Most people see Germany (or the Federal Republic of Germany) as one single land....but it's divided into sixteen 'states'.
So this is the explanation and the logical way to view this.
You have Saxony, Thuringia, and Bavaria which refer to themselves as Freistaat or free-states. This term 'Freistaat' is really a Latin term which has been around for around 200 years.
This status being more of a 'gimmick' than anything else? I'd argue that.
Berlin and Hamburg then come up as Stadtstaaten (city-states).
Then you have the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, includes both Bremen and Bremerhaven combined).
Then you have the remaining 10 states which fit into what you'd call Flächenländer, or area states).
2 comments:
The "Freistaat" distinction sounds like the US distinction between a US state and a US commonwealth. The only distinction between a state and a commonwealth is the word "commonwealth". Legally and practically, there's no difference in how commonwealths operate compared to a state.
Originally, it was a Roman age thing.
Later, it became a vehicle where cities combined under a central flag for a state, and if you were part of X-state....you found a couple of extra benefits (taxes for example).
I think in the past hundred years....it was the language people who pursued this use. If you view the Duden-people who control the language....they have a lot of influence on how things are stated and clarified.
I should note....ONLY 3 have used the term, out of the sixteen. And the federal folks have not made this a big or negtive deal.
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