Saxony
Sachsen
After this guide, you will know where Saxony is, which city is its capital, what its coat of arms and flag look like, how the state is governed and where to find information about politics.
Location and capital
Germany has 16 federal states (Bundesland). Saxony is a state in the east of Germany, bordering Poland and the Czech Republic. Its official name is Freistaat Sachsen. The word Freistaat means “free state”.
The city that is the state capital (Landeshauptstadt) is where the state government has its seat. The capital of Saxony is Dresden.
Coat of arms and flag
Saxony has its own coat of arms (Wappen) and its own state flag (Landesflagge). The coat of arms is a shield with black and yellow horizontal stripes and a diagonal band across it. In the exam, the coat of arms of Saxony is Bild 4.
The state flag of Saxony has two colours: white and green (weiß-grün).
Districts and local elections
A state is divided into districts (Landkreis) and some independent cities. Each district contains several municipalities (Gemeinde). A municipality is the smallest unit of local government.
The Vogtland district (Vogtlandkreis) is one of the districts in Saxony.
In local elections (Kommunalwahl) in Saxony, people aged 18 and over may vote. The state law sets this age.
How the state is governed and where to find information
The state has a state parliament (Landtag). Its members, the members of a state parliament (Landtagsabgeordnete), are elected in a state parliament election (Landtagswahl). In Saxony, the Landtag is elected for a term of 5 years.
The head of the state government is called the Ministerpräsidentin/Ministerpräsident, which means minister-president. The state government consists of ministers led by this head.
Each state has its own ministries (Ministerium) for tasks such as education, justice or the interior. A state does not have every ministry. Saxony has no foreign minister (Außenminister), because foreign policy is a task of the federal government.
To learn about political topics in Saxony, you can go to the State Agency for Civic Education (Landeszentrale für politische Bildung). It is the state agency for civic education.