Berlin
Berlin
After this guide, you will know what kind of state Berlin is, what its coat of arms and flag look like, how Berlin is divided into districts and how Berlin is governed.
Berlin is both a state and a city
Germany has 16 federal states (Bundesland). Berlin is one of them. Berlin is both a state and a city.
Berlin is a city-state (Stadtstaat), which means a state that consists of one city. Berlin has no rural districts around it, unlike most other states. It lies in the north-east of Germany and is surrounded by the state of Brandenburg.
In a normal state, the state government and the city government are two different levels. In Berlin, the state government is also the government of the city.
Coat of arms and flag
Berlin has its own coat of arms (Wappen) and its own state flag (Landesflagge). The coat of arms is a white shield with a black bear on it, topped by a crown.
The flag of Berlin has the two colours white and red (weiß-rot).
Districts and local elections
Berlin is divided into districts (Bezirk). Each district has an assembly elected by the people. Pankow is one of the districts of Berlin.
In local elections (Kommunalwahl) in Berlin, people aged 16 and over may vote. These elections choose the district assembly (Bezirksverordnetenversammlung) of each district.
Each state sets the voting age in its own law, so it can differ between states.
How Berlin is governed
Each state has a state parliament (Landesparlament). The parliament of Berlin is called the Abgeordnetenhaus. The people elect it, and the election takes place every five years.
The head of the Berlin government is called the Governing Mayor (Regierender Bürgermeister). This person leads the Senate, which is the state government of Berlin.
The Senate of Berlin has several departments, for example:
- Minister of Justice (Justizsenator): responsible for the courts and the state's legal system.
- Minister of Finance (Finanzsenator): responsible for the state budget.
- Minister of the Interior (Innensenator): responsible for the police and public safety in the state.
To learn about political topics in Berlin, you can go to the State Agency for Civic Education (Landeszentrale für politische Bildung). It is a state agency that gives neutral information.