Landschaftsverband

From Landschaft (“region, territory, landscape”) +‎ -s- +‎ Verband (“association”).

• IPA^(key): [ˈlantʃaftsfɛɐ̯ˌbant]

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• Hyphenation: Land‧schafts‧ver‧band

Landschaftsverband m (strong, genitive Landschaftsverbandes or Landschaftsverbands, plural Landschaftsverbände)

1. (North Rhine-Westphalia) either of two public corporations or bodies uniting the municipalities of the two parts of the state, respectively the (northern) Rhineland and Westphalia-Lippe, forming the highest level of communal or local government
2. (Lower Saxony) any of a number of registered societies that municipalities have formed with the aim of fostering regional cultures and traditions

• In North Rhine-Westphalia, the Landschaftsverband Rheinland corresponds to the Regierungsbezirke of Cologne and Düsseldorf, while the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe corresponds to the Regierungsbezirke of Arnsberg, Detmold and Münster. However, this correspondence is more or less coincidental. The Regierungsbezirke are bodies of the state (top down), whereas the Landschaftsverbände are corporations of the municipalities (bottom up).