List of district cities with special status in Germany
The local law of the federal states in Germany differentiates between independent cities or urban districts on the one hand and municipalities or cities belonging to the district on the other.
In the meanwhile almost all regional states, the cities belonging to the district are differentiated again to the effect that larger cities belonging to the district perform tasks of the district to a greater extent. They are given a special name that differs from country to country.
- In Hesse there are seven municipalities belonging to the district with more than 50,000 inhabitants (official designation according to § 4 a HGO ), which are unofficially designated as special status cities . The assumption of tasks that would otherwise have to be performed by the district is rewarded with the fact that they only have to pay 50 percent of the normal district contribution. The state wants to reduce this percentage to 43.5 percent because of the amalgamation of unemployment and social assistance (start of the legislative process: 2007).
- In Brandenburg , North Rhine-Westphalia , Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia , such cities are referred to as large district cities , although the threshold for residents differs from country to country. In Schleswig-Holstein, Norderstedt was declared the first city belonging to a large district on January 1, 2005. This status is to be introduced in the future for all non-urban cities with at least 50,000 inhabitants.
- In Rhineland-Palatinate there is also the large city belonging to the district (8 pieces), including 30 other so-called association-free municipalities .
- In Baden-Württemberg , Bavaria and Saxony , cities with a special status are called large district towns .
- In Lower Saxony , such cities are referred to as large independent cities .
- In the Saarland they are referred to as the Mittelstadt .
- In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , the four (until then independent) cities of Greifswald, Neubrandenburg, Stralsund and Wismar received the status of a large city belonging to the district on September 4th, 2011 .
- In Saxony-Anhalt there are no cities with a special status; Berlin , Bremen and Hamburg are city-states.
All (German) municipalities with special status, sorted by country, are listed below.
Baden-Württemberg
94 large district towns ("more than 20,000 inhabitants and no urban district ")
Aalen - Achern - Albstadt - Backnang - Bad Mergentheim - Bad Rappenau - Balingen - Biberach an der Riss - Bietigheim-Bissingen - Böblingen - Bretten - Bruchsal - Bühl - Calw - Crailsheim - Ditzingen - Donaueschingen - Ehingen (Danube) - Eislingen / Fils - Ellwangen (Jagst) - Emmendingen - Eppingen - Esslingen am Neckar - Ettlingen - Fellbach - Filderstadt - Freudenstadt - Friedrichshafen - Gaggenau - Geislingen an der Steige - Giengen an der Brenz - Göppingen - Heidenheim an der Brenz - Herrenberg - Hockenheim - Horb am Neckar - Kehl - Kirchheim unter Teck - Konstanz - Kornwestheim - Lahr / Black Forest - Laupheim - Leimen - Leinfelden-Echterdingen - Leonberg - Leutkirch im Allgäu - Lörrach - Ludwigsburg - Metzingen - Mosbach - Mössingen - Mühlacker - Nagold - Neckarsulm - Nürtingen - Oberkirch - Offenburg - Öhringen - Ostfildern - Radolfzell am Bodensee - Rastatt - Ravensburg - Remseck am Neckar - Reutlingen - Rheinfelden (Baden) - Rheinstetten - Rottenburg am Neckar - Rottweil - Schorndorf - Schramberg - Schwäbisch Gmünd - Schwäbisch Hall - Schwetzingen - Sindelfingen - Singen (Hohentwiel) - Sinsheim - Stutensee - Tübingen - Tuttlingen - Überlingen - Vaihingen an der Enz - Villingen-Schwenningen - Waghäusel - Waiblingen - Waldkirch - Waldshut-Tiengen - Wangen im Allgäu - Weil am Rhein - Weingarten - Weinheim - Weinstadt - Wertheim - Wiesloch - Winnenden
Bavaria
Bad Kissingen - Bad Reichenhall - Dachau - Deggendorf - Dillingen an der Donau - Dinkelsbühl - Donauwörth - Eichstätt - Erding - Forchheim - Freising - Fürstenfeldbruck - Germering - Günzburg - Kitzingen - Kulmbach - Landsberg am Lech - Lindau (Lake Constance) - Marktredwitz - Neuburg the Danube - Neumarkt in the Upper Palatinate - Neustadt near Coburg - Neu-Ulm - Nördlingen - Rothenburg ob der Tauber - Schwandorf - Selb - Traunstein - Weißenburg in Bavaria
13 efficient municipalities belonging to the district
Alzenau - Bad Wörishofen - Burghausen - Feuchtwangen - Friedberg - Garmisch-Partenkirchen - Neustadt an der Aisch - Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm - Sulzbach-Rosenberg - Vaterstetten - Waldkraiburg - Waldsassen - Wunsiedel
Brandenburg
7 large cities belonging to the district ("more than 35,000 inhabitants")
Bernau near Berlin (since January 1, 2011) - Eberswalde - Eisenhüttenstadt - Falkensee (since January 1, 2011) - Königs Wusterhausen (since May 16, 2019) - Oranienburg (since January 1, 2011) - Schwedt / Oder
9 Middle district towns ("more than 25,000 inhabitants")
Fürstenwalde / Spree - Guben - Hennigsdorf (since January 1, 2006) - Neuruppin - Rathenow - Senftenberg - Spremberg (since January 1, 2006) - Strausberg - Wittenberge
Hesse
7 municipalities belonging to the district with more than 50,000 inhabitants
Bad Homburg vor der Höhe - Fulda - Gießen - Hanau - Marburg - Rüsselsheim am Main - Wetzlar
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
4 large cities belonging to the district
Greifswald - Neubrandenburg - Stralsund - Wismar
Lower Saxony
Celle - Cuxhaven - Goslar - Hameln - Hildesheim - Lingen (Ems) - Lüneburg
Achim - Alfeld (Leine) - Samtgemeinde Artland - Aurich - Bad Pyrmont - Barsinghausen - Samtgemeinde Bersenbrueck - Bramsche - Buchholz in the north Heide - Burgdorf - Buxtehude - Cloppenburg - Duderstadt - Einbeck - Friesoythe - Ganderkesee - Garbsen - Geestland - Georgsmarienhütte - Gifhorn - Hann . Münden - Samtgemeinde Harsefeld - Helmstedt - Holzminden - Isernhagen - Laatzen - Langenhagen - Leer (East Friesland) - Lehrte - Melle - Meppen - Neustadt am Rübenberge - Nienburg / Weser - north - Nordenham - Nordhorn - Northeim - Osterholz-Scharmbeck - Osterode am Harz - Papenburg - Peine - Rinteln - Ronnenberg - Schortens - Seelze - Seesen - Seevetal - Sehnde - Springe - Stade - Stuhr - Uelzen - Uetze - Varel - Vechta - Verden (Aller) - Wallenhorst - Walsrode - Wedemark - Weyhe - Winsen (Luhe) - Wolfenbüttel - Wunstorf
Furthermore, the cities of Hanover and Göttingen each have their own special status.
North Rhine-Westphalia
35 large cities belonging to the district ("more than 50,000 inhabitants [on request]", "more than 60,000 inhabitants [ex officio]")
Arnsberg - Bergheim - Bergisch Gladbach - Bocholt - Castrop-Rauxel - Detmold - Dinslaken - Dormagen - Dorsten - Düren - Gladbeck - Grevenbroich - Gütersloh - Herford - Herten - Iserlohn - Kerpen - Lippstadt - Lüdenscheid - Lünen - Marl - Minden - Moers - Neuss - Paderborn - Ratingen - Recklinghausen - Rheine - Siegen - Troisdorf - Unna - Velbert - Viersen - Wesel - Witten
129 medium-sized district cities ("more than 20,000 inhabitants [on request]", "more than 25,000 inhabitants [ex officio]")
Ahaus - Ahlen - Alsdorf - Altena - Attendorn - Bad Honnef - Bad Oeynhausen - Bad Salzuflen - Baesweiler - Beckum - Bedburg - Bergkamen - Borken - Bornheim - Brilon - Brühl - Bünde - Coesfeld - Datteln - Delbrück - Dülmen - Elsdorf (Rhineland) - Emmerich am Rhein - Emsdetten - Ennepetal - Erftstadt - Erkelenz - Erkrath - Eschweiler - Espelkamp - Euskirchen - Frechen - Geilenkirchen - Geldern - Gevelsberg - Goch - Greven - Gronau (Westphalia) - Gummersbach - Haan - Haltern am See - Hamminkeln - Hattingen - Heiligenhaus - Heinsberg - Hemer - Hennef (Sieg) - Herdecke - Herzogenrath - Hilden - Höxter - Hückelhoven - Hürth - Ibbenbüren - Jüchen - Jülich - Kaarst - Kamen - Kamp-Lintfort - Kempen - Kevelaer - Kleve - Königswinter - Korschenbroich - Kreuztal - Lage - Langenfeld (Rhineland) - Leichlingen (Rhineland) - Lemgo - Lennestadt - Lohmar - Löhne - Lübbecke - Mechernich - Meckenheim - Meerbusch - Menden (Sauerland) - Meschede - Mettmann - Monheim am Rhein - Netphen - Nettetal - Neukirchen-Vlu yn - Niederkassel - Oelde - Oer-Erkenschwick - Olpe - Overath - Petershagen - Plettenberg - Porta Westfalica - Pulheim - Radevormwald - Rheda-Wiedenbrück - Rheinbach - Rheinberg - Rietberg - Rösrath - Sankt Augustin - Schloß Holte-Stukenbrock - Schmallenberg - Schwelm - Schwerte - Selm - Siegburg - Soest - Sprockhövel - Steinfurt - Stolberg (Rhineland) - Sundern (Sauerland) - Tönisvorst - Verl - Voerde (Niederrhein) - Waltrop - Warendorf - Warstein - Wegberg - Werdohl - Werl - Wermelskirchen - Werne - Wesseling - Wetter ( Ruhr) - Wiehl - Willich - Wipperfürth - Wülfrath - Würselen - Xanten
The city of Aachen also has a special status.
Rhineland-Palatinate
8 large cities belonging to the district ("more than 25,000 inhabitants")
Andernach - Bad Kreuznach * - Bingen - Idar-Oberstein - Ingelheim am Rhein * - Lahnstein - Mayen - Neuwied *
* at the same time county seat
Saarland
2 medium-sized towns ("more than 30,000 inhabitants who are not district towns ", but e.g. have their own vehicle registration office)
Saxony
Schleswig-Holstein
1 large city belonging to the district
Thuringia
5 Large cities belonging to a district ("more than 20,000 inhabitants", however not all cities in the country with more than 20,000 inhabitants have the title)
Altenburg - Gotha - Ilmenau - Mühlhausen / Thuringia - Nordhausen
See also
- List of independent cities in Germany
- List of districts in Germany
- Municipality (Germany) #Community types according to position in the administrative structure