States of Germany and North Rhine-Westphalia are divided into governmental districts, or "Regierungsbezirke". In Rhineland-Palatinate, these districts were abolished on January 1, 2000, in Saxony-Anhalt on January 1, 2004, and in Lower Saxony on January 1, 2005. From 1990 until 2012, Saxony was divided into three districts (called "Direktionsbezirke" since 2008). In 2012, these districts' authorities were merged into one central authority, the "". The Districts of Germany "(Kreise)" are administrative districts, and every state except the city-states of Berlin and Hamburg and the state of Bremen consists of "rural districts" "(Landkreise)," District-free Towns/Cities ("Kreisfreie Städte", in Baden-Württemberg also called "urban districts", or
States of Germany East Germany's capital and its 15th district. Just prior to the German reunification on 3 October 1990, the East German states were reconstituted close to their earlier configuration as the five "New States". The former district of East Berlin joined West Berlin to form the new state of Berlin. Henceforth, the 10 "old states" plus 5 "new states" plus the new state Berlin add up to current 16 states of Germany. Later, the constitution was amended to state that the citizens of the 16 states had successfully achieved the unity of Germany in free self-determination and that the Basic Law