The term federal city is a title for certain cities in Germany, Switzerland, Russia, and several .
Germany
In Germany, the former
West Germany Capital city Bonn has been designated with the title of federal city (
Bundesstadt), making it unique in Germany. Since 28 April 1994, it is the secondary official residence of the President of Germany, the Chancellor of Germany, the Bundesrat (upper house), the primary official residence of six federal ministries, and approximately 20 federal authorities. This is merely a title, since Bonn is not an autonomous city like
Berlin, Bremen or
Hamburg, but part of a state (North Rhine-Westphalia).
Russia
- See also federal cities of Russia.
The Russian constitution
states that it has three cities of federal importance (город федерального значения,
gorod federalnogo znacheniya):
Moscow, St. Petersburg
and
Sevastopol (disputed with
Ukraine since the temporary 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea).
Switzerland
Federal city (; ; ; ) is the official title of
Bern,
as it is the seat of the Federal Assembly (parliament) and Federal Council (government). Switzerland deliberately has no official capital city, and the federal courts of Switzerland are dispersed in various cities for the same reason.
Others
Some
Capital city, like
Astana, Bogotá, Brasília,
Buenos Aires,
Canberra,
Caracas,
Islamabad,
Jakarta,
Jerusalem,
Mexico City,
Seoul, Washington, D.C., and
Yerevan, among others, have a federal status, not belonging to any
Federated state or
province (or being a state or province of their own, as is the case of
Berlin,
Delhi,
Moscow,
Oslo,
Prague,
Sofia, and other cities). Sometimes this is called a
federal district. Washington D.C. was referred to as "Federal City" in its planning stages.
Several Unitary state have direct-controlled municipalities, cities equivalent in status to provinces, which often include the national capital. Examples include the four direct-administered municipalities of China, which include the capital city, Beijing.
See also
