special-purpose association
Loading your saved state.
special-purpose association
An association of municipalities or other public bodies for jointly carrying out a specific public task, such as water supply or waste disposal.
Mehrere Dörfer haben einen Zweckverband für die Abwasserreinigung gegründet.
Several villages founded a special-purpose association for wastewater treatment.
The word is composed of 'der Zweck' (purpose, aim) and 'der Verband' (association). A 'Zweckverband' is therefore literally a 'Vereinigung für einen bestimmten Zweck' (association for a specific purpose).
Der Zweck dieses Verbandes ist die gemeinsame Müllentsorgung.
The purpose of this association is joint waste disposal.
'Zweckverband' is a term from administration and public law. You find it in official documents, news reports, or legal texts, but rarely in everyday colloquial language.
Die Gründung des Zweckverbandes wurde im Amtsblatt bekannt gegeben.
The founding of the special-purpose association was announced in the official gazette.
The specific purpose of the association is usually given with the preposition 'für' and the accusative. Sometimes it is also placed directly before the noun as a compound noun.
Der Zweckverband für den öffentlichen Nahverkehr plant neue Buslinien.
The special-purpose association for public transport is planning new bus routes.
administrative association
Both words refer to an association of public bodies formed to carry out tasks jointly. A Verwaltungsgemeinschaft generally supports several municipalities with their administration, whereas a Zweckverband focuses on one specific public task. For joint administration, use Verwaltungsgemeinschaft; for water, waste, or a similar individual task, use Zweckverband.
Der Zweckverband organisiert für mehrere Gemeinden die gemeinsame Müllentsorgung.
The special-purpose association organizes joint waste disposal for several municipalities.
Die Verwaltungsgemeinschaft erledigt für mehrere Gemeinden die täglichen Verwaltungsaufgaben.
The administrative association handles the daily administrative tasks for several municipalities.
