Einbürgerungstest: all 16 Bundesland question sets explained

Every Einbürgerungstest has 33 questions. 30 come from the 300 general questions, and 3 come from the 10 questions for the Bundesland where you have your main residence (Hauptwohnsitz). You only study your own state's set, but you must study all 10 of them.

The 16 sets are built from the same ten templates, so once you know the pattern, each state is mostly a handful of facts:

• 1: Which coat of arms (Wappen) belongs to the state? (picture question)
• 2: Which place is a district (Landkreis), or in the city-states a borough or quarter (Bezirk/Stadtteil), in the state?
• 3: For how many years is the state parliament elected?
• 4: From what age can you vote in local elections?
• 5: What colours is the state flag?
• 6: Where can you get information about politics? (almost always the Landeszentrale für politische Bildung)
• 7: What is the state capital? (in Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg: which state is a city-state)
• 8: Which state on the map is yours? (picture question)
• 9: What is the head of the state government called?
• 10: Which minister (or senator) does the state not have? Always the one for foreign affairs (Außenministerin/Außenminister, or Senator für Außenbeziehungen), because foreign policy is a federal matter.

Questions 1 and 8 show pictures, so look at your state's coat of arms and its position on a map of Germany before test day. Our practice bank covers the eight text questions for every state.

In the 13 territorial states (Flächenländer) the head of government is the Ministerpräsidentin/Ministerpräsident and the state parliament is the Landtag, elected for five years. What differs is the capital, the flag, an example district and the local voting age:

• Baden-Württemberg: capital Stuttgart; flag black-gold; district e.g. Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis; local elections from 16
• Bayern: capital München; flag white-blue; district e.g. Altötting; local elections from 18
• Brandenburg: capital Potsdam; flag red-white; district e.g. Prignitz; local elections from 16
• Hessen: capital Wiesbaden; flag red-white; district e.g. Main-Taunus-Kreis; local elections from 18
• Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: capital Schwerin; flag blue-white-yellow-red; district e.g. Mecklenburgische Seenplatte; local elections from 16
• Niedersachsen: capital Hannover; flag black-red-gold; district e.g. Ammerland; local elections from 16
• Nordrhein-Westfalen: capital Düsseldorf; flag green-white-red; district e.g. Rhein-Sieg-Kreis; local elections from 16
• Rheinland-Pfalz: capital Mainz; flag black-red-gold; district e.g. Westerwaldkreis; local elections from 18
• Saarland: capital Saarbrücken; flag black-red-gold; district e.g. Neunkirchen; local elections from 18
• Sachsen: capital Dresden; flag white-green; district e.g. Vogtlandkreis; local elections from 18
• Sachsen-Anhalt: capital Magdeburg; flag yellow-black; district e.g. Börde; local elections from 16
• Schleswig-Holstein: capital Kiel; flag blue-white-red; district e.g. Nordfriesland; local elections from 16
• Thüringen: capital Erfurt; flag white-red; district e.g. Wartburgkreis; local elections from 16

Note that three states (Niedersachsen, Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland) answer 'black-red-gold' for the flag question: their state flags use the federal colours with the state coat of arms on top.

Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen are city-states (Stadtstaaten): the city is also a federal state. Their questions use different words, which is where most mistakes happen:

• Berlin: parliament is the Abgeordnetenhaus, elected for 5 years; head of government is the Regierende Bürgermeisterin/Regierender Bürgermeister; ministers are called senators; example borough (Bezirk): Pankow; flag white-red; borough elections (Bezirksverordnetenversammlung) from 16
• Hamburg: parliament is the Bürgerschaft, elected for 5 years; head of government is the Erste Bürgermeisterin/Erster Bürgermeister; example borough: Altona; flag white-red; borough elections from 16
• Bremen: parliament is the Bürgerschaft, elected for 4 years (the only state with a four-year term); head of government is the Präsidentin/Präsident des Senats; example quarter (Stadtteil): Hemelingen; flag red-white; Bürgerschaft elections from 16

In all three, the 'which senator does the state not have?' answer is the senator for external relations (Senator für Außenbeziehungen).

• Schleswig-Holstein is the one state without a Landeszentrale für politische Bildung. Its correct answer to question 6 is the state commissioner for civic education (Landesbeauftragte/Landesbeauftragter für politische Bildung).
• Local voting age differs between states. Five states only let you vote in local elections from 18 (Bayern, Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen); in the others it is 16. Bundestag elections are always from 18.
• Wrong answer options are often real districts or capitals of other states (for example Altötting in Bayern appears as a wrong option for other states). Knowing which state a name belongs to helps you rule it out.
• Do not mix up 'Bürgermeister' (mayor of a town) with the heads of government of Hamburg (Erster Bürgermeister) and Berlin (Regierender Bürgermeister).

You are tested on the state where you have your main residence when you take the test, because that is the questionnaire the test centre uses. If you are moving, check with the test centre which state's questions you will get, and study that set. The general 300 questions stay the same everywhere. Facts like voting ages can change when a state amends its laws; the official catalogue on bamf.de is the reference for the test.