Regierungsbezirk

A Regierungsbezirk is a government region of Germany in some federal states (Bundesländer).

Regierungsbezirke are divided into districts (Kreise), either Landkreise or urban districts: cities which constitute a district in their own right (kreisfreie Städte). The Regierungsbezirk is governed by a Bezirksregierung and led by a Regierungspräsident.

Not all Bundesländer have this sub-division; some are directly divided into districts. Currently, five states are divided into 22 Regierungsbezirke, ranging in population from 5,255,000 (Düsseldorf) to 1,065,000 (Gießen):

• Baden-Württemberg: Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Tübingen
• Bavaria: Oberbayern, Niederbayern, Oberpfalz, Oberfranken, Mittelfranken, Unterfranken, Schwaben
• Hesse: Darmstadt, Gießen, Kassel
• North Rhine-Westphalia: Arnsberg, Cologne, Detmold, Düsseldorf, Münster
• Saxony: Chemnitz, Dresden, Leipzig