Federation, states and municipalities
Bund, Länder und Gemeinden
You will understand how Germany is divided into the Federation, the states and the municipalities, what each level does and how to deal with public authorities.
Germany is a federal state
Germany is a federal state (Bundesstaat). This means that state power is divided: one part belongs to the whole country, one part to each state. The full name of the country is the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland).
Germany has 16 states (Bundesland), for example Nordrhein-Westfalen and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Each state is part of Germany, but it also has its own state organs.
Today Germany is divided into the Federation (Bund), the states (Länder) and the municipalities (Kommunen). These are the three levels of the state. Germany is not a centralised state (Zentralstaat), and it is not a loose union of independent countries (a confederation (Staatenbund)).
The states and their governments
Every state has its own government (eigene Regierung). The state government decides on matters that belong to the state, for example many questions about schools.
In most states the head of the state government is called the Minister-President (Ministerpräsident). In the three city-states (Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg) the title is different.
A state is not an independent country. So a state has no army of its own (eigene Armee), no currency of its own (eigene Währung) and no foreign minister of its own (Außenminister). These matters belong to the whole country.
Municipalities and local administration
Germany has three levels of administration (dreistufiger Verwaltungsaufbau (dreistufigen Verwaltungsaufbau)): the Federation, the states and the local level. The lowest political level, closest to the people, is the municipality (Gemeinde).
The head of a municipality is the mayor (Bürgermeister). A mayor is not the head of a school, not the manager of a bank and not the chair of a party.
Every municipality has an administration (Gemeindeverwaltung) with many offices. One example is the public order office (Ordnungsamt). The tax office (Finanzamt) is not part of the municipal administration, and the Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt) is a federal body.
What the state does
The state has many tasks (Aufgaben) that serve the people. The state builds roads and schools (Straßen und Schulen). It also pays child benefit (Kindergeld), supports museums (Museen) and supports athletes.
The state does not sell food or clothes, does not produce cars or buses and does not pay for holiday trips for all citizens. These are not tasks of the state.
The states of the former East Germany
After German reunification, the territory of the German Democratic Republic (DDR) became part of today's Germany. In the exam, these five states are named as belonging to the former DDR.
- Brandenburg
- Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
- Sachsen
- Sachsen-Anhalt
- Thüringen
The other states, for example Bayern, Hessen or Nordrhein-Westfalen, belonged to former West Germany. When a question asks which state was part of the former DDR, choose one of the five states in the list above.
Dealing with public authorities
When you move house in Germany, you must register at the residents' registration office (Einwohnermeldeamt). The registry office (Standesamt) handles other matters, for example marriages.
If a married couple wants to open a restaurant, they need a restaurant licence (Gaststättenerlaubnis) from the responsible authority (zuständigen Behörde). They do not need permission from the police or from a party.
If an employee at a public authority treats you badly, you can complain (beschweren) to the head of the authority (Behördenleiter). You do not have to accept it, and you must not threaten anyone.
If you receive a wrong bill from a public authority, file an objection (Widerspruch) with that authority. Do not leave the bill lying around, and do not just send it back.