected by the Federal Minister of the Interior by reference to the referendum of 1951. However, theFederal 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 twoPalatine petitions (for a reintegration into Bavaria and integration into Baden-Württemberg) failed with 7.6% and 9.3%. Further requests for petitions (Lübeck, Geesthacht, Lindau, Achberg, and 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 Lübeck.
In theParis Agreements of 23 October 1954, France offered to establish an independent "Saarland", under the auspices of theWestern European Union (WEU), but on 23 October 1955 in theSaar Statute referendum the Saar electorate rejected this plan by 67.7% to 32.3% (out of a 96.5% turnout: 423,434 against, 201,975 for) despite the public support of Federal German ChancellorKonrad Adenauer for the plan. The rejection of the plan by the Saarlanders was interpreted as support for the Saar to join the Federal Republic of Germany.[19]
On 27 October 1956, theSaar Treaty established that Saarland should be allowed to join Germany, as provided by the German constitution. Saarland became part of Germany effective 1 January 1957. The Franco-Saarlander currency union ended on 6 July 1959, when theDeutsche Mark was introduced as legal tender in the Saarland.
Paragraph 6 of Article 29 stated that, if a petition was successful, 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 exclusively federal matter. At the same time, the Court reaffirmed the requirement for a territorial revision as a binding order to the relevant constitutional bodies.
Thegrand coalition decided to settle the 1956 petitions by setting binding deadlines for the required referendums. The referendums in Lower Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate were to be held by 31 March 1975, and the referendum in Baden was to be held by 30 June 1970. The threshold for a successful vote was set at 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, ChancellorWilly Brandt proposed that the government would consider Article 29 of the Basic Law as a binding order. 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 the two regions: the north and center-southwest.
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 (fromCuxhaven toLüchow-Dannenberg) and one in the northwest consisting of Bremen and the rest of Lower Saxony (solution B).
In the center and southwest, one alternative was that Rhineland-Palatinate (with the exception of theGermersheim district but including theRhine-Neckar region) should be merged with Hesse and the Saarland (solution C), the district of Germersheim would then become part of Baden-Württemberg. The other alternative was that the Palatinate (including the region ofWorms) could be merged with the Saarland and Baden-Württemberg, 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 state was considered as necessary.
After a relatively brief discussion and mostly negative responses from the affected states, the proposals were shelved. Public interest was limited or nonexistent.
The referendum in Baden was held on 7 June 1970. 81.9% of voters decided for Baden to remain part of Baden-Württemberg, only 18.1% opted for the reconstitution of the old state ofBaden.
The referendums inLower Saxony andRhineland-Palatinate were held on 19 January 1975 (the percentages given are the percentages of those eligible who voted in favour):
reintegration of Montabaur region into Hesse 14.3%
The votes in Lower Saxony were successful as both proposals were supported by more than 25% of eligible voters. The Bundestag, however, decided that both Oldenburg and Schaumburg-Lippe should remain part of Lower Saxony. The justification was that a reconstitution of the two former states would contradict the objectives of paragraph 1 of article 29 of the constitution. 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 of Article 29 was rephrased, with the provision that any state had to be "of a size and capacity to perform its functions effectively" put first.[20] The option for a referendum in the Federal Republic as a whole (paragraph 4) was abolished, which meant territorial revision was no longer possible against the will of the population affected by it.
East Germany had originally consisted of five states (i.e., Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia). In 1952, these states were abolished and the East was divided into14 administrative districts calledBezirke.Soviet-controlledEast Berlin – despite officially having the same status asWest Berlin – was declared East Germany's capital and its 15th district.
The debate on territorial revision restarted shortly beforeGerman reunification. While academics (Rutz and others) and politicians (Gobrecht) suggested introducing only two, three, or four states in East Germany, legislation reconstituted the East German states in an arrangement similar to that which they had had before 1952, as the five "New States" on 3 October 1990. 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 of Berlin, add up to the current 16 states of Germany.
After reunification, 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 theWest German constitution thus applied to the entireGerman people. Article 23, which had allowed "any other parts of Germany" to join, was rephrased. It had been used in 1957 to reintegrate theSaar Protectorate as theSaarland into the Federal Republic, and this was used as a model for German reunification in 1990. The amended article now defines the participation of theFederal Council and the 16 German states in matters concerning theEuropean Union. Article 29 was again modified and provided an option for the states 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)". 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 twoLänder with the participation of their inhabitants who are entitled to vote". A state treaty between Berlin and Brandenburg was approved in both parliaments with the necessary two-thirds majority, but in a popular referendum of 5 May 1996, about 63% voted against the merger.
The German states 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). Typical treaties relate to cultural relationships and economic affairs.
Some states call themselves a "free state" (Freistaat). It is merely a historic synonym for "republic" and was a description used by most German states after the abolition of monarchy afterWorld War I. Today,Freistaat is associated emotionally with a more independent status, especially in Bavaria. However, it has no legal significance. All sixteen states are represented at the federal level in theBundesrat (Federal Council), where their voting power depends on the size of their population.
Federalism is one of the entrenched constitutional principles of Germany. Accordingly, the states form a considerable counterweight to the power of the federation. In principle, the power to enact laws lies with the states; the federation can only enact its own laws if the Basic Law explicitly assigns it legislative powers in the respective area. This can be done in two ways:
The federation can be granted exclusive legislative authority. In this case, the federation alone is authorized to legislate in this area. This applies, for example, to foreign and defense policy.
The federation can be granted the right to concurrent legislation. In this case, the federation and the states can both enact laws in the respective area; in case of doubt, however, a federal law takes precedence over a state law. This applies, for example, to tax law.
In other areas, only the states are authorized to legislate; this includes, among other things, police law and culture (which in Germany also encompasses the school, vocational training, and university systems).
Even in the areas that the Basic Law assigns to the federal government in whole or in part, the states retain influence on legislation, since the state governments are involved in legislation at the federal level through the Bundesrat. Above all, the federal government can only assume additional powers that have so far resided with the states if the constitution is amended, which requires, among other things, a two-thirds majority in the Bundesrat. The states cannot therefore be disempowered against their will.
Composition of German states' governing coalitions
The federal constitution stipulates that the structure of each Federated 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 acabinet led by aMinisterpräsident (minister-president), together with aunicamerallegislative body known as theLandtag (StateDiet). The states areparliamentary 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 amajority vote among theLandtag's members. Theminister-president is typically the head of the biggest party of a coalition. The minister-president appoints a cabinet to run the state's agencies and to carry out the executive duties of the state's government. Like in other parliamentary systems, the legislature can dismiss or replace the minister-president after a successfulno-confidence vote.
The governments inBerlin,Bremen andHamburg are referred to as "senates". In thefree states ofBavaria andSaxony, the government is referred to as "state government"(Staatsregierung); and in the other states, the government is referred to as "Land government"(Landesregierung). Before 1 January 2000, Bavaria had abicameral parliament, with a popularly electedLandtag, and aSenate made up of representatives of the state's major social and economic groups. The Senate was abolished following areferendum 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 theSenatspräsident (president of the senate), also commonly referred to asBürgermeister (Mayor) in Bremen, theErster Bürgermeister (first mayor) in Hamburg, and theRegierender Bürgermeister (governing mayor) in Berlin. The parliament for Berlin is called theAbgeordnetenhaus (House of Representatives), while Bremen and Hamburg both have aBürgerschaft. The parliaments in the remaining 13 states are referred to asLandtag (State Parliament).
Administrative divisions of Germany (clickableimage)
Thecity-states of Berlin and Hamburg are subdivided intodistricts. The City of Bremen consists of twourban districts:Bremen andBremerhaven, which are not contiguous. In the other states there are the subdivisions below.
The most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia is uniquely divided into two area associations (Landschaftsverbände), one for theRhineland, and one forWestphalia-Lippe. This arrangement was meant to ease the friction caused by uniting the two culturally different regions into a single state afterWorld War II. TheLandschaftsverbände now have very little power.
The constitution ofMecklenburg-Vorpommern at §75 states the right ofMecklenburg andVorpommern to formLandschaftsverbände, although these two constituent parts of the state are not represented in the current administrative division.
The large states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, and North Rhine-Westphalia are divided into governmental districts, orRegierungsbezirke.
In Rhineland-Palatinate, these districts were abolished or re-organized on 1 January 2000, in Saxony-Anhalt on 1 January 2004, and in Lower Saxony on 1 January 2005. From 1990 until 2012, Saxony was divided into three districts (calledDirektionsbezirke since 2008). In 2012, these districts' authorities were merged into one central authority, theLandesdirektion Sachsen [de].
Map of German districts. Yellow districts are urban, while cream districts are suburban or rural.
TheDistricts of Germany(Kreise) are administrative districts, and every state except the city-states ofBerlin andHamburg and the state ofBremen consists of "rural districts"(Landkreise), District-free Towns/Cities (Kreisfreie Städte, in Baden-Württemberg also called "urban districts", orStadtkreise), cities that are districts in their own right, or local associations of a special kind(Kommunalverbände besonderer Art), see below. The stateFree Hanseatic City of Bremen consists of two urban districts, while Berlin and Hamburg are states and urban districts at the same time.
As of 2011, there are 295Landkreise and 107 Kreisfreie Städte, making 402 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 acounty executive in theUnited States, supervising local government administration. TheLandkreise 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 moreLandkreise with one or moreKreisfreie Städte 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 urbanhinterland are grouped into such an association, orKommunalverband 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 threeKommunalverbände besonderer Art exist.
District of Hanover: formed in 2001 from the rural district of Hanover and the district-free city ofHanover.
Regionalverband (district association) ofSaarbrücken: formed in 2008 from theStadtverband Saarbrücken (city association ofSaarbrücken), which was formed in 1974.
City region of Aachen: formed in 2009 from the rural district of Aachen and the district-free city ofAachen.
Ämter ("offices" or "bureaus"): in some states, there is an administrative unit between the districts and the municipalities, calledÄmter (singularAmt),Amtsgemeinden,Gemeindeverwaltungsverbände,Landgemeinden,Verbandsgemeinden,Verwaltungsgemeinschaften, orKirchspiellandgemeinden.
Municipalities (Gemeinden): every rural district and everyAmt is subdivided intomunicipalities, while every urban district is a municipality in its own right. There are (as of 6 March 2009[update]) 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. Municipalities have the competence to define the amount of taxes to be paid, esp. facingGewerbesteuer (company tax) andGrundsteuer (property tax). Municipalities have the competence to deliver local services of general interest (so calledKommunale Daseinsvorsorge).
The number of inhabitants of German municipalities differs greatly, the most populous municipality beingBerlin with nearly 3.8 million inhabitants, while the least populous municipalities (for instance,Gröde inNordfriesland) have less than 10 inhabitants.
The municipalities are ruled by elected councils and by an executive, the mayor, who is chosen either by the council or directly by the people, depending on the state. The "constitution" for the municipalities is created by the states and is uniform throughout a state (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 industrialtrading estates.
Local authorities foster cultural activities by supporting local artists, buildingarts 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 areunincorporated areas, in many cases unpopulated forest and mountain areas, but also four Bavarian lakes that are not part of any municipality. As of 1 January 2005, there were 246 such areas, with a total area of 4167.66 km2 or 1.2% of the total area of Germany. Only four unincorporated areas are populated, with a total population of around 2,000. The table below provides an overview.
In 2000, the number of unincorporated areas was 295, with a total area of 4,890.33 square kilometres (1,888.17 sq mi). However, the unincorporated areas are continually being incorporated into neighboring municipalities, wholly or partially, most frequently in Bavaria.
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^Leicht, Johannes (23 June 2010)."Die Mitgliedsstaaten des Norddeutschen Bundes" [Member States of the North German Confederation].Deutsches Historisches Museum (in German). Retrieved11 August 2025.
^Blume, Dorlis (4 September 2014)."Chronik 1870" [Chronicle 1870].Deutsches Historisches Museum (in German). Retrieved12 August 2025.
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