Federal capital
The federal capital is the capital of a state .
Germany
Berlin has been the (federal) capital of the Federal Republic of Germany since the completion of German unity on October 3, 1990 . The basis was the Unification Treaty that came into force on September 29, 1990 . Due to the parliamentary resolution of June 20, 1991, Berlin also became the seat of parliament and government in 1999. Previously, Bonn since the founding of the Federal Republic government headquarters and ( 1949-1990 ) provisional federal capital. Berlin (East) was meanwhile the capital of the German Democratic Republic ; in official GDR parlance , East Berlin became “Berlin, capital of the GDR”. The synonym “the capital” derived from this has entered the media language of the unified Germany as a relic of the GDR language usage, although the more precise synonym “the federal capital” from the time of the Bonn Republic is still available. With the move decision, Berlin is the headquarters of the Federal President , the German Bundestag , the Bundesrat , many federal ministries and several other federal authorities .
In the course of the federalism reform , the question of the federal capital was regulated for the first time in the Basic Law in 2006 and thus Berlin's status as the federal capital was anchored in the Basic Law ( Art. 22 (1) GG).
In addition to Berlin as the federal capital, there are the capitals of the federal states , for example the state capitals Hanover in Lower Saxony , Kiel in Schleswig-Holstein or Munich in the Free State of Bavaria . In addition, there is a special feature in North Rhine-Westphalia in the federal city of Bonn , where the Federal President , the Federal Chancellor and Federal Ministries continue to have offices.
Austria
In the Republic of Austria is Vienna , the federal capital. In what is now Austria, it has always been the largest and basically only metropolis in the country. In 1146 Heinrich II moved the capital from Ostarrichi to Vienna, and in 1156 he was made Duke of Austria .
See: List of Austrian capitals
Switzerland
In Switzerland there is no official capital. Bern has fulfilled this function de facto since 1848 with the title federal city , after it had prevailed in the Swiss parliament on November 28, 1848 against its rivals Lucerne and Zurich . At that time, the proximity to French-speaking Switzerland , military considerations and the city's offer to provide the Swiss Confederation with the required premises free of charge spoke in favor of Bern as the seat of government and parliament .
See also
literature
- Press and Information Office of the State of Berlin (Ed.): Berlin Capital. Contributions to a current discussion. Without place or year, with contributions by Walter Momper and Tino Schwierzina .
Web links
- Regulations on the capital Berlin
- Georg district : federal city. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Individual evidence
- ↑ See Stefan Gärtner, Deutschlandmeise. Forays through an insane country. Atrium Verlag, Zurich 2012, ISBN 978-3-85535-199-2 , chapter "Berlin".