In
Austria, the word Bezirk is used with different meanings in three different contexts:
Some of the tasks of the administrative branch of the national and regional governments are fulfilled by the 95
district captaincies (Bezirkshauptmannschaften, also translated as district administrative office). The area a district administrative office is responsible for is often, although informally, called a district (Bezirk). A number of
statutory cities, currently 15, are not served by any district administrative office. Their respective municipal bureaucracies handle the tasks normally performed by the district administrative office.
The cities of
Vienna and
Graz are divided into municipal districts (Stadtbezirke), assisting the respective municipal governments.
From the point of view of the
judiciary of Austria, the country is subdivided into 115 judicial districts (Gerichtsbezirke), each corresponding to one of the country's 115 lowest-level trial courts.
The
districts of Switzerland are called Bezirke in several
cantons. In
Switzerland as a federal state, every canton is free to implement its own administrative structure. The intermediate administrative level above the
Swiss municipalities is also referred to as Verwaltungsregion or Verwaltungskreis, Wahlkreis, Amtei or Amt, as well as
French: districts in
Suisse romande and
Italian: distretto in Svizzera italiana. In
Schwyz, the six historic Bezirke are self-governing bodies, some with regional Landsgemeinde assemblies, similar to the municipal Kreise of
Graubünden. The six Bezirke of
Appenzell Innerrhoden are identically equal to municipalities.