Gemeindeverband

The vertical (federal) separation of powers across the federal government (white), the states (yellow), and the municipalities (brown).Federal LevelFederal StatesCity States(Governmental Districts)(Rural) Districts(Collective Municipalities)Municipalities(Municipalities)Urban Districts
Administrative divisions of Germany (clickable image)

Gemeindeverband (German: [ɡəˈmaɪ̯ndəfɛɐ̯ˌbant] ⓘ) is a union of at least two municipalities (German: Gemeinde) in Germany to form a Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts (statutory corporation) with the purpose to exercise the powers of self-government at a larger scale, while maintaining autonomy of its members.

The word is mentioned multiple times in the German constitution (German: Grundgesetz),[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] but without an exact definition.

The States of Germany have slightly different kinds of a Gemeindeverband:

Gemeindeverbände unterhalb der Kreisebene (collective municipalities) to allow direct co-operation of municipalities:

Gemeindeverbände oberhalb der Kreisebene to allow direct co-operation of districts (Landkreis), commonly summarised as higher municipal association (German: Höherer Kommunalverband:

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