Federal city

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The term federal city is a title for certain cities in Germany, Switzerland, Russia, and several national capitals.

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Germany

In Germany, the former West German capital Bonn has been designated with the title of federal city (Bundesstadt), making it unique in Germany. Since 28 April 1994, it is the secondary official residence of the President of Germany, the Chancellor of Germany, the Bundesrat (upper house), the primary official residence of six federal ministries, and approximately 20 federal authorities. This is merely a title, since Bonn isn't an autonomous city like Berlin, Bremen or Hamburg, but part of a state. [1]

Russia

The Russian constitution [2] states that it has three cities of federal importance (город федерального значения, gorod federalnogo znacheniya): Moscow, St. Petersburg [3] and Sevastopol [4] [5] (disputed with Ukraine since the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea).

Switzerland

Federal city (German : Bundesstadt; French : ville fédérale; Italian : città federale; Romansh : citad federala) is the official title of Bern [6] , as it is the seat of the Federal Assembly (parliament) and Federal Council (government). Switzerland deliberately has no official capital city, and the federal courts of Switzerland are dispersed in various cities for the same reason.[ citation needed ]

Others

Some national capitals, like Astana, Bogotá, Brasília, Buenos Aires, Canberra, Caracas, Islamabad, Jakarta, Jerusalem, Mexico City, Seoul, Washington, D.C., and Yerevan, among others, have a federal status, not belonging to any state or province (or being a state or province of their own, as is the case of Berlin, Delhi, Moscow, Oslo, Prague, Sofia, and other cities). Sometimes this is called a federal district. Washington D.C. was referred to as "Federal City" in its planning stages.

Several unitary states have direct-controlled municipalities, cities equivalent in status to provinces, which often include the national capital. Examples include the four direct-administered municipalities of China, which include the capital city, Beijing.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonn</span> City in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Bonn is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. It has a population of over 300,000. About 24 km (15 mi) south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region, Germany's largest metropolitan area and the second biggest metropolitan region by GDP in the European Union, with over 11 million inhabitants. The city served as the capital of West Germany from its formation in 1949 until 1990 and as the capital of reunited Germany from 1990 until 1999 when the seat of government was moved back to Berlin. Bonn is the birthplace of Germany's present day constitution, the Basic Law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sevastopol</span> City on the Crimean peninsula

Sevastopol, sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base throughout its history. Since the city's founding in 1783 it has been a major base for Russia's Black Sea Fleet. During the Cold War of the 20th century, it was a closed city. The total administrative area is 864 square kilometres (334 sq mi) and includes a significant amount of rural land. The urban population, largely concentrated around Sevastopol Bay, is 479,394, and the total population is 547,820.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crimea</span> Peninsula in Europe

Crimea is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukraine. To the east, the Crimean Bridge, constructed in 2018, spans the Strait of Kerch, linking the peninsula with Krasnodar Krai in Russia. The Arabat Spit, located to the northeast, is a narrow strip of land that separates the Syvash lagoons from the Sea of Azov. Across the Black Sea to the west lies Romania and to the south is Turkey. The population is 2.4 million, and the largest city is Sevastopol. The region has been under Russian occupation since 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political divisions of Russia</span>

Russia is divided into several types and levels of subdivisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital city</span> Seat of government of a country or subnational division

A capital city or just capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational division, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the government's offices and meeting places; the status as capital is often designated by its law or constitution. In some jurisdictions, including several countries, different branches of government are in different settlements, sometimes meaning multiple official capitals. In some cases, a distinction is made between the official (constitutional) capital and the seat of government, which is in another place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simferopol</span> Second-largest city on the Crimean Peninsula

Simferopol, also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, controlled by Russia, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal cities of Russia</span> Type of federal subject of Russia

In the Russian Federation, a city of federal importance, also known as a federal city, is a city that has a status of both an inhabited locality and a constituent federal subject. Russia has two federal cities: Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Sevastopol, which was annexed in 2014, is claimed as Russia's third federal city, but remains internationally recognised as part of Ukraine.

A federal capital is a political entity, often a municipality or capital city, that serves as the seat of the federal government. A federal capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the offices and meeting places of its respective government, where its location and relationship to subnational states are fixed by law or federal constitution. Federal capitals may or may not be considered states in themselves, and either exercise significant political autonomy from the federation or are directly ruled by the national government located within their premises, as federal districts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Administrative divisions of Ukraine</span>

The administrative divisions of Ukraine are under the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Constitution. Ukraine is a unitary state with three levels of administrative divisions: 27 regions, 136 raions (districts) and 1469 hromadas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tagsatzung</span> Legislative and executive council of the Swiss Confederacy

The Federal Diet of Switzerland was the legislative and executive council of the Old Swiss Confederacy and existed in various forms from the beginnings of Swiss independence until the formation of the Swiss federal state in 1848.

The politics of Crimea today is that of the Republic of Crimea on one hand, and that of the federal city of Sevastopol on the other, within the context of the largely unrecognised annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in March 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autonomous Republic of Crimea</span> De jure autonomous republic of Ukraine

The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is an administrative division of Ukraine encompassing most of Crimea that was unilaterally annexed by Russia in 2014. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea occupies most of the peninsula, while the City of Sevastopol occupies the rest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation</span> 2014 annexation of territory

In February and March 2014, Russia invaded the Crimean Peninsula, part of Ukraine, and then annexed it. This took place in the relative power vacuum immediately following the Revolution of Dignity. It marked the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republic of Crimea (Russia)</span> First-level administrative division of Russia, annexed territory of Ukraine

The Republic of Crimea is a republic of Russia, comprising most of the Crimean Peninsula, but excluding Sevastopol. Its territory corresponds to the pre-2023 territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, a de jure subdivision of Ukraine. Russia occupied and annexed the peninsula in 2014, although the annexation remains internationally unrecognized.

The Crimean problem or the Crimean question is a dispute over the status of Crimea between Ukraine and Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Head of the Republic of Crimea</span> Highest-ranking official in Crimea

The Head of the Republic of Crimea is the highest official and the head of the executive power of the Republic of Crimea; an internationally disputed federal subject of the Russian Federation located on the Crimean Peninsula.

The Embassy of Sweden in Berlin is Sweden's diplomatic mission in Germany. Ambassador since 2017 is Per Thöresson. Sweden established a legation in Berlin in 1912. During World War II, it was destroyed in aerial bombings and the legation was moved to other addresses in Berlin. After the war, the Swedish legation moved to Cologne in West Germany, and in the mid-1950s to Bonn, where it remained until 1999. During the Cold War, Sweden also had an embassy in East Berlin from the 1970s onwards. In 1999, the new Swedish embassy in Berlin was inaugurated and the one in Bonn was closed. The building complex in which the Swedish embassy is located since 1999 is called Nordic Embassies.

References

  1. "Federal City of Bonn: Germany's second political centre". www.deutschland.de. 2023-08-02. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  2. "Chapter 3. The Federal Structure | The Constitution of the Russian Federation". www.constitution.ru. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  3. "List of cities in Russia | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  4. "Address by President of the Russian Federation". President of Russia. 2014-03-18. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  5. Gromova, Elizaveta (2018). "The Free Economic Zone of the Republic of Crimea and the Federal City of Sevastopol". Russian Law Journal. 6 (3).
  6. "Federalism". www.eda.admin.ch. Retrieved 2024-11-03.