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TheGerman termBezirk (German pronunciation:[bəˈtsɪʁk]^ⓘ;pl. Bezirke[bəˈtsɪʁkə]^ⓘ; derived fromLatin:circulus, "circle") translated as "district" can refer to the following types ofadministrative divisions:

• Stadtbezirk, a subdivision of a city in the sense of aborough (e.g. inBerlin,Hamburg orVienna), often again subdivided into severalquarters andneighbourhoods. According to GermanGemeindeordnung codes, thecity council resolves upon the implementation by municipalby-law (Satzung). In some cities theBezirke have limited powers delegated to them by the city's local government, including an assembly resulting fromlocal elections and an own 'mayor' (Bürgermeister). In the Germanstates ofHesse andRhineland-Palatinate anymunicipality is authorized to implementOrtsbezirke with own advisory councils and local administrators. The state law inNorth Rhine-Westphalia commits the municipal administration of anindependent city to subdivide the urban area intoStadtbezirke.
• InAustria, the wordBezirk is used with different meanings in three different contexts:
  • Some of the tasks of the administrative branch of the national and regional governments are fulfilled by the 95district captaincies (Bezirkshauptmannschaften, also translated asdistrict administrative office). The area a district administrative office is responsible for is often, although informally, called a district (Bezirk). A number ofstatutory cities, currently 15, are not served by any district administrative office. Their respective municipal bureaucracies handle the tasks normally performed by the district administrative office.
  • The cities ofVienna andGraz are divided into municipal districts (Stadtbezirke), assisting the respective municipal governments.
  • From the point of view of thejudiciary of Austria, the country is subdivided into 115 judicial districts (Gerichtsbezirke), each corresponding to one of the country's 115 lowest-level trial courts.
• TheItalian autonomous provinces ofTrentino andSouth Tyrol, are divided intoBezirksgemeinschaften (Italian:comunità comprensoriali).
• Thedistricts of Switzerland are calledBezirke in severalcantons. InSwitzerland as a federal state, every canton is free to implement its own administrative structure. The intermediate administrative level above theSwiss municipalities is also referred to asVerwaltungsregion orVerwaltungskreis,Wahlkreis,Amtei orAmt, as well asFrench:districts inSuisse romande andItalian:distretto in Svizzera italiana. InSchwyz, the six historicBezirke are self-governing bodies, some with regionalLandsgemeinde assemblies, similar to the municipalKreise ofGraubünden. The sixBezirke ofAppenzell Innerrhoden are identically equal to municipalities.
• Historically the primaryadministrative divisions of East Germany from 1952 were calledBezirke. They were implemented by an administrative reform to supersede the East German federated states ofBrandenburg,Mecklenburg,Saxony,Saxony-Anhalt andThuringia. The capitalEast Berlin was officially equated by resolution of theState Council of East Germany in 1961. Though legislative assemblies (Bezirkstage) and executive councils (Räte) existed, theBezirke according to the top-down principle ofdemocratic centralism enjoyed no autonomy nor any self-governing rights. They were abolished by law which the East GermanPeople's Chamber passed in 1990 on the eve of theGerman reunification.
• During theSecond World War, a specialadministrative division of Nazi Germany was officially classified as "Bezirk":Bezirk Bialystok.

Look upBezirk in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Amtsbezirk, historic denotation of an administrative subdivision inPrussia; until 2009 also in the SwissCanton of Bern
• Regierungsbezirk, "government region", a subdivision of some German federal states

• Types of administrative division

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