States of Germany States of Germany Germany is a federal republic consisting of sixteen states (, plural ; informally and very commonly , plural ). Since today's Germany was formed from an earlier collection of several states, it has a federal constitution, and the constituent states retain a measure of sovereignty. With an emphasis on geographical conditions, Berlin and Hamburg are frequently called ' (city-states), as is the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, which in fact includes the cities of and . The remaining 13 states are called ' (literally: "area states"). The creation of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 was
Embassy of the United States, Prague of Germany, and Slovakia becoming an independent state. The next day, ambassador William Carr telegrammed the United States Department of State that "there are no officials of the Czechoslovakian government, to which I am accredited with, whom I can maintain for protection of the interests of the United States and its citizens". Three days later, acting on orders of the United States government, the United States embassy in Prague terminated its mission. The legation and other property of the embassy was, thereafter, transferred to the Consulate-General of the United States in Prague and ambassador Carr returned to the United States.