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 other states there are the following subdivisions: The most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia is uniquely divided into two area associations ("Landschaftsverbände"), one for the Rhineland, and one for Westphalia-Lippe. This arrangement was meant to ease the friction caused by uniting the two culturally different regions into a single state after World War II. The "Landschaftsverbände" now have very little power. The constitution of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern at §75 states the right of Mecklenburg and Vorpommern to form "Landschaftsverbände", although these two constituent parts of the state are not represented in the current administrative division. The large states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse,