Hamburg
Hamburg
After this guide, you will know what Hamburg is as a state, how it is divided into districts, what its flag and coat of arms look like, and how Hamburg is governed.
Hamburg is a city-state
Germany has 16 federal states (Bundesland). Hamburg is one of them, in the north of Germany. Hamburg is both a state and a city, so it is called a city-state (Stadtstaat).
Its full name is Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg, which means Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
Districts and local elections
Hamburg is divided into districts (Bezirk). Altona is one of the districts of Hamburg.
In Hamburg, the district assemblies (Bezirksversammlung) are elected in the local elections (Kommunalwahl). Each assembly represents its own district.
In these local elections, people aged 16 and over may vote. Hamburg sets this age in its own state law. This differs from the Bundestag election, where people must be 18 to vote.
Flag and coat of arms
Hamburg has its own state flag (Landesflagge) and its own coat of arms (Wappen). The flag has two colours: white and red (weiß-rot).
The coat of arms shows a castle with three towers and an arched gate at the bottom. Remember this picture so you can recognise the coat of arms in the questions.
How Hamburg is governed
Each state has a state parliament (Landtag) that makes the laws for the state. In Hamburg, this parliament is called the Bürgerschaft. Its members are elected every five years.
The head of the state government is the First Mayor (Erster Bürgermeister). The government is the Senate (Senat), and each senator is in charge of one area, for example:
- Senator for Justice (Justizsenator): the courts and the legal system of the state.
- Senator for Finance: the state budget.
- Senator for the Interior (Innensenator): the police and public safety in the state.
To learn about politics in Hamburg, you can go to the State Agency for Civic Education (Landeszentrale für politische Bildung). It is a state agency that gives neutral information.