Brandenburg
Brandenburg
After this guide, you will know where Brandenburg is and which city is its capital, recognise its coat of arms and flag, understand how local elections work and how the state is governed.
Location and capital
Brandenburg is a federal state (Bundesland) in the east of Germany. It borders Poland and surrounds the capital Berlin. Berlin is a separate state.
The city that is the state capital (Landeshauptstadt) is where the state government has its seat. The capital of Brandenburg is Potsdam.
Coat of arms and flag
Brandenburg has its own coat of arms (Wappen). The coat of arms shows an eagle with spread wings on a white shield.
The state flag (Landesflagge) has the two colours red and white (rot-weiß).
Districts, municipalities and local elections
A state is divided into districts (Landkreis) and independent cities. Each district contains several municipalities (Gemeinde). A municipality is the smallest unit of local government.
For example, Prignitz is a district in Brandenburg.
In local elections (Kommunalwahl) in Brandenburg, people aged 16 and over may vote. Each state sets this age in its own law, so it can differ between states.
How Brandenburg is governed
Each state has a state parliament (Landtag) whose members are elected by the people. The parliament makes the laws for the state. In Brandenburg, the state parliament election (Landtagswahl) takes place every five years.
The head of the state government is called the minister-president (Ministerpräsident). A minister-president is not a mayor, because a mayor leads only one city or municipality.
A state has ministries that handle different tasks, for example:
- Minister of Justice (Justizminister): responsible for the courts and the state's legal system.
- Minister of Finance: responsible for the state budget.
- Minister of the Interior (Innenminister): responsible for the police and public safety in the state.
To learn about political topics in Brandenburg, you can go to the State Agency for Civic Education (Landeszentrale für politische Bildung). It is a state agency that gives neutral information.