knowledge Overview
The Free State of Saxony lies in eastern Germany and borders Poland and the Czech Republic. The state capital is Dresden, the largest city Leipzig. The state covers around 18,450 km² and has about 4.06 million inhabitants (2022 census). Its ISO-3166-2 code is DE-SN. Saxony joined the Federal Republic in 1990 in the course of reunification and, as one of three federal states, bears the title "Free State".
Administrative divisions
The government regions of Chemnitz, Dresden and Leipzig were converted into directorates (Direktionsbezirke) in 2008 and merged on 1 March 2012 into the Landesdirektion Sachsen as a single state middle authority. Below the state level, since the 2008 district reform there have been 10 rural districts and 3 urban districts (Chemnitz, Dresden, Leipzig); the number of municipalities fell to 418.
Major cities
- Leipzig (around 620,000 inhabitants)
- Dresden (around 560,000 inhabitants)
- Chemnitz (around 250,000 inhabitants)
- Zwickau (around 87,000 inhabitants)
- Görlitz (around 55,000 inhabitants)
Transport
Dresden and Leipzig are important ICE hubs; the ICE 50 connects Dresden via Leipzig with Frankfurt am Main and Munich. The A 4 and A 9 cross in the state, and Leipzig/Halle Airport is a central cargo airport.
Economy
Saxony is the strongest industrial state in eastern Germany, with a semiconductor industry ("Silicon Saxony" in Dresden), automotive manufacturing (Volkswagen in Zwickau), mechanical engineering and a growing innovation-driven economy in Leipzig and Dresden.