Saarbrücken (district)
| Saarbrücken | |
|---|---|
| District | |
 |
|
| Country |
 Germany
|
| State | Saarland |
| Founded | 1816 |
| Capital | Saarbrücken |
| Government | |
| • District admin. | Peter Gillo (SPD) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 410.62 km2 (158.54 sq mi) |
| Population (31 December 2015) | |
| • Total | 327,380 |
| • Density | 800/km2 (2,100/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| Vehicle registration | SB (Völklingen: VK) |
| Website | regionalverband-saarbruecken.de |
The Regionalverband Saarbrücken is a Kommunalverband besonderer Art, an integration of a district (Kreis) and a district-free town. It is located in the south of the Saarland, Germany. Neighboring districts are Saarlouis, Neunkirchen, Saar-Pfalz, and the French département Moselle.
The district Saarbrücken was originally created in 1816. In 1974, the district and the district-free city Saarbrücken were merged, and the new administrative body was named Stadtverband Saarbrücken. Although it's not a district like others, most of its administrative tasks are the same as those of a district.
On November 21, 2007, the governing majority of the CDU in the parliament of Saarland passed a law which transformed the Stadtverband Saarbrücken into the Regionalverband Saarbrücken on January 1, 2008. The most striking change by this transformation was the introduction of the Kooperationsrat, a council of officials of the towns and municipalities which exercises some of the powers of Municipal corporation alongside the district council (Regionalversammlung, the local equivalent of the Kreistag). As the directly elected Regionalversammlung represents the population, while the members of the Kooperationsrat are picked by the towns or municipalities which they represent, there is a debate whether the competences of the not-directly-elected Kooperationsrat infringe on the constitutional right of the directly elected Regionalversammlung to exert all powers of Municipal corporation.
The Saar River flows through the district, through the city Saarbrücken in the center of the district.
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