Districts of Germany

In most German states, the primary administrative subdivision higher than a Gemeinde (Municipality) is the Landkreis ("rural district"); the exceptions are the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein, which use the term Kreis.

These Gemeinden are referred to as Kreisfreie Städte or Stadtkreise, sometimes translated as having "city status".

These correspond to level-3 administrative units in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS 3), and are roughly equivalent to counties in the United States.

The majority of German districts are "rural districts" (German: Landkreise), of which there are 294.

Germany is divided into 401 administrative districts; these consist of 294 rural districts (Kreise [in North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein] and Landkreise), and 107 urban districts (Kreisfreie Städte or, in Baden-Württemberg only, Stadtkreise – cities that constitute districts in their own right).

In most German states, the primary administrative subdivision higher than a Gemeinde (Municipality) is the Landkreis ("rural district"); the exceptions are the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein, which use the term Kreis. In North Rhine-Westphalia, there are some cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants which are not urban districts, for example Recklinghausen, Siegen, Paderborn, Bergisch Gladbach, Neuss and Moers.

The state consists of five government regions (Regierungsbezirke), divided into 31 districts (Kreise) and 23 urban districts (kreisfreie Städte).

In most German states, the primary administrative subdivision higher than a Gemeinde (Municipality) is the Landkreis ("rural district"); the exceptions are the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein, which use the term Kreis.

Schleswig-Holstein is divided into 11 Kreise (districts):

A special type of rural districts includes the three Kommunalverbände besonderer Art (Municipal unions of special kind), a fusion of a district-free town with its adjacent rural district: besides the Regionalverband Saarbrücken (Saarbrücken regional association), from 1974 until 2007 called "Stadtverband Saarbrücken" (Saarbrücken town association), there is the Hanover Region since 2001 and the Städteregion Aachen (Aachen region of towns) since 2009.

The Regionalverband Saarbrücken is a Kommunalverband besonderer Art, an integration of a district (Kreis) and a district-free town.

A special type of rural districts includes the three Kommunalverbände besonderer Art (Municipal unions of special kind), a fusion of a district-free town with its adjacent rural district: besides the Regionalverband Saarbrücken (Saarbrücken regional association), from 1974 until 2007 called "Stadtverband Saarbrücken" (Saarbrücken town association), there is the Hanover Region since 2001 and the Städteregion Aachen (Aachen region of towns) since 2009.

Hanover Region (Region Hannover) is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany.

(Land-)Kreise stand at an intermediate level of administration between each German state (Land, plural Länder) and the municipal governments (Gemeinde, plural Gemeinden) within it.

The Districts of Germany (Kreise) are administrative districts, and every state except the city-states of Berlin and Hamburg and the state of Bremen consists of "rural districts" (Landkreise), District-free Towns/Cities (Kreisfreie Städte, in Baden-Württemberg also called "urban districts", or Stadtkreise), cities that are districts in their own right, or local associations of a special kind (Kommunalverbände besonderer Art), see below.

Whenever German owners of a motor vehicle change their main place of residence within Germany or buy a car from a person living in a different city or district they have to have the vehicle documentation changed accordingly.

Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants (and smaller towns in some states) do not usually belong to a district, but take on district responsibilities themselves, similar to the concept of independent cities.

In Germany most of the federal states are subdivided into administrative districts called Kreise, each of which normally includes several towns or cities.

In most German states, the primary administrative subdivision higher than a Gemeinde (Municipality) is the Landkreis ("rural district"); the exceptions are the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein, which use the term Kreis.

These correspond to level-3 administrative units in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS 3), and are roughly equivalent to counties in the United States.

These correspond to level-3 administrative units in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS 3), and are roughly equivalent to counties in the United States.

Previously, the similar title Reichskreis (Imperial Circle) referred to groups of states in the Holy Roman Empire.

Previously, the similar title Reichskreis (Imperial Circle) referred to groups of states in the Holy Roman Empire.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, there are some cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants which are not urban districts, for example Recklinghausen, Siegen, Paderborn, Bergisch Gladbach, Neuss and Moers.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, there are some cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants which are not urban districts, for example Recklinghausen, Siegen, Paderborn, Bergisch Gladbach, Neuss and Moers.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, there are some cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants which are not urban districts, for example Recklinghausen, Siegen, Paderborn, Bergisch Gladbach, Neuss and Moers.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, there are some cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants which are not urban districts, for example Recklinghausen, Siegen, Paderborn, Bergisch Gladbach, Neuss and Moers.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, there are some cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants which are not urban districts, for example Recklinghausen, Siegen, Paderborn, Bergisch Gladbach, Neuss and Moers.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, there are some cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants which are not urban districts, for example Recklinghausen, Siegen, Paderborn, Bergisch Gladbach, Neuss and Moers.

A special type of rural districts includes the three Kommunalverbände besonderer Art (Municipal unions of special kind), a fusion of a district-free town with its adjacent rural district: besides the Regionalverband Saarbrücken (Saarbrücken regional association), from 1974 until 2007 called "Stadtverband Saarbrücken" (Saarbrücken town association), there is the Hanover Region since 2001 and the Städteregion Aachen (Aachen region of towns) since 2009.

Aachen, Hanover and Göttingen retain certain rights of an urban district (Kreisfreie Stadt); Saarbrücken has not explicitly determined a similar provision in its legislation.