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The Dresden town hall
The Dresden town hall

Dresden is a kreisfreie Stadt (which is usually translated as district-free city) in the district structure of Saxony. Dresden (etymologically from Old Sorbian Drežďany, meaning people of the riverside forest, Drježdźany is the Capital city of the German The Free State of Saxony (Freistaat Sachsen ˈzaksən Swobodny Stat Sakska is the easternmost federal state of Germany. It has its own city council and a municipality lead by a Oberbürgermeister (Supreme Burgomaster i. e. mayor) forming the Government of Dresden.

Although politics are defined by the citizens of Dresden which vote both for the local parliament and the executive organ or exert influence per public decision, some local affairs are observed and discussed throughout Germany.

Contents

Municipality and city council

City council

The city council defines the basic principles of the municipality by decrees and statutes. The council gives orders to the burgomaster by voting for resolutions and thus has some executive power. It is elected by the citizenry for a legislature of five years by an election system of three votes per citizen. There an advisory councils for local affairs of senior citizens and immigrants. The ten Ortsamtsbereiche (districts) have an advisory council which has to be heard in district affairs. The Ortschaften (former boroughs) have even smaller councils, which can decide even more freely in local affairs.

The current city council of Dresden has 70 seats. It was elected in 2004 and constists of six political parties:[1]

The three mandates of the Nationale Bündnis (National Pact, which is related to the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany) do not constitute a party. A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral In Politics, a mandate is the Authority granted by an Electorate to act as its representative. The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands) is the largest Political party in Germany. The Left (Die Linke is a German political party that came into being on 16 June 2007 as a merger of The Left Party/PDS the former The Alliance '90/The Greens ( Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) the German Green party, is a Political party in Germany whose regional The Free Democratic Party ( Freie Demokratische Partei, FDP is a liberal Political party in Germany. The German Social Union (Deutsche Soziale Union is a small conservative opposition group active in the eastern German states since 1990 Far right, extreme right, ultra-right, or radical right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group The National Democratic Party of Germany (Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands NPD is a German pan-German nationalist and White nationalist political

There is no persistent governing majority in the city council of Dresden.

Burgomasters

The Supreme Burgomaster is directly elected by the citizens for a term of seven years. Burgomaster (alternatively spelled Burgo[[meister]], literally translated meaning master of the town or master of the Fortress Executive functions are normally elected indirectly in Germany. However, the Supreme Burgomaster shares a lot of executive rights with the city council. Governing majorities can be in opposition to the Supreme Burgomaster. He is the head of the municipality, is responsible for the city's operative affairs, and is ceremonial representative of the city. The highest departments of the municipality are managed by seven burgomasters. The First Burgomaster (currently the burgomaster of culture) is also the deputy to the Supreme Burgomaster. [2]

The current Supreme Burgomaster Ingolf Roßberg was convicted in the first instancein the criminal cases of embezzlement and abetted bankruptcy, but the judgement is not final. The European Court of First Instance, created in 1989 is a court of the European Union. Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets usually financial in nature by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their Creditors Creditors may file a bankruptcy petition against In non-legal contexts a judgment is a balanced weighing up of evidence preparatory to making a decision On the 29th August 2007 the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Court of Law) of the FRG has quashed the judgement. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. In non-legal contexts a judgment is a balanced weighing up of evidence preparatory to making a decision The First Burgomaster and burgomaster of culture Lutz Vogel is standing in for him.

Municipality

The municipality is divided into seven departments and the Mayor's Office. [3]

The City of Dresden owns a lot of institutions and enterprises. Some of them are private companies (for example the Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe (transport authorities), the DREWAG (public services and energy supply), the Messe Dresden (fair ground) or the Zoo Dresden (which is a non-profit GmbH: a limited liability company). A zoological garden, shortened to zoo, is an institution in which living animals are exhibited in captivity Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung ( GmbH) is a type of legal entity very common in Germany (where it was created in 1892 Austria

Local affairs

Architecture (like the deconstructivistic fire escape on the baroque Landhaus) is a persistent subject of controversy in Dresden
Architecture (like the deconstructivistic fire escape on the baroque Landhaus) is a persistent subject of controversy in Dresden

Local affairs in Dresden often center around the urban development of the city. Architecture and design of public places is a specifically controversial subject. The reconstruction of completely destroyed buildings around the Frauenkirche at the Neumarkt square as well as the completely modern Wiener Platz square in front of the Hauptbahnhof train station have been criticized. The discussion of the Waldschlößchenbrücke, which is a planned bridge crossing the Elbe river, received international attention due to it crossing the Dresden Elbe Valley World Heritage Site. The Dresden Elbe Valley is a World Heritage Site in Dresden, Germany. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex Opponents of the bridge are concerned that its construction would cause the loss of the status of a World Heritage site. [4]

The city held a public referendum on whether to build the bridge in 2005. However, at the time of the vote it was not yet known that construction of the bridge would jeopardize Dresden's World Heritage status. This has created further controversy over the bridge proposal, and over the validity of the referendum's results.

In 2006 Dresden sold its publicly subsidized housing organization, WOBA Dresden GmbH, to the US-based private investment company Fortress Investment Group. Fortress Investment Group ( is a New York NY-based asset management firm which manages Private equity, Hedge funds and Real estate and railroad The city received 987. 1 Million Euros and paid off its remaining loans, making it the first large city in Germany to become debt free. Opponents to the sale were concerned about Dresden's loss of control on the subsidized housing market, with that control going to an American private company. Subsidised housing (aka social housing) is government supported accommodation for people with low to moderate incomes The long-term risks were a subject of discussion in national media as were the chances of such sales in other cities. [5]

The construction of a new soccer stadium has been in planning for several years but has not yet been realized. The earliest start date for upgrading the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion is in spring 2007. Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion is a football (soccer stadium in Dresden, Saxony, the home of Dynamo Dresden.

Sister cities

Along with its twin city Coventry, Dresden was one of the first cities to twin with a foreign city. Coventry ( is a city and Metropolitan borough in the County of West Midlands in England. The two cities became twins after World War II in an act of reconciliation as both had been nearly destroyed by bombing during the war.

Coat of arms

The city's coat of arms
The city's coat of arms

Blazon: Party per pale on a golden shield showing a black lion to dexter and two black pales to sinister. Coventry ( is a city and Metropolitan borough in the County of West Midlands in England. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Wrocław (Breslau Vratislav Vratislavia or Wratislavia Yiddish: ברעסלוי) is the chief City of the historical region of Lower Silesia Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Skopje (Скопје; Shkup or Shkupi is the Capital and largest city in the Republic of Macedonia, with more than a quarter of the population The Republic of Macedonia (Република Ostrava ( pronounced, Ostrau Ostrawa is the third largest city in the Czech Republic, however it is the second largest urban agglomeration after Prague The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, ||-||} Brazzaville is the Capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo and is located on the Congo River. The Republic of the Congo (République du Congo Kongo: Repubilika ya Kongo; Lingala: Republiki ya Kongó) also known as Congo-Brazzaville Florence ( Italian: Firenze Florentia and Fiorenza) is the Capital City of the Italian region of Tuscany Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Hamburg (English, German: ˈhambʊɐk local pronunciation Low German / Low Saxon: Hamborg) is the second-largest city in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Rotterdam (pronounced) is the 2nd-largest City by population in the Netherlands, located in the province of The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Strasbourg (Strasbourg stʁazbuʁ Alsatian: Strossburi,; Straßburg) is the capital and principal City of the Alsace région This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. is the fourth-largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Columbus is the Capital and the largest city of the US state of Ohio. Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads The United States of America —commonly referred to as the In Heraldry and heraldic Vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of most often a Coat of arms or Flag, which enables a person to Divisions of the field is a heraldic term referring to the pattern on a shield A shield is a protective device meant to intercept attacks The term often refers to a device that is held in the hand as opposed to Armour or a Bullet proof vest The lion ( Panthera leo) is a member of the family Felidae and one of four Big cats in the Genus Panthera. A pale is a term used in heraldic Blazon and Vexillology to describe a charge on a Coat of arms (or Flag) that takes the form The lion is looking to dexter and has a red tongue. The tongue is the large bundle of Skeletal muscles on the floor of the Mouth that manipulates Food for chewing and swallowing (deglutition The city's colours are derivatively black and yellow (Or). In Heraldry, or (from the French word for gold) is the tincture of gold, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals"

Meaning: The lion was representing the Margraviate of Meissen and the pales called the Landsberger Pfähle were representing the Mark Landsberg both ruling the city of Dresden. The March or Margraviate of Meissen (Mark(grafschaft Meißen was a mediæval principality a march, of the Holy Roman Empire in the area of the modern Since 1309 both coat of arms in combination are verifiably in use. The pales were originally blue but converted to black to differentiate from the two other important Saxon cities of Leipzig and Chemnitz having very similar coat of arms.

References

  1. ^ Dresden: City Council
  2. ^ Dresden: The Mayor of Dresden
  3. ^ Dresden: City Administration
  4. ^ UNESCO: World Heritage Committee threatens to remove Dresden Elbe Valley (Germany) from World Heritage List
  5. ^ Dresden: Selling of the WOBA Dresden GmbH (German)

External links

United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on November 16
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