District reform Saxony 2008
The district reform of Saxony 2008 (also administrative and functional reform 2008 or district area reform 2008 ) came into force on August 1, 2008. The most important element of the reform was the further amalgamation of the districts created in the course of the Saxony district reform in 1994/1996 , including the smaller independent cities . For a transitional period of five months, the formerly independent cities of Görlitz, Hoyerswerda, Zwickau and Plauen continued to be district tasks, so that the district reform was practically only completed on January 1, 2009 when the new districts took over these tasks.
The reform was integrated into an administrative reform of the Saxon state authorities. For example, on the basis of a proposal drawn up by a commission of experts, some of the state tasks were transferred to districts and municipalities.
A proposed abolition of the regional councils was initially not implemented, but the renaming to regional directorates or directorate districts within the framework of the Saxon Administrative Reform Act was. On March 1, 2012, the three administrative districts were combined to form the State Office for Saxony with locations in Chemnitz, Dresden and Leipzig.
The new circles
The 22 districts were reduced to ten and the seven independent cities to three. The “Saxon District Reorganization Act” was passed on January 22nd and 23rd, 2008 by the Saxon State Parliament.
The following new counties were formed:
Bautzen district
The previous district of Bautzen was enlarged to include the district of Kamenz and the independent city of Hoyerswerda . The district administration is based in Bautzen .
The new district of Bautzen has an area of 2391 km² and is therefore the largest district in Saxony. Its population was 315,174 on May 9, 2011. In 2025 it will have about 273,500 inhabitants.
BZ from the old district of Bautzen was determined as the license plate number . The previous distinguishing marks BIW , HY and KM can be assigned again since November 9, 2012.
Erzgebirgskreis
The Erzgebirgskreis encompasses the area of the former districts of Annaberg , Aue-Schwarzenberg , Stollberg and the Middle Erzgebirgskreis . The district administration is based in Annaberg-Buchholz .
The new district has an area of 1828 km². Its population was 361,791 on May 9, 2011. In 2025 it will have around 307,300 inhabitants, making it the most populous of the Saxon districts.
The new license plate is ERZ . The previous distinctive signs ANA , ASZ , AU , MAB , MEK , STL , SZB and ZP can be used again since November 9, 2012.
Goerlitz district
The district of Görlitz was formed from the areas of the district of Löbau-Zittau , the Lower Silesian Upper Lusatia District and the independent city of Görlitz . The district administration is based in Görlitz.
The new district has an area of 2106 km². Its population was 269,647 on May 31, 2011. In 2025 it will have around 232,100 inhabitants.
The license plate is GR . There are no differences in the allocation of number groups for the city and the communities in the rest of the Görlitz district. The previous distinctive signs LÖB , NOL , NY , WSW and ZI can be used again since November 9, 2012.
District of Leipzig
The district of Leipzig comprises the area of the former district of Leipziger Land and the Muldental district . The seat of the district administration is Borna .
The new district has an area of 1647 km². Its population was 262,214 on May 9, 2011. In 2025 it will have about 241,800 inhabitants.
The license plate is L and can be distinguished from the city of Leipzig by a different award group . The previous distinctive signs BNA , GHA , GRM , MTL and WUR can be assigned again since November 9, 2012.
Meißen district
The previous district of Meißen was enlarged to include the area of the former district of Riesa-Großenhain . The district administration is based in Meissen . Both districts merged their savings banks on January 1, 2007.
The new district of Meissen has an area of 1452 km². Its population was 247,054 on May 9, 2011. In 2025 it will have about 223,900 inhabitants.
MEI of the old district of Meißen was determined as the license plate number . The previous distinguishing marks GRH , RG and RIE can be assigned again since November 9, 2012.
Central Saxony district
The district of central Saxony comprises the area of the former districts of Döbeln , Freiberg and Mittweida . The district administration is located in Freiberg . A peculiarity arises from the fact that the Döbeln district belonged to the Leipzig administrative district, but the new district belongs entirely to the Chemnitz regional directorate . This change is the only one of its kind in this district reform.
The new district has an area of 2112 km². Its population was 322,078 on May 9, 2011. In 2025 it will have about 277,500 inhabitants.
FG of the old district of Freiberg is retained as the license plate number . The district council decided this on October 20, 2008. On June 7th, 2009, a referendum on the license plate took place together with the European elections . This vote was about whether the valid FG will be replaced by MSN . The citizens decided against this request with a narrow majority of 52.67% and thus in favor of keeping the FG label . The previous distinctive signs BED , DL , FLÖ , HC , MW and RL can be assigned again since November 9, 2012.
Northern Saxony district
The new district of North Saxony comprises the area of the former districts of Delitzsch and Torgau-Oschatz . The district administration is based in Torgau .
The new district has an area of 2020 km². Its population was 201,165 on May 9, 2011. It is the least populous in the Saxon districts. In 2025 it will have a population of around 182,000.
TDO (for Torgau, Delitzsch and Oschatz) was determined to be the new license plate . The previous distinctive signs DZ , EB , OZ , TG and TO can be used again since November 9, 2012.
District of Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains
The district of Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains comprises the area of the district of Saxon Switzerland and the Weißeritzkreis . The seat of the district administration is in Pirna .
The new district has an area of 1654 km². Its population was 246,818 on May 9, 2011. In 2025 it will have around 232,200 inhabitants.
The license plate is PIR . The previous distinctive signs DW , FTL and SEB can be used again since November 12, 2012.
Vogtland district
The Vogtlandkreis was enlarged to include the formerly independent town of Plauen . The seat of the district administration remains in Plauen.
The new district has an area of 1,412 km². Its population was 240,052 on May 9, 2011. In 2025 it will have around 205,000 inhabitants.
The license plate is V . The previous distinguishing marks AE , OVL , PL and RC can be used again since November 9, 2012.
Zwickau district
The new district of Zwickau comprises the area of the former districts of Chemnitzer Land and Zwickauer Land as well as the formerly independent city of Zwickau . The district administration is based in Zwickau.
The new district has an area of 949 km² and is therefore the smallest of all Saxon districts. Its population was 335,220 on May 9, 2011. In 2025 it will have about 288,500 inhabitants.
The license plate is Z . The previous distinguishing marks GC , HOT and WDA can be assigned again since November 9, 2012.
Population numbers and areas
| district | Population (December 31, 2007) |
Population forecast 2025 |
Area in km² (December 31, 2006) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bautzen (Bautzen, Kamenz, independent city of Hoyerswerda) | 333,470 | 273,500 | 2390.62 |
| Erzgebirgskreis (Annaberg, Aue-Schwarzenberg, Middle Erzgebirgskreis, Stollberg) | 382,571 | 307,300 | 1828.35 |
| Görlitz (Löbau-Zittau, Lower Silesian Upper Lusatia District, independent city of Görlitz) | 288.735 | 232.100 | 2106.09 |
| Leipzig (Leipziger Land, Muldental District) | 274,532 | 241,800 | 1646.76 |
| Meißen (Meißen, Riesa-Großenhain) | 259.343 | 223,900 | 1452.37 |
| Central Saxony (Döbeln, Freiberg, Mittweida) | 340.115 | 277,500 | 2111.49 |
| Northern Saxony (Delitzsch, Torgau-Oschatz) | 214.184 | 182,000 | 2019.82 |
| Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains (Saxon Switzerland, Weißeritzkreis) | 257,655 | 232.200 | 1653.60 |
| Vogtlandkreis (Vogtlandkreis, independent city of Plauen) | 253,672 | 205,000 | 1411.96 |
| Zwickau (Chemnitzer Land, Zwickauer Land, independent city of Zwickau) | 352.947 | 288,500 | 949.35 |
| District-free city | Population (December 31, 2007) |
Population forecast 2025 |
Area in km² (December 31, 2006) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chemnitz | 244,951 | 221.100 | 220.86 |
| Dresden | 507.513 | 554,000 | 328.30 |
| Leipzig | 510.512 | 538,600 | 297.60 |
| Regional Directorate | Population (December 31, 2007) |
Population forecast 2025 |
Area in km² (December 31, 2006) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chemnitz | 1574.256 | 1299.500 | 6522.01 |
| Dresden | 1646.716 | 1515.600 | 7930.98 |
| Leipzig | 999.228 | 962,400 | 3964.18 |
Reactions to the plans of the state government
Most of the reactions of local actors to the interior ministry's plans related to the choice of the new district seats to be determined or certain merger intentions. In Zwickau and Plauen, the planned loss of district freedom led to a dissent between the Interior Ministry and the mayors of the cities.
Hoyerswerda
Under certain recent historical aspects related to the history of Silesia, the merger with Bautzen was, in the opinion of some, rather unfavorable, so it would have been better to merge the former district of Hoyerswerda with the Lower Silesian Oberlausitzkreis and Görlitz. The district name Lower Silesian Upper Lusatia could have been retained and the construction of a new district office in Görlitz would have been unnecessary, as it could have been continued in Niesky (previous district seat). With the exception of the building's argument, there was nothing that justified the Niesky district headquarters instead of Görlitz in any way. Others preferred to merge with Bautzen, mainly because the transport links to Bautzen are much shorter than to Görlitz and even then there were far stronger commuter ties with this city. Many historical reasons (from the time before the division of Upper Lusatia as a result of the Napoleonic Wars) spoke more in favor of Bautzen, e.g. B. that the Kamenz district is the main settlement area of the Sorbs and Bautzen has been the “capital” of the Sorbs since time immemorial.
For the formerly independent city of Hoyerswerda, a further decline into insignificance and further economic decline are feared and forecast. It was hoped to bring at least some offices from the Bautzen district into the city (which was also successful) and to become the location for the rescue control center in Upper Lusatia. The newly formed district also had to cope with the city's high debts.
Plauen
Plauen did not want to lose its district freedom and announced an alternative to the merger with the Vogtlandkreis. The plan was to keep the district freedom, but to merge the offices with the Vogtlandkreis ("Vogtländischer Weg"). The Saxon Ministry of the Interior has rejected Plauen's request. The city of Zwickau has also expressed interest in this plan because it too fears that it will receive fewer financial contributions.
The city of Plauen then sued the Saxon constitutional court and applied for an interim order against the district reform. On April 22, 2008, the court ruled that the motion was manifestly ill-founded. The integration of the city of Plauen into the Vogtlandkreis was completed on August 1st, 2008 as planned. The district elections on June 8, 2008 were also carried out according to plan.
Aue in the Aue-Schwarzenberg district
At the end of January 2008, the city of Aue had the legality of the 2008 administrative reform checked in an urgent procedure with the aim of moving the planned district seat not to Annaberg-Buchholz , but to Aue. On June 27, 2008, the Constitutional Court of the Free State of Saxony rejected the application for municipal regulatory control of the city of Aue.
District of Leipziger Land
The city of Borna only became the district town of the Leipziger Land district in 1999.
The district reform of 1994 united the old districts Borna, Geithain and Leipzig (collar district around Leipzig). At that time, the city of Leipzig became the district capital of the newly formed district of Leipziger Land . Thus the seat of the district administration was outside the district. The districts of Borna and Geithain at that time advocated merging with the district of Leipzig, which made it clear that the district headquarters would go to Leipzig.
The district seat within the city of Leipzig was very controversial among the population, especially in the southern Leipzig area.
The reform in 1999, which redrawn the boundaries in the surrounding area of the independent cities, resulted in numerous incorporations of localities into the city of Leipzig and the transfer of some municipalities to the neighboring districts (including the reorganization of the cities of Schkeuditz and Taucha into the district of Delitzsch and the municipality of Borsdorf in the Muldentalkreis) the northern part of the district, which covered almost a third of the population, had to leave the district. This step was called for by many district administrators in the Leipzig area as early as 1994, but at that time it met with resistance from the state government.
In 1999 Borna was designated the new district seat in the district of Leipziger Land. In the so-called “City and Surroundings Act” it was also stipulated that the city of Borna was obliged to build a district office. It was decided to extensively renovate a former barracks building for 16 million euros. The resulting district office has been in use since 2003 and consists of six individual houses.
The decision to appoint Borna and not Grimma to be the seat of the newly formed “Landkreis Leipzig” was very controversial. In the vote of the Saxon state parliament on the district reform on January 23, 2008, however, all amendments that should make Grimma the new district town of the district of Leipzig were rejected. At the end of January 2008, both the Muldentalkkreis and its district town Grimma filed complaints with the Constitutional Court. On June 27, 2008, the Constitutional Court of the Free State of Saxony rejected the application for municipal norms control of the city of Grimma. The two medium-sized centers Borna and Grimma were regarded as equivalent. Ultimately, Borna's structural weakness, the expected better economic development due to the district headquarters and the greater importance of the existing links with the surrounding area of the city are said to have led to this selection.
The successful touristic and economic development of the Leipziger Neuseenland , a former mining landscape, is closely linked to the district seat in Borna.
Löbau-Zittau district
The district reform is viewed with skepticism in southern Upper Lusatia. Critics complain that there is a division of Upper Lusatia, which contradicts the wishes of most citizens. In addition, a greater district of Upper Lusatia is the logical consequence of the dramatic decline in population. It is also criticized that the union of the Löbau-Zittau districts, the Lower Silesian Upper Lusatia District and the previously independent city of Görlitz would create a structurally and financially weak district that is permanently dependent on outside aid. There are also conflicts over the integration of the Silesian heritage, which the Löbau-Zittau district does not share.
While the majority of the citizens reject the planned district reform in polls and prefer a merger with Bautzen, politicians sent contradicting signals. If some places in the north of the district were in favor of merging with Görlitz, places in the Oberland have just voted for Bautzen. The city of Zittau decided to reject the district reform, but the district administrator of the Löbau-Zittau district welcomed it.
Muldentalkreis
In the Muldental district, the interior ministry's plans were viewed with skepticism. The choice of Borna as the district town was particularly criticized. After a factual dispute on this matter had been agreed with the Interior Minister, who however again spoke out in favor of Borna, Matthias Berger , the Lord Mayor of Grimma , accused the Saxon Interior Minister of undemocratic behavior .
The head of the Saxon State Chancellery, Hermann Winkler , who has his constituency in Grimma, approved the interior ministry's draft, although Borna was set as the new district town. Winkler then received requests for resignation from many quarters.
Since the city of Borna only became the district seat of the district of Leipziger Land in 1999 (previously the city of Leipzig) and a regional reform should last for at least ten years according to the directive, the city of Borna would also have sued if the district seat had been lost.
Borna was preferred as the future district seat of the city of Grimma, mainly because of the existing structural weakness in the southern area of Leipzig due to the earlier lignite opencast mining and the expected more favorable future economic development. From a technical point of view, however, this is very questionable, as Borna has increasingly shrunk in the past 15 years and therefore no economic improvement is to be expected. In addition, Borna is only the third largest city in terms of population (after Grimma and Markkleeberg) in the new district. This results from the fact that Borna and Grimma have had to carry out several incorporations in the past and thus the size of the cities has grown. In addition, a former barracks site in Borna was extensively restored and converted into a district office for around 16 million euros. It is therefore used as a further argument in favor of Borna as the future district seat. However, this is also questionable, as the Muldental District has also invested around 15 million euros in the renovation of its administrative buildings in the past.
The Muldentalkreis commissioned a law firm to examine the reform under constitutional law. As a result, it was judged that, on the one hand, the reform does not go far enough and, on the other hand, it violates the constitution of the Free State of Saxony.
The Muldental District's action was dismissed by the Saxon Constitutional Court on September 25, 2008.
Torgau-Oschatz district
Although the district council of Torgau-Oschatz voted unanimously against the merger with Delitzsch, both districts were merged. The opponents stated, first, that there are no identity-creating similarities or relationships between the fringes of the circle (e.g. Schkeuditz and Oschatz). The planned structure is purely artificial. The Torgau-Oschatz district continued to fear that the weak financial situation of the Delitzsch district would throw the new district backwards and that its debts would have to be paid as well.
criticism
Ten years after the implementation of the district reform, the main criticism is that the hoped-for savings of 160 million euros per year have not materialized. Many cities have lost functions and thus their importance. The former district administrators Petra Köpping and Gerhard Gey criticize the lack of closeness to citizens in the enlarged districts. It would be difficult for a district administrator to maintain all contacts with the municipal level.
literature
- Daniel Plogmann: The district area reforms in the new federal states - a comparative analysis . In: Journal for State Constitutional Law and State Administrative Law (ZLVR), 1/2016, pp. 23–30.
Footnotes
- ↑ Section 4 (2) of the SächsKrGebNG
- ↑ § 6 of the Saxon Administrative Reform Act (SächsVwNG) of January 29, 2008 ( Memento of the original of December 9, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 748 kB)
- ^ Text of the Saxon District Reorganization Act
- ↑ 2011 census of the Bautzen district (PDF) State statistical office of the Free State of Saxony. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m statistik.sachsen.de: 5. Regionalized population forecast for the Free State of Saxony up to 2025 . Retrieved May 1, 2011.
- ↑ Census 2011 Erzgebirgskreis (PDF) State Statistical Office of the Free State of Saxony. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ↑ Census 2011, district of Görlitz (PDF) State statistical office of the Free State of Saxony. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ↑ Census 2011 Leipzig district (PDF) State statistical office of the Free State of Saxony. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ↑ 2011 census, district of Meißen (PDF) State statistical office of the Free State of Saxony. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ↑ 2011 Census of Central Saxony District (PDF) State Statistical Office of the Free State of Saxony. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ↑ Central Saxony decides on "FG" as the characteristic of the district ( Memento of the original from July 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ 2011 census North Saxony district (PDF) State Statistical Office of the Free State of Saxony. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ↑ 2011 census of the Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains district (PDF) State Statistical Office of the Free State of Saxony. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ↑ 2011 census Vogtlandkreis district (PDF) State Statistical Office of the Free State of Saxony. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ↑ 2011 census in the Zwickau district (PDF) State Statistical Office of the Free State of Saxony. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ^ Ten years of regional reform in Saxony
- ↑ Many small towns, including in Saxony, have lost their function as regional centers
- ^ Ten years after the district reform: A balance sheet
Web links
- Website of the Saxon State Ministry of the Interior on administrative reform
- Principles and guidelines for the reorganization of the rural districts and independent cities in the Free State of Saxony (PDF file; 350 kB)
- Expert commission proposals for administrative reform (PDF file; 869 kB)
- Overview map of the District Reorganization Act (PDF file; 632 kB)
- District navigator of the German District Assembly - direct access to all official district presentations