district
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district
An administrative unit in Germany and Austria that includes several municipalities and is situated between the level of the federal states and the municipalities. In some federal states, the term 'Kreis' is used instead.
Die Stadt Ebersberg ist der Verwaltungssitz des Landkreises Ebersberg.
The town of Ebersberg is the administrative seat of the district of Ebersberg.
The word is made up of 'Land' (land/countryside) and 'Kreis' (district). It describes an administrative unit that often consists of several smaller municipalities and the surrounding rural area ('Land').
Viele kleine Dörfer gehören zum selben Landkreis.
Many small villages belong to the same district.
In some German federal states, for example in North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein, the shorter word 'Kreis' is used instead of 'Landkreis' for the same administrative unit.
Die Stadt Neuss ist die Hauptstadt vom Rhein-Kreis Neuss.
The city of Neuss is the capital of the Rhein-Kreis Neuss.
To express that something is located in a district, German uses the preposition 'in' with the dative. The correct form is therefore 'im Landkreis' (in the district).
Im Landkreis Starnberg gibt es viele Seen.
There are many lakes in the district of Starnberg.
municipality / community
'die Gemeinde' and 'der Landkreis' both belong to the administration of an area. However, they are on different levels. A Gemeinde is a smaller unit, for example a town or village with its own administration. A Landkreis is larger and includes several municipalities. Learners may confuse the words because both appear in official texts, at public authorities, and in addresses. When it is about your own town or village and the town hall, you usually say 'Gemeinde'. When it is about a larger area with several places, 'Landkreis' is more precise.
Der Landkreis organisiert den Busverkehr zwischen den kleinen Orten.
The district organizes bus service between the small towns and villages.
Vor dem Termin hat sie noch schnell bei der Gemeinde angerufen.
Before the appointment, she quickly called the municipality.