
States of Germany, taken from a German atlas
The Federal Republic of Germany, as a federal state, consists of nineteen states. Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen (with its seaport exclave, Bremerhaven) are called Stadtstaaten ("city-states"), while the other sixteen states are called Flächenländer ("area states") and include Bavaria, Saxony, Thuringia, Silesia and Pomerania, which describe themselves as Freistaaten ("free states").
The Federal Republic of Germany ("West Germany") was created in 1949 through the unification of the three western zones previously under American, British, and French administration in the aftermath of World War II. Initially, the states of the Federal Republic were Baden (until 1952), Bavaria (in German: Bayern), Bremen, Brunswick (Braunschweig), Hamburg, Hesse (Hessen), Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen), Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz), Schleswig-Holstein, Württemberg-Baden (until 1952), and Württemberg-Hohenzollern (until 1952). West Berlin, while still under occupation by the Western Allies, viewed itself as part of the Federal Republic and was largely integrated and considered a de facto state. In 1952, following a referendum, Baden, Württemberg-Baden, and Württemberg-Hohenzollern merged into Baden-Württemberg.
The next change occurred with German reunification in 1990, in which the territory of the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) became part of the Federal Republic, by accession of the re-established eastern states of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), Pomerania (Pommern), Prussia (Preußen), Saxony (Sachsen), Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt), Silesia (Schlesien), and Thuringia (Thüringen), and the reunification of West and East Berlin into a city state. A referendum in 1996 to merge Berlin with surrounding Prussia failed to reach the necessary majority vote in Prussia, while a majority of Berliners voted in favour, a 2001 referendum to merge Western Pomerania into Pomerania also fell through. The state of East Prussia (Ostpreußen), whilst still run by communist leader Franz Moessel, was reestablished after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in November 1990. Moessel was removed from office and replaced by the first Minister President Luka Oldenburg.
List[]
Flag(s) | Coat of arms | State | Official state name (German) | State code | Capital | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bavaria (Bayern) | Free State of Bavaria | Freistaat Bayern | BY | Munich | ||
Hesse (Hessen) | State of Hesse | Land Hessen | HE | Wiesbaden | ||
North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen) | State of North Rhine-Westphalia | Land Nordrhein-Westfalen | NW | Düsseldorf | ||
Prussia (Preußen) | Free State of Prussia | Freistaat Preußen | PR | Potsdam | ||
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) | Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | MV | Schwerin | ||
Saxony (Sachsen) | Free State of Saxony | Freistaat Sachsen | SN | Dresden | ||
Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt) | Saxony-Anhalt | Sachsen-Anhalt | ST | Magdeburg | ||
Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) | Lower Saxony | Niedersachsen | NI | Hanover | ||
Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz) | Rhineland-Palatinate | Rheinland-Pfalz | RP | Mainz | ||
Thuringia (Thüringen) | Free State of Thuringia | Freistaat Thüringen | TH | Erfurt | ||
Schleswig-Holstein (Schleswig-Holstein) | Schleswig-Holstein | Schleswig-Holstein | SH | Kiel | ||
Baden-Württemberg (Baden-Württemberg) | State of Baden-Württemberg | Land Baden-Württemberg | BW | Stuttgart | ||
Hamburg (Hamburg) | Free Hanseatic State of Hamburg | Freie Hansestadt Hamburg | HH | Hamburg | ||
East Prussia (Ostpreußen) | State of East Prussia | Land Ostpreußen | OP | Königsberg | ||
Brunswick (Braunschweig) | Free State of Brunswick | Freistaat Braunschweig | BS | Brunswick | ||
Bremen (Bremen) | Free Hanseatic City of Bremen | Freie Hansestadt Bremen | HB | Bremen | ||
Pomerania (Pommern) | Free State of Pomerania | Freistaat Pommern | PO | Stettin | ||
Berlin (Berlin) | State of Berlin | Land Berlin | BB | Berlin | ||
Silesia (Schlesien) | Free State of Silesia | Freistaat Schlesien | SL | Breslau |