Gemarkungen

Gemarkungen are cadastral units used in the land administration systems of Germany and some other German-speaking countries. They define a geographically delimited area within a municipality for the purpose of land surveying, land registration, and property management. Each Gemarkung has an official name and code and serves as the top-level unit in the cadastral framework used to describe parcels of land.

Within a Gemarkung, land is divided into smaller units called Fluren and Flurstücke (parcels). A Flur is a broader block or field, while Flurstücke are the individual parcels whose boundaries appear on cadastral maps. The boundaries of a Gemarkung often reflect historical administrative or parish borders and may be subdivided when municipalities are large or have undergone reform.

The primary functions of Gemarkungen are to support land registration and cadastral data management, facilitate property transactions, taxation, and land-use planning, and provide a stable reference framework for identifying land parcels. Property descriptions typically reference the Gemarkung together with the corresponding Flur and Flurstück numbers to specify location and extent.

Administratively, a municipality may comprise one or more Gemarkungen. In larger towns, multiple Gemarkungen with distinct names may exist. The concept remains a foundational element in the cadastre, aligning cadastral maps with municipal boundaries and helping organize land records for governance and planning.

Historically, the Gemarkung system developed from older land survey practices and territorial borders. Today it continues to play a central role in ensuring consistency between maps, land registers, and property rights within the cadastre-driven administration of land.