There are 439 German districts, administrative units in Germany. The districts are at an intermediate level of administration between the Länder (German states) and the local / municipal levels (Gemeinden).
The majority of the districts are rural districts, Landkreise, of which there are 323. Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants (and in some Länder smaller towns) do not usually belong to a district but take over district responsibilities themselves - similar to the concept of independent cities These are known as urban districts (Kreisfreie Städte / Stadtkreise) - cities which constitute a district in their own right, and there are currently (2004) 116 of them, bringing the total number of districts to 439. In North Rhine-Westphalia, there are some cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants which are not urban districts, for example Recklinghausen, Siegen and Neuss.
Responsibilities
The districts are responsible for the following:
according to federal and regional laws:
the building and upkeep of B roads
other building plans which cover more than one local authority's area
caring for national parks
social welfare
youth welfare
the building and upkeep of hospitals
the building and upkeep of state institutes of secondary education
electing the Landrat or Landrätin, the chairperson of the district
according to local laws: (differ in each region)
financial support for culture
the building of pedestrian zones and bicycle lanes
financial support for school exchanges
the building and upkeep of public libraries
revitalisation of the economy
encouraging tourism
the management of Volkshochschulen (state run adult education colleges)
All these tasks are carried out by local (municipal) authorities operating together. Urban districts have these responsibilities and also those of the municipalities.
District parliament
The district parliament, the Kreistag, consists of representatives of all the districts in one Land; its chairman is known as the Landrat. The parliament is elected directly every five years, except in Bavaria where it is elected every six years, and in Schleswig-Holstein, where it is every four years.
It lies in E Germany, bordered on the west by the German states of Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt, and Bavaria; on the south by the Czech Republic; on the east by Poland; and on the north by the German state of Brandenburg.
Duke Henry I (Henry the Fowler) of Saxony was elected German king in 919, and his son, Emperor Otto I, bestowed (961) Saxony on Hermann Billung (d.
In 1990, prior to German reunification, the districts were reintegrated as a state.
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