Administrative divisions of Germany

From the longer Wikipedia page [1]

The Federal Republic of Germany, as a federal state, consists of sixteen states (German: ***Länder***, sing. ***Land***). Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia describe themselves as a *Freistaat* ("free state"), and Berlin and Hamburg are frequently called ***Stadtstaaten*** ("city-states"), as is the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, which includes the cities of Bremen and Bremerhaven. The other thirteen states are called ***Flächenländer*** ("area 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, 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 as a *de facto* state. In 1952, following a referendum, Baden, Württemberg-Baden, and Württemberg-Hohenzollern merged into Baden-Württemberg. In 1957, the Saar Protectorate joined the Federal Republic as the state of Saarland.

The next change occurred in the aftermath of German reunification in 1990, in which the area of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) became part of the Federal Republic, by accession of the re-established eastern states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania (*Mecklenburg-Vorpommern*), Saxony (*Sachsen*), Saxony-Anhalt (*Sachsen-Anhalt*), and Thuringia (*Thüringen*) to the Federal Republic and by the de facto reunification of West and East Berlin into Berlin and its establishment as a full and equal state. A regional referendum in 1996, to merge Berlin with surrounding Brandenburg as "Berlin-Brandenburg", failed to reach the necessary majority vote in Brandenburg, while a majority of Berliners had voted in favour.

Federalism is one of the entrenched constitutional principles of Germany. According to the German constitution, some topics, such as foreign affairs and defence, are the exclusive responsibility of the federation (i.e., the federal level), while others fall under the shared authority of the states and the federation. The states retain residual or exclusive legislative authority for all other areas, including "culture", which in Germany includes not only topics such as the financial promotion of arts and sciences, but also most forms of education and job training (see Education in Germany). Though international relations including international treaties are primarily the responsibility of the federal level, the constituent states have certain limited powers in this area: in matters that affect them directly, the states defend their interests at the federal level through the *Bundesrat* ("Federal Council"), and in areas where they have the legislative authority they have limited powers to conclude international treaties "with the consent of the federal government".