Einbürgerungstest Saarland: the 10 state questions

The state coat of arms of Saarland is a round-bottomed shield divided into four. Two fields show lions: one is a silver lion on a blue field with silver crosses, the other a golden lion on a black field. One field shows a red cross on silver. Another shows a red diagonal bar with three silver eagles on gold.

This is set out in § 1 and Annex 1 of the Saarland Act on State Emblems (SHzG) of 2001. So you recognise Saarland by the four fields with lions, a cross and eagles.

Several municipalities and towns together form a district (Landkreis). Districts handle tasks that are too big for a single municipality. These include, for example, waste collection or bus routes that do not run only within one town or municipality.

Saarland is divided into five districts (Merzig-Wadern, Neunkirchen, Saarlouis, Saarpfalz and St. Wendel) and the Saarbrücken Regional Association.

The state parliament (Landtag) is the parliament of Saarland and its highest legislative body. It has 51 members, who are elected for five years.

The legislative term is the period during which the state parliament is in office.

The state parliament passes the state laws and elects the Minister-President (Ministerpräsident). That makes it the most important parliament in the state.

In local elections in Saarland, you can vote from the age of 18. The minimum age for voting is 18, and the minimum age for standing for election, that is, the age from which you can stand as a candidate yourself, is also 18.

The same voting age applies in Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz). It also applies in Saxony (Sachsen).

The state flag of Saarland is a rectangle whose width and length are in the ratio of three to five. It shows three horizontal stripes of equal width, from top to bottom, in the state colours black, red and gold. The state coat of arms stands in the middle of the red stripe.

This is regulated by the Saarland Act on State Emblems in § 4.