Regierungsbezirk

History

The first Regierungsbezirke were established in the Kingdom of Bavaria and the Kingdom of Prussia in 1808. During the course of the Prussian reforms between 1808 and 1816, Prussia subdivided its provinces into 25 Regierungsbezirke, eventually featuring 37 such districts within twelve provinces. By 1871, at the time of German unification, the concept of Regierungsbezirke had been adopted by most States of the German Empire. Similar entities were initially established in other states under different names, including Kreishauptmannschaft (district captainship) in Saxony, Kreis (district) in Bavaria and Württemberg (not to be confused with the present-day Kreis or Landkreis districts), and province in Hesse. The names of these equivalent administrative divisions were standardized to Regierungsbezirk in Nazi Germany, but after World War II these naming reforms were reverted.

The Regierungsbezirke in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in modern Germany are in direct continuation of those created in the Prussian Rhine and Westphalia provinces in 1816. Regierungsbezirke never existed in Bremen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, and Saarland.

In 1946, Lower Saxony was founded by the merger of the three former Free States of Brunswick, Oldenburg, Schaumburg-Lippe, and the former Prussian province of Hanover. Brunswick and Oldenburg became Verwaltungsbezirke (roughly administrative regions of extended competence) alongside six less autonomous Prussian-style Regierungsbezirke comprising the Province of Hanover and Schaumburg-Lippe. These differences in autonomy and size were levelled on 1 January 1978, when four Regierungsbezirke replaced the two Verwaltungsbezirke and the six Regierungsbezirke: Brunswick and Oldenburg, Aurich, Hanover (remaining mostly the same), Hildesheim, Lüneburg, Osnabrück and Stade.

Following the reunification of Germany in 1990, the territory of the former East Germany was organized into six re-established new states, including a reunified Berlin. Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt established three Regierungsbezirke each, while the other new states did not implement them.

2000s disbandment and reorganization

During the 2000s, four German states discontinued the use of Regierungsbezirke. On 1 January 2000, Rhineland-Palatinate disbanded its three Regierungsbezirke of Koblenz, Rheinhessen-Pfalz and Trier. The employees and assets of the three Bezirksregierungen (German pronunciation: ) were converted into three public authorities responsible for the whole state, each covering a part of the former responsibilities of the Bezirksregierung (German: ).

On 1 January 2004, Saxony-Anhalt disbanded its three Regierungsbezirke of Dessau, Halle and Magdeburg. The responsibilities are now covered by a Landesverwaltungsamt (state administration office) with three offices at the former seats of the Bezirksregierungen. On 1 January 2005, Lower Saxony followed suit, disbanding its remaining four Regierungsbezirke of Brunswick, Hanover, Lüneburg, and Weser-Ems.

On 1 August 2008, Saxony restructured its Landkreise (German: ), changed the name of its Regierungsbezirke to Direktionsbezirke (directorate districts), and moved some responsibilities to the districts. The Direktionsbezirke were still named "Chemnitz", "Dresden", and "Leipzig", but a border change was necessary because the new district of Mittelsachsen crossed the borders of the old Regierungsbezirke. On 1 March 2012, the Direktionsbezirke were merged into one Landesdirektion (state directorate).

Regierungsbezirke by state

Currently, only four German states out of sixteen in total are divided into Regierungsbezirke; all others are directly divided into districts without mid-level agencies. Those four states are divided into a total of nineteen Regierungsbezirke, ranging in population from 1,040,000 (Gießen) to 5,244,000 (Düsseldorf).

Baden-Württemberg

Bavaria

Hesse

North Rhine-Westphalia

List of historic former Regierungsbezirke

Prussia

Berlin, comprising the city and several suburbs, incorporated into Regierungsbezirk Potsdam of Brandenburg in 1822

Kleve, Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, incorporated into Düsseldorf region in 1822

Reichenbach, Province of Silesia, incorporated into Breslau and Liegnitz regions in 1820

Stralsund, Province of Pomerania, incorporated into Stettin Region in 1932

Dissolved in 1919/20 after cession of territory according to the Treaty of Versailles

Bromberg, Province of Posen

Danzig, Province of West Prussia (see Free City of Danzig)

Lorraine, Imperial Land of Alsace-Lorraine

Lower Alsace, Imperial Land of Alsace-Lorraine

Marienwerder, Province of West Prussia, re-established as West Prussia region of the East Prussia province in 1922

Posen, Province of Posen

Upper Alsace, Imperial Land of Alsace-Lorraine

Established after the 1939 Invasion of Poland, dissolved in 1945

Hohensalza, Reichsgau Wartheland

Kattowitz, Province of Silesia (Upper Silesia from 1941)

Litzmannstadt (Kalisch until 1941), Reichsgau Wartheland

Posen, Reichsgau Wartheland

Zichenau, Province of East Prussia

Former eastern territories, dissolved in 1945

Allenstein, Province of East Prussia

Breslau, Province of Silesia (Lower Silesia 1919–1938, 1941–1945)

Frankfurt, Province of Brandenburg

Gumbinnen, Province of East Prussia

Köslin, Province of Pomerania

Königsberg, Province of East Prussia

Liegnitz, Province of Silesia (Lower Silesia 1919–1938, 1941–1945)

Oppeln, Province of Silesia (Upper Silesia 1919–1938, 1941–1945)

Posen-West Prussia (Schneidemühl), Province of Pomerania, established in 1938

Stettin, Province of Pomerania

Allied-occupied Germany

Erfurt, dissolved in 1944/1945

Frankfurt, dissolved in 1945, Province of Brandenburg

Liegnitz, Province of Silesia, dissolved in 1945

Magdeburg, dissolved in 1945, reestablished in 1990 and redissolved in 2004

Merseburg, dissolved in 1944 or 1945

Minden, Province of Westphalia, incorporated into Detmold in 1947

Potsdam, dissolved in 1945, Province of Brandenburg

Schleswig, dissolved in 1946, Province of Schleswig-Holstein

Sigmaringen, Province of Hohenzollern, incorporated into Württemberg-Hohenzollern in 1946.

Stettin, dissolved in 1945, Province of Pomerania