Municipalities ( German : Gemeinden , pronounced [ɡəˌmaɪ̯ndn̩] ; singular Gemeinde ) are the lowest level of official territorial division in Germany . This can be the second, third, fourth or fifth level of territorial division, depending on the status of the municipality and the Land (federal state) it is part of. The city-states Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg are second-level divisions. A Gemeinde is one level lower in those states which also include Regierungsbezirke (singular: Regierungsbezirk ) as an intermediate territorial division (Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia). The Gemeinde is one level higher if it is not part of a Gemeindeverband ("municipal association").
6-446: Crawinkel is a village and a former municipality in the district of Gotha , Thuringia , Germany . Since 1 January 2019, it is part of the town Ohrdruf . Crawinkel was first mentioned in 1088. After the Armistice with France in 1940, during World War II , German forces took numerous memorials from the forest of Compiègne , where the Armistice with Germany that ended World War I
12-459: A need to increase the efficiency and reduce costs of administration. At the same time, many districts and also urban districts were merged into larger districts. There are several types of municipalities in Germany, with different levels of autonomy. Each federal state has its own administrative laws, and its own local government structure. The main types of municipalities are: In all municipalities,
18-595: The Gemeinden which are not part of a Kreis ("district"). These Gemeinden are referred to as Kreisfreie Städte or Stadtkreise , often translated as "urban district". In some states they retained a higher measure of autonomy than the other municipalities of the Kreis (e.g. Große Kreisstadt ). Municipalities titled Stadt (town or city) are urban municipalities while those titled Gemeinde are classified as rural municipalities. With more than 3,600,000 inhabitants,
24-563: The mayor and the members of the municipal council are appointed by local elections that take place on a regular basis. Elections for the municipal councils ( Kommunalwahlen ) take place every 4 years in Bremen, every 6 years in Bavaria and every 5 years in all other states. The office of mayor is full-time ( hauptamtlich ) in larger municipalities, and voluntary ( ehrenamtlich ) in smaller municipalities, for instance those that are part of
30-801: The most populous municipality of Germany is the city of Berlin ; and the least populous is Gröde in Schleswig-Holstein . Status as of January 2024. The number of municipalities of Germany has decreased strongly over the years: in 1968 there were 24,282 municipalities in West Germany , and in 1980 there were 8,409. The same trend occurred in the New states of Germany after the German reunification: from 7,612 municipalities in 1990 to 2,380 as of 1 January 2024. While in some cases growing cities absorbed neighbouring municipalities, most of these mergers were driven by
36-515: Was also signed, as prizes to Crawinkel. These included the actual railway carriage where both armistices were concluded. In 1945, the car was dynamited and its pieces buried. Since the German reunification in 1989, numerous artifacts have been recovered and returned to France. This Gotha district location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Municipalities of Germany The highest degree of autonomy may be found in
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