State Questions: Schleswig-Holstein

The coat of arms of Schleswig-Holstein shows the two blue lions for Schleswig and the white nettle leaf for Holstein on a divided shield. On the image panel this is answer 3. The other three shields belong to other federal states: look at the heraldic animal, the colours, and the number of fields.

North Friesland is located in Schleswig-Holstein. 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 Schleswig-Holstein 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 Schleswig-Holstein 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 Schleswig-Holstein is blue-white-red. Background: blue, white, and red come from the arms of Schleswig (blue-yellow) and Holstein (red-white).

The place to go is with the State Commissioner 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.

The capital of Schleswig-Holstein is Keel. That is where the state parliament and state government sit. The other cities listed may lie in the same state, but they are not the seat of government.

Schleswig-Holstein lies at the very north of Germany between the North Sea and the Baltic, on the Danish border: the northernmost state. On the map this is answer 1. The quickest way to find the state is to orient yourself by its neighbours and whether it touches the coast.

In Schleswig-Holstein the head of government is called Prime Minister. The same applies in all 13 territorial states. Only the three city-states differ: Berlin has a Governing Mayor, Hamburg a First Mayor, and Bremen a President of the Senate.

Schleswig-Holstein has no Foreign Minister. 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.