Amt (subnational entity)

An Amt is a subnational administrative unit common in some northern European countries. It is generally larger than a municipality, and is often comprised of one or more municipalities.

The amt in Germany

The Amt (plural, Ämter) is unique to the German Bundesländer (federal states) of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg. Other German states had this subdivision in the past. Some states have similar administrative units called Samtgemeinde (Lower Saxony), Verbandsgemeinde (Rhineland-Palatinate) or Verwaltungsgemeinschaft (Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt).

Related Topics:
German - Bundesländer - Schleswig-Holstein - Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania - Brandenburg - Lower Saxony - Verbandsgemeinde - Rhineland-Palatinate - Baden-Württemberg - Bavaria - Thuringia - Saxony-Anhalt

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An amt, as well as the other above-mentioned units, is subordinate to a district, and is subdivided into municipalities. Normally it consists of very small municipalities; larger municipalities do not belong to an amt, and are called "Amt-free municipalities" (amtsfreie Gemeinden).

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