Leben in Deutschland: Sachsen-Anhalt

The state coat of arms of Saxony-Anhalt shows the Saxon rue crown and the Prussian eagle in the upper field and, below, the striding black bear on a red wall for Anhalt; Image 4 shows this coat of arms. The other images show the coats of arms of other states without these three symbols.

The district of Börde lies in the fertile Magdeburg Börde in the middle of Saxony-Anhalt. Ammerland belongs to Lower Saxony, Altötting to Bavaria and the Uckermark to Brandenburg.

The constitution of the state of Saxony-Anhalt sets a five-year electoral term for the Landtag. Three, four and six years do not apply to the state parliament.

In Saxony-Anhalt, people may vote in local elections from the age of 16; the state's local election law permits this age. 14 is too young, 18 applies to Landtag and Bundestag elections, and 20 is not a voting age.

The state flag of Saxony-Anhalt has yellow and black stripes, with yellow on top. Blue-white-red is the flag of Schleswig-Holstein, white-red that of Thuringia, and green-white-red are the colours of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The State Agency for Civic Education of Saxony-Anhalt is the state institution that provides information on political topics and offers seminars and publications. Churches, the public order office and the consumer advice centre have other tasks.

Magdeburg is the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt and the seat of the Landtag and the state government. Halle (Saale) is the largest city in the state; Dessau and Wittenberg are other cities without capital status.

Saxony-Anhalt lies in the centre of north-eastern Germany between the Harz mountains and the Elbe, bordering Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia; on the map it bears the number 3. The numbers 1, 2 and 4 stand for other federal states.

In Saxony-Anhalt the head of government is called Minister-President; this person is elected by the Landtag. First Minister, Prime Minister and Mayor are titles used in other countries or for municipal offices.

Conducting relations with foreign states is a matter for the federal government (Article 32 of the Basic Law); a foreign ministry therefore exists only at federal level, not in Saxony-Anhalt. Justice, finance and the interior are the state's own portfolios with its own ministers.