State Questions: Berlin

The coat of arms of Berlin shows the black Berlin bear on a white field, topped by a gold mural crown. On the image panel this is answer 4. The other three shields belong to other federal states: look at the heraldic animal, the colours, and the number of fields.

Pankow is located in Berlin. The three wrong answers are districts or boroughs of other federal states. For the test it is enough to know the one name that belongs to your state.

The state parliament of Berlin is elected for 5 years. Each federal state sets its own electoral term in its own constitution, so the figure differs from state to state. The Bundestag is always elected for four years.

In local elections in Berlin you may vote from the age of 16. The local voting age is set by each state and is either 16 or 18 depending on the state: for Bundestag elections it is uniformly 18 nationwide.

The state flag of Berlin is white-red. Background: white and red have been Berlin's colours since the Middle Ages, and the bear is the city's heraldic animal.

The place to go is at the State Center for Political Education. Every federal state maintains such a body: it provides politically neutral information on politics, history, and society, and hands out brochures and books free or very cheaply. The public order office, consumer advice centre, and churches have different remits.

Berlin is one of Germany's three city-states; the other two are Hamburg and Bremen. A city-state is simultaneously a city and a federal state: it has no surrounding territory and combines municipal and state responsibilities in one administration.

Berlin lies in the north-east of Germany, completely surrounded by the state of Brandenburg. On the map this is answer 4. The quickest way to find the state is to orient yourself by its neighbours and whether it touches the coast.

In Berlin the head of government is called Governing Mayor / Governing Mayoress. The three city-states each use their own title: Berlin a Governing Mayor, Hamburg a First Mayor, Bremen a President of the Senate. In the 13 territorial states the office is called Ministerpräsident.

Berlin has no Senator for External Relations. Under the Basic Law, foreign policy is exclusively a federal matter: no state maintains diplomatic relations of its own. Portfolios such as finance, justice, the interior, education, and the environment, by contrast, exist in every state government.