Landtag Totally Explained

Everything about Landtag totally explained

A Landtag (Diet) is a representative assembly or parliament in German-speaking countries with some legislative authority. The German word "Landtag" is composed of the words Land (meaning state, country, territory) which names a political entity comparable to a federal state (in German Bundesland) and the word Tag (substantive for day, the verbal form tagen means to sit or to hold a meeting).

Prussian Landtag

Since 1466, Prussian Landtag was held in Royal Prussia.

Ancien Régime

In the feudal society, the formal class system was reflected in the composition of the state's 'representative' assembly (The States), regardless of its name well described as estates: it wasn't intended as an elected reflection of the public opinion, but a fixed expression of the established power as recognized in formal privileges, including the right to seat in person (granted to many aristocrats and prelates, as well as certain cities) or be represented as elector in o college that's entitled to one or more seats. In some of the German states that were known as Land, the name of such estates assembly was Landtag, analogous to the Reichstag (imperial Diet, mainly comprising most princes of church and hereditary states plus the Imperial Cities). The precise composition obviously varied greatly, and could change over time, as the result of privileges granted or lost, entities split or merged, border changes etcetera.
As Austria and Prussia escaped the French 'exporting the revolution', and Napoleon was happy to maintain satellite monarchies in most German territories under his control (members of the Confederation of the Rhine), the more democratic principles of the Enlightenment would have less effect in the German-speaking lands, or only much later.
The parliament of Finland, which was created when the country was ceded from Sweden to Russia in 1809, was called lantdag (Swedish for Landtag) until 1919, when Finland adopted its first constitution as an independent country (independence was declared in 1917). Since then, the official term in Swedish is riksdag, eqivalent of the German Reichstag. The Finnish name is eduskunta.

Modern legislatures

In the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Austria and the Italian Republic's (majority German speaking) province of Bolzano-Bozen, a Landtag is a unicameral legislature for a constitutive federal state (Bundesland). In the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Landtag is the sole national parliament, because Liechtenstein (due to its size) has no federal structure.

German Legislatures

In most of the German constitutive federal states (Bundesländer), the unicameral legislature is called "Landtag". In the city states of Hamburg and Bremen, it's called "Bürgerschaft", and in Berlin "Abgeordnetenhaus".

Landtag of Baden-Württemberg
Landtag of Bavaria (Until 1999, the large federal state of Bavaria was the only state with a bicameral legislature, with a lower house called the Landtag, and an upper house called the Senate)
Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin (the new federal and old imperial capital's city-state)
Landtag of Brandenburg
Bürgerschaft of Bremen
Bürgerschaft of Hamburg
Landtag of Hesse
Landtag of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Lower Saxon Landtag (Niedersächsischer Landtag)
Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia
Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate
Landtag of Saarland
Landtag of Saxony
Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt
Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein
Landtag of Thuringia

The national bicameral Parliament comprises the directly elected Bundestag and Bundesrat which represents the constitutive states but which has limited competentce.

Austrian Legislatures

Landtag of Burgenland (Transleithanian, never a separate Crown land)

Landtag of Carinthia

Landtag of Lower Austria

Landtag of Upper Austria

Landtag of Salzburg

Landtag of Styria (Steiermark)

Landtag of Tyrol

Landtag of Vorarlberg

Gemeinderat of Vienna (statehood granted late; not unlike Berlin, it's identical to its municipal 'Gemeinderat', as the federal capital is a city-state: state and municipality at the same time) In seven cases the modern Landtage are the democratic successors of the Landtage of the corresponding imperial Kronlands. Exceptions are the city of Vienna (which belonged to the Lower Austria Kronland) and Burgenland (which belonged to the kingdom of Hungary, in personal union).
Austria's national bicameral parliament, the Bundesversammlung (Federal Assembly), consists of a directly elected Nationalrat (National Council) and a Bundesrat (Federal Council).

Italy

In Italy's predominantly German-speaking province of Bolzano-Bozen the provincial council is called Landtag in German.

Liechtenstein

In the Sovereign principality of Liechtenstein the national parliament is called the Landtag of Liechtenstein.

Sources and references

Donaumonarchie

Further Information

Get more info on 'Landtag'.

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