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{{short description|German term referting to several types of administrative divisions}}
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The [[German language|German]] term '''{{Lang|de|Bezirk}}''' ({{IPA|de|bəˈtsɪʁk|-|De-Bezirk.ogg}}; [[Grammatical number#Overview|pl.]]&nbsp;{{lang|de|Bezirke}} {{IPA|de|bəˈtsɪʁkə||De-Bezirke.ogg}}; derived from {{langx|la|circulus}}, "circle") translated as "[[district]]" can refer to the following types of [[administrative division]]s:

* {{Lang|de|[[Stadtbezirk]]}}, a subdivision of a city in the sense of a [[borough]] (e.g. in [[Boroughs and localities of Berlin|Berlin]], [[Boroughs and quarters of Hamburg|Hamburg]] or [[Districts of Vienna|Vienna]]), often again subdivided into several [[Quarter (urban subdivision)|quarters]] and [[neighbourhood]]s. According to German ''[[Gemeindeordnung]]'' codes, the [[city council]] resolves upon the implementation by municipal [[by-law]] (''Satzung''). In some cities the {{lang|de|Bezirke}} have limited powers delegated to them by the city's local government, including an assembly resulting from [[local election]]s and an own 'mayor' (''[[Burgomaster|Bürgermeister]]''). In the German [[States of Germany|states]] of [[Hesse]] and [[Rhineland-Palatinate]] any [[Municipalities of Germany|municipality]] is authorized to implement ''[[Ortsbezirk]]e'' with own advisory councils and local administrators. The state law in [[North Rhine-Westphalia]] commits the municipal administration of an [[independent city]] to subdivide the urban area into {{lang|de|Stadtbezirke}}.
* In [[Austria]], the word {{Lang|de|Bezirk}} is used with different meanings in three different contexts:
** Some of the tasks of the administrative branch of the national and regional governments are fulfilled by the 95 [[District Captaincy (Austria)|district captaincies]] (''Bezirkshauptmannschaften'', also translated as ''district administrative office''). The area a district administrative office is responsible for is often, although informally, called a district ({{Lang|de|Bezirk}}). A number of [[statutory city (Austria)|statutory cities]], currently 15, are not served by any district administrative office. Their respective municipal bureaucracies handle the tasks normally performed by the district administrative office.
** The cities of [[Vienna]] and [[Graz]] are divided into municipal districts ({{lang|de|Stadtbezirke}}), assisting the respective municipal governments.
** From the point of view of the [[judiciary of Austria]], the country is subdivided into 115 judicial districts (''Gerichtsbezirke''), each corresponding to one of the country's 115 lowest-level trial courts.
* The [[Italy|Italian]] autonomous provinces of [[Trentino]] and [[South Tyrol]], are divided into ''[[Districts of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol|Bezirksgemeinschaft]]en'' ({{langx|it|comunità comprensoriali}}).
* The [[districts of Switzerland]] are called {{lang|de|Bezirke}} in several [[Cantons of Switzerland|cantons]]. In [[Switzerland as a federal state]], every canton is free to implement its own administrative structure. The intermediate administrative level above the [[Municipalities of Switzerland|Swiss municipalities]] is also referred to as ''Verwaltungsregion'' or ''Verwaltungskreis'', ''Wahlkreis'', ''Amtei'' or ''[[Amt (country subdivision)|Amt]]'', as well as {{langx|fr|districts}} in [[Suisse romande]] and {{langx|it|distretto}} in Svizzera italiana. In [[Canton of Schwyz|Schwyz]], the six historic {{lang|de|Bezirke}} are self-governing bodies, some with regional ''[[Landsgemeinde]]'' assemblies, similar to the municipal ''Kreise'' of [[Graubünden]]. The six {{lang|de|Bezirke}} of [[Appenzell Innerrhoden]] are identically equal to municipalities.
* Historically the primary [[administrative divisions of East Germany]] from 1952 were called {{lang|de|Bezirke}}. They were implemented by an administrative reform to supersede the East German federated states of [[Brandenburg]], [[Mecklenburg-Vorpommern|Mecklenburg]], [[Saxony]], [[Saxony-Anhalt]] and [[Thuringia]]. The capital [[East Berlin]] was officially equated by resolution of the [[State Council of East Germany]] in 1961. Though legislative assemblies (''Bezirkstage'') and executive councils (''Räte'') existed, the {{lang|de|Bezirke}} according to the top-down principle of [[democratic centralism]] enjoyed no autonomy nor any self-governing rights. They were abolished by law which the East German [[People's Chamber]] passed in 1990 on the eve of the [[German reunification]].
*During the [[Second World War]], a special [[administrative divisions of Nazi Germany|administrative division of Nazi Germany]] was officially classified as "{{lang|de|Bezirk}}": ''[[Bezirk Bialystok]]''.

==See also==
{{Wiktionary|Bezirk}}
* [[Amtsbezirk]], historic denotation of an administrative subdivision in [[Prussia]]; until 2009 also in the Swiss [[Canton of Bern]]
* [[Regierungsbezirk]], "government region", a subdivision of some German federal states

{{Types of administrative country subdivision}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Types of administrative division]]