Federal city

The term federal city (Bundesstadt in German) is a title for certain cities in Germany, Switzerland, the Russian Federation, and the United States.

Germany

In Germany, the former capital Bonn has been designated as a federal city. Since April 28, 1994, it is the second official residence of the President of Germany, the Chancellor of Germany, the Bundesrat (upper house), the first official residence of six federal ministries, and approximately 20 federal authorities. For Bonn, Bern etc. this is merely a title, since Bonn is like many other German cities an independent city, but part of a state.

Russia

Russia also has three federal cities: Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Sevastopol though the latter is disputed as Ukraine and most of the international community regards it as a city of Ukraine.

Switzerland

Federal city is the official title of Bern as it is the seat of the Swiss parliament and government.

U.S.

Historically, Washington, D.C. has been called the "Federal City".

Others

Some national capitals, like Astana, Bogota, Brasilia, Buenos Aires, Canberra, Caracas, Jakarta, Mexico City and Seoul, among others, have a federal status, not belonging to any state or province (or being a state or province of their own, as is the case of Moscow, Oslo, Sofia, and other cities. Sometimes this is called a federal district.

See also

• Free city