state. Administration Hesse is a unitary state governed directly by the Hessian government in the capital city Wiesbaden, partially through regional vicarious authorities called Regierungspräsidien. Municipal parliaments are, however, elected independently from the state government by the Hessian people. Local municipalities enjoy a considerable degree of home rule. Districts The state is divided into three administrative provinces (Regierungsbezirke): Kassel in the north and east, Gießen in the centre, and Darmstadt in the south, the latter being the most populous region with the Frankfurt Rhine-Main agglomeration in its central area. The administrative regions have no legislature of their own, but are executive agencies of the state government. Hesse is divided into 21 districts (Kreise) and five independent cities, each with their own local governments. They are, shown with abbreviations as used on vehicle number plates: Bergstraße (Heppenheim) (HP) Darmstadt-Dieburg (Darmstadt) (DA, DI) Groß-Gerau (Groß-Gerau) (GG) Hochtaunuskreis (Bad Homburg) (HG, USI) Main-Kinzig-Kreis (Gelnhausen) (MKK, GN, HU, SLÜ) Main-Taunus-Kreis (Hofheim am Taunus) (MTK) Odenwaldkreis (Erbach) (ERB) Offenbach (Dietzenbach) (OF) Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis (Bad Schwalbach) (RÜD, SWA) Wetteraukreis (Friedberg) (FB, BÜD) Gießen (Gießen) (GI) Lahn-Dill-Kreis (Wetzlar) (LDK, DIL, WZ) Limburg-Weilburg (Limburg) (LM, WEL) Marburg-Biedenkopf (Marburg) (MR, BID) Vogelsbergkreis (Lauterbach) (VB) Fulda (Fulda) (FD) Hersfeld-Rotenburg (Bad Hersfeld) (HEF, ROF) Kassel (Kassel) (KS, HOG, WOH) Schwalm-Eder-Kreis (Homberg (Efze)) (HR, ZIG, FZ) Werra-Meißner-Kreis (Eschwege) (ESW, WIZ) Waldeck-Frankenberg (Korbach) (KB, FKB, WA) Independent cities: Darmstadt (DA) Frankfurt am Main (F) Kassel (KS) Offenbach am Main (OF) Wiesbaden (WI) Rhenish Hesse The term "Rhenish Hesse" () refers to the part of the former Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt located west of the Rhine. It has not been part of the State of Hesse since 1946 due to divisions in the aftermath of World War II. This province is now part of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is a hilly countryside largely devoted to vineyards; therefore, it is also called the "land of the thousand hills". Its larger towns include Mainz, Worms, Bingen, Alzey, Nieder-Olm, and Ingelheim. Many inhabitants commute to work in Mainz, Wiesbaden, or Frankfurt. State symbols and politics Hesse has been a parliamentary republic since 1918, except during Nazi rule (1933–1945). The German federal system has elements of exclusive federal competences, shared competences, and exclusive competences of the states. Hesse is famous for having a rather brisk style in its politics with the ruling parties being either the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) or the center-left Social Democratic Party of