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").
8-860: Kreuth is a municipality and a village in the district of Miesbach in Bavaria in Germany . The castle Ringberg is the latest of all the many castles and palaces built by the Bavarian royal family, the House of Wittelsbach , over 800 years. It was only built after the German Revolution of 1918–1919 during the middle and second half of the 20th century by Luitpold Emanuel Ludwig Maria , Duke in Bavaria (1890-1973), and actually never completely finished nor ever lived in. The duke himself donated it to
16-464: 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,
24-477: A reference to the hunting opportunities. Spa guests included Emperors Franz Joseph I of Austria , Nicholas I of Russia and Alexander I of Russia . In 1957, Duke Ludwig Wilhelm in Bavaria (1884–1968) converted the facilities into a modern sanatorium. The bath is still owned by the Dukes in Bavaria of the House of Wittelsbach . They ran the spa until 1973. Then the buildings were used for political gatherings of
32-538: The Christian Social Union of Bavaria for some decades. This site is appeared in Russ Meyer 's exploitation film Up! as the resident place of Adolf Schwartz. The current owner, Duchess Helene in Bavaria, concluded a leasehold agreement with a hotelier in 2020 who wants to set up a “mental retreat” sanatorium there. Municipalities of Germany The highest degree of autonomy may be found in
40-604: 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,
48-485: The Max Planck Society in 1973. The springs, sulphurous sources, were first mentioned in 1490. The first bath house was built in 1511 by Abbot Henry V. of Tegernsee . In 1818 the bath came into the possession of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria , together with Tegernsee Abbey , who had new bath houses built that are still used today, named Wildbad Kreuth ("Wild Bath Kreuth" or "Deer Bath Kreuth"), with
56-517: 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
64-822: 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
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