Einbürgerungstest Baden-Württemberg: the 10 state questions

The coat of arms of Baden-Württemberg shows three striding black lions with red tongues in a golden shield. It recalls the Duchy of Swabia under the Hohenstaufen dynasty, whose coat of arms lives on in the state. Above it sits a golden leaf crown, the so-called people's crown.

The people's crown stands for popular sovereignty, meaning that power comes from the people. The small state coat of arms shows only the shield with the three lions; the large state coat of arms is more elaborately designed.

The three black lions on a golden ground are the feature by which you recognise this coat of arms.

A district (Landkreis) is an association of several municipalities. Baden-Württemberg has 1,101 municipalities and 35 districts. The districts promote the welfare of their residents, for example through social facilities, and support the municipalities in their tasks.

The citizens elect the district council (Kreistag). At the head is the district administrator (Landrat). Unlike in Bavaria (Bayern), the district administrator in Baden-Württemberg is not elected directly by the people but by the district council. The district administrator heads the district office and chairs the district council.

The Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis is one such district, in the north of the state. Its district office is in Mosbach.

The state parliament (Landtag) is the parliament of Baden-Württemberg. Its legislative term lasts five years. This is set out in Article 30(1) of the state constitution: the legislative term of the state parliament lasts five years.

Every five years, voters use their votes to decide the balance of power in parliament. The members of parliament sit in the state parliament building in Stuttgart.

In local elections in Baden-Württemberg you can vote from the age of 16, that is, when the municipal council (Gemeinderat) and the district council (Kreistag) are elected. This is governed by § 12 of the Municipal Code: there, the number 18 was replaced with 16. The state parliament (Landtag) passed the change on 11 April 2013.

For the first time, around 200,000 16- and 17-year-olds were able to vote in the local election on 25 May 2014. In 2018 the Federal Administrative Court confirmed that this rule is compatible with the Basic Law (Grundgesetz).

The state colours of Baden-Württemberg are black and gold. The state constitution initially laid down only these colours, with no coat of arms yet. The state flag shows these colours. The state coat of arms with the three black lions on a golden ground shows the same colours, so you can keep the two in mind together.

So black and gold are the colours of the whole state.