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German States III: Berlin, Bremen, and HamburgOf the sixteen German states that make up the German Federal Republic, three are what as known as Stadtstaaten, or City States, because they were created to govern the area in and around only one or two cities. These three city states—Berlin, Hamburg, and Bremen—are the smallest states in Germany, but represent densely populated urban areas. In order to compensate for this, they are given their own votes in the German Bundesrat, only slightly fewer than other states that are many times their size. These unique German states participate in the Federal Government just as the other thirteen do. Berlin, one of the German states that are considered Stadtstaaten is located within and completely surrounded by the state of Brandenburg. Although the area of Berlin is only 344 square miles (892 sq. km.), Berlin has a population of almost 3.5 million people, which amounts to a population density of almost 10,000 people per square mile. Berlin is also the largest city in Germany, and served as the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire, the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich, and the current Federal Republic of Germany following the German reunification in 1990. Berlin is the most visited tourist destination in the EU, and hosts many diverse industries, such as media companies, environmental services, engineering, manufacturing, and biotechnology firms. Since the Berlin Wall, a structure that was erected around the border of the western part of the city, was torn down in 1989, the city has reunified and joined the German Federal Republic as a state unto itself. Bremen, another of the German states considered to be Stadtstaaten, is a city-state with two parts: the city of Bremen and the state capital of Bremerhaven, both of which are located on the River Weser and completely surrounded by the state of Lower Saxony. Although much smaller than Berlin, encompassing only 158 square miles (408 sq. km.), Bremen is still a major point of commerce, as Bremerhaven serves as a port on the North Sea. Bremen has a population of 664,000, but still has three votes in the Bundesrat. This city-state is also well known for its higher education, and is home to the University of Bremen, University of the Arts Bremen, and Jacobs University Bremen. Hamburg is the last and second largest of the German states called Stadtstaaten, with a land area of 292 square miles (755 sq. km). With a population of almost 1.8 million, Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany, as well as the non-capital city with the highest population in the entire European Union. The Hamburg metropolitan area, which encompasses parts of the neighboring states of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, comprises a total population of 4.7 million people. Hamburg is also the second largest port in Europe, and the ninth largest worldwide. Hamburg is also a center of media corporations, including broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk and publisher Gruner + Jahr, as well as a transportation hub for Northern Germany. This city state is also a major tourist destination, servicing about 7.4 million overnight hotel stays in a single year. |