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{{Short description|Type of administrative division in Germany}}
{{italic title}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Administrative divisions of Germany|small=yes}}
[[File:Administrative Districts of Germany 1981-2008.svg|thumb|260px|{{Lang|de|Regierungsbezirke}} in Germany as of 1 August 2008. The map also shows the former {{Lang|de|Regierungsbezirke}} of [[Lower Saxony]], [[Rhineland-Palatinate]], [[Saxony-Anhalt]] and [[Saxony]].]]
{{Politics of Germany}}
A '''''{{lang|de|Regierungsbezirk}}''''' ({{IPA|de|ʁeˈɡiːʁʊŋsbəˌtsɪʁk|-|De-Regierungsbezirk.ogg}}, literally 'governmental district') is a type of [[administrative division]] in Germany. Currently, four of sixteen ''{{lang|de|Länder}}'' ([[states of Germany]]) are split into ''{{lang|de|Regierungsbezirke}}''. Beneath these are rural and urban districts.

''{{lang|de|Regierungsbezirke}}'' (plural, {{IPA|de|ʁeˈɡiːʁʊŋsbəˌtsɪʁkə|pron|De-Regierungsbezirke.ogg}}) serve as regional mid-level local government units in four of Germany's [[States of Germany|sixteen states]]: [[Baden-Württemberg]], [[Bavaria]], [[Hesse]] and [[North Rhine-Westphalia]]. Each of the nineteen ''{{lang|de|Regierungsbezirke}}'' features a non-[[legislative]] [[governing body]] called a ''{{lang|de|Regierungspräsidium}}'' (governing presidium) or ''{{lang|de|Bezirksregierung}}'' (district government) headed by a ''[[Regierungspräsident (Germany)|Regierungspräsident]]'' (governing president), concerned mostly with administrative decisions on a local level for [[districts of Germany|districts]] within its jurisdiction.<ref>[http://www.hanse-passage.net/hansepassage/hpcms/uploads/_presentation%2520analysis.ppt Regional Governments in France, Germany, Poland and The Netherlands (HTML version of PowerPoint presentation)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241127133344/https://www.hanse-passage.net/hansepassage/hpcms/uploads/_presentation%20analysis.ppt |date=27 November 2024 }} – Cachet, A (coordinator), [[Erasmus University]], [[Rotterdam]]{{dead link|date=September 2011}}</ref> [[Saxony]] has ''{{lang|de|Direktionsbezirke}}'' (directorate districts) with more responsibilities shifted from the [[Landtag|state parliament]].

==Translations==
''{{lang|de|Regierungsbezirk}}'' is a German term variously translated into English as "governmental district",<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.regierung.oberbayern.bayern.de/englisch/ |title=regierung.oberbayern.bayern.de |access-date=3 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130103121145/http://www.regierung.oberbayern.bayern.de/englisch/ |archive-date=3 January 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> "administrative district"<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090627172231/http://www.regierung.oberfranken.bayern.de/en/index.php regierung.oberfranken.bayern.de]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.regierung.unterfranken.bayern.de/service/englisch/00101/index.html |title=regierung.unterfranken.bayern.de |access-date=3 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618050647/http://www.regierung.unterfranken.bayern.de/service/englisch/00101/index.html |archive-date=18 June 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> or "province",<ref>Jablonsky, David. ''The Nazi Party in Dissolution: Hitler and the Verbotzeit 1923–25'', London: Routledge, 1989, p. 27.</ref><ref>Shapiro, Henry D. and Jonathan D. Sarna, ''Ethnic Diversity and Civic Identity'', Illinois: UIP, 1992, p. 135.</ref> with the first two being the closest literal translations.

==History==
The first ''{{lang|de|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 of Prussia|provinces]] into 25 ''{{lang|de|Regierungsbezirke}}'', eventually featuring 37 such districts within 12 provinces. By 1871, at the time of [[Unification of Germany|German unification]], the concept of ''{{lang|de|Regierungsbezirke}}'' had been adopted by most [[States of the German Empire]]. Similar entities were initially established in other states under different names, including  ''{{lang|de|Kreishauptmannschaft}}'' (district captainship) in [[Saxony]], ''{{lang|de|Kreis}}'' (district) in Bavaria and [[Württemberg]] (not to be confused with the present-day ''{{lang|de|Kreis}}'' or ''{{lang|de|Landkreis}}'' districts), and ''province'' in Hesse. The names of these equivalent administrative divisions were standardized to ''{{lang|de|Regierungsbezirk}}'' in [[Nazi Germany]], but after [[World War II]] these naming reforms were reverted.

The ''{{lang|de|Regierungsbezirke}}'' in the state of [[North Rhine-Westphalia]] in modern Germany are in direct continuation of those created in the Prussian [[Rhine Province|Rhine]] and [[Province of Westphalia|Westphalia]] provinces in 1816. {{Lang|de|Regierungsbezirke}} never existed in [[Bremen (state)|Bremen]], Hamburg, [[Schleswig-Holstein]], and [[Saarland]].

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

Following the [[reunification of Germany]] in 1990, the territory of the former [[East Germany]] was organized into six re-established [[New states of Germany|new states]], including a reunified [[Berlin]]. [[Saxony]] and [[Saxony-Anhalt]] established three ''{{lang|de|Regierungsbezirke}}'' each, while the other new states didn't implement them.

===2000s disbandment and reorganization===
During the 2000s, four German states discontinued the use of ''{{lang|de|Regierungsbezirke}}''. On 1 January 2000, [[Rhineland-Palatinate]] disbanded its three ''{{lang|de|Regierungsbezirke}}'' of [[Koblenz (region)|Koblenz]], [[Rheinhessen-Pfalz]] and [[Trier (region)|Trier]]. The employees and assets of the three ''{{lang|de|Bezirksregierungen}}'' ({{IPA|de|bəˈt͡sɪʁksʁeˌɡiːʁʊŋən|-|De-Bezirksregierungen.ogg}}) were converted into three public authorities responsible for the whole state, each covering a part of the former responsibilities of the ''{{lang|de|Bezirksregierung}}'' ({{IPA|de|bəˈt͡sɪʁksʁeˌɡiːʁʊŋ|lang|audio=De-Bezirksregierung.ogg}}).

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

On 1 August 2008, Saxony restructured its ''{{lang|de|Landkreise}}'' ({{IPA|de|ˈlantˌkʁaɪ̯zə|lang|De-Landkreise.ogg}}), changed the name of its ''{{lang|de|Regierungsbezirke}}'' to ''{{lang|de|Direktionsbezirke}}'' (directorate districts), and moved some responsibilities to the districts. The ''{{lang|de|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 ''{{lang|de|Regierungsbezirke}}''. On 1 March 2012, the ''{{lang|de|Direktionsbezirke}}'' were merged into one ''{{lang|de|Landesdirektion}}'' (state directorate).

== ''Regierungsbezirke'' by state ==
Currently, only four German states out of 16 in total are divided into ''{{lang|de|Regierungsbezirke}}''; all others are directly divided into districts without mid-level agencies. Those four states are divided into a total of 19 ''{{lang|de|Regierungsbezirke}}'', ranging in population from 5,255,000 ([[Duesseldorf (region)|Düsseldorf]]) to 1,065,000 ([[Gießen (region)|Gießen]]):

* [[Baden-Württemberg]]: [[Freiburg (region)|Freiburg]], [[Karlsruhe (region)|Karlsruhe]], [[Stuttgart (region)|Stuttgart]], [[Tübingen (region)|Tübingen]]
* [[Bavaria]]: [[Upper Bavaria]], [[Lower Bavaria]], [[Upper Palatinate]], [[Upper Franconia]], [[Middle Franconia]], [[Lower Franconia]], [[Swabia (Bavaria)|Swabia]]
* [[Hesse]]: [[Darmstadt (region)|Darmstadt]], [[Gießen (region)|Gießen]], [[Kassel (region)|Kassel]]
* [[North Rhine-Westphalia]]: [[Arnsberg (region)|Arnsberg]], [[Cologne (region)|Cologne]], [[Detmold (region)|Detmold]], [[Düsseldorf (region)|Düsseldorf]], [[Münster (region)|Münster]]

==List of historic former ''Regierungsbezirke''==
* Prussia
** [[Berlin]], comprising the city and several suburbs, incorporated into ''Regierungsbezirk'' [[Potsdam]] of [[Province of Brandenburg|Brandenburg]] in 1822
** [[Kleve (region)|Kleve]], [[Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg]], incorporated into [[Düsseldorf (region)|Düsseldorf]] region in 1822
** [[Dzierżoniów|Reichenbach]], [[Province of Silesia]], incorporated into [[Wrocław|Breslau]] and [[Legnica|Liegnitz]] regions in 1820
** [[Stralsund (region)|Stralsund]], [[Province of Pomerania (1815–1945)|Province of Pomerania]], incorporated into [[Stettin (region)|Stettin Region]] in 1932
* Dissolved in 1919/20 after cession of territory according to the [[Treaty of Versailles]]:
** [[Bromberg (region)|Bromberg]], [[Province of Posen]]
** [[Danzig (region)|Danzig]], Province of West Prussia (see [[Free City of Danzig]])
** [[Bezirk Lothringen|Lorraine]], Imperial Land of Alsace-Lorraine 
** [[Unterelsaß|Lower Alsace]], Imperial Land of Alsace-Lorraine 
** [[Marienwerder (region)|Marienwerder]], Province of [[West Prussia]], re-established as West Prussia region of the [[Province of East Prussia|East Prussia]] province in 1922
** [[Posen (region)|Posen]], Province of Posen
** [[Oberelsaß|Upper Alsace]], Imperial Land of Alsace-Lorraine 
* Established after the 1939 [[Invasion of Poland]], dissolved in 1945:
** [[Inowrocław|Hohensalza]], ''[[Reichsgau Wartheland]]''
** [[Katowice|Kattowitz]], Province of Silesia ([[Province of Upper Silesia|Upper Silesia]] from 1941)
** [[Łódź|Litzmannstadt]] ([[Kalisz|Kalisch]] until 1941), ''Reichsgau Wartheland''
** [[Poznań|Posen]], ''Reichsgau Wartheland''
** [[Zichenau (region)|Zichenau]], Province of East Prussia
* [[Former eastern territories of Germany|Former eastern territories]], dissolved in 1945:
** [[Allenstein (region)|Allenstein]], Province of East Prussia
** [[Breslau (region)|Breslau]], Province of Silesia (Lower Silesia 1919–1938, 1941–1945)
** [[Regierungsbezirk Frankfurt|Frankfurt]], Province of Brandenburg
** [[Gumbinnen (region)|Gumbinnen]], Province of East Prussia
** [[Köslin (region)|Köslin]], Province of Pomerania
** [[Königsberg (region)|Königsberg]], Province of East Prussia
** [[Liegnitz (region)|Liegnitz]], Province of Silesia (Lower Silesia 1919–1938, 1941–1945)
** [[Oppeln (region)|Oppeln]], Province of Silesia (Upper Silesia 1919–1938, 1941–1945)
** [[Posen-West Prussia]] ([[Piła|Schneidemühl]]), Province of Pomerania, established in 1938
** [[Stettin (region)|Stettin]], Province of Pomerania
* [[Allied-occupied Germany]]:
** [[Erfurt (region)|Erfurt]], dissolved in 1944/1945
** [[Regierungsbezirk Frankfurt|Frankfurt]], dissolved in 1945, Province of Brandenburg
** [[Liegnitz (region)|Liegnitz]], Province of Silesia, dissolved in 1945
** [[Magdeburg (region)|Magdeburg]], dissolved in 1945, reestablished in 1990 and redissolved in 2004
** [[Merseburg (region)|Merseburg]], dissolved in 1944/1945
** [[Minden (region)|Minden]], Province of Westphalia, incorporated into [[Detmold (region)|Detmold]] in 1947
** [[Potsdam (region)|Potsdam]], dissolved in 1945, Province of Brandenburg
** [[Schleswig (region)|Schleswig]], dissolved in 1946, Province of Schleswig-Holstein
** [[Sigmaringen]], [[Province of Hohenzollern]], incorporated into [[Württemberg-Hohenzollern]] in 1946.
** [[Stettin (region)|Stettin]], dissolved in 1945, Province of Pomerania

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{commons-inline|Category:Government regions of Germany|Regierungsbezirk}}

{{Terms for types of administrative territorial entities}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Regions of Germany]]
[[Category:Government regions of Germany| ]]
[[Category:Lists of subdivisions of Germany|Regierungsbezirke]]
[[Category:Government regions of Prussia| ]]