Bergstraße (electoral district) explained

187 Bergstraße
Constituency Type:electoral district
Constituency Link:Bergstraße (electoral district)
Parl Name:Bundestag
Region Label:State
Region:Hesse
Population:270,300 (2019)
Electorate:197,782 (2021)
Towns:Bensheim
Viernheim
Lampertheim
Area:719.5 km2
Year:1949
Party:CDU
Local Council Label:Member
Local Council:Michael Meister
Blank1 Name:Elected
Blank1 Info:2005, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2021

Bergstraße (English: Mountain Road) is an electoral constituency (German: Wahlkreis) represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 187. It is located in southern Hesse, comprising the district of Bergstraße.[1]

Bergstraße was created for the inaugural 1949 federal election. Since 2005, it has been represented by Michael Meister of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).[2]

Geography

Bergstraße is located in southern Hesse. As of the 2021 federal election, it is coterminous with the district of Bergstraße.[1]

History

Bergstraße was created in 1949. In the 1949 election, it was Hesse constituency 22 in the numbering system. From 1953 through 1976, it was number 147. From 1980 through 1998, it was number 145. In the 2002 and 2005 elections, it was number 189. In the 2009 through 2021 elections, it was number 188. From the 2025 election, it has been number 187.

Originally, the constituency was coterminous with the district of Bergstraße. In the 1965 through 1972 elections, it also contained the municipality of Rothenberg from the Erbach district. Since the 1976 election, it has again been coterminous with the Bergstraße district.

Electionwidth=125pxNamewidth=300pxBorders
1949Bergstraße
1953147
1957
1961
1965
1969
1972
1976
1980145
1983
1987
1990
1994
1998
2002189
2005
2009188
2013
2017
2021
2025187

Members

The constituency was first represented by Heinrich von Brentano of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1949 to 1965, followed by Carl Otto Lenz of the CDU until 1969. Wolfgang Schwabe won it for the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in 1969 and served until 1976, when former member Lenz regained it for the CDU. Klaus Kübler won it back to the SPD in 1980, but Lenz was once again elected in 1983. Fellow CDU member Franz-Hermann Kappes then served from 1987 to 1994, followed by Michael Meister until 1998. Christine Lambrecht of the SPD won the constituency in 1998 and was representative until 2005. Former member Meister was elected again in 2005, and re-elected in 2009, 2013, 2017, and 2021.

ElectionMemberParty%
1949Heinrich von BrentanoCDU35.3
195344.9
195750.6
196145.1
bgcolor=1965Carl Otto LenzCDU46.9
1969Wolfgang SchwabeSPD46.0
197251.6
bgcolor=1976Carl Otto LenzCDU48.5
bgcolor=1980Klaus KüblerSPD47.3
bgcolor=1983Carl Otto LenzCDU51.1
1987Franz-Hermann KappesCDU47.8
199046.5
bgcolor=1994Michael MeisterCDU46.7
1998Christine LambrechtSPD45.4
200245.3
2005Michael MeisterCDU44.4
200944.4
201348.3
201738.9
202130.5

Election results

2009 election

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Constituency Bergstraße. Federal Returning Officer.
  2. Web site: Results for Bergstraße. Federal Returning Officer.