Bautzen I is an electoral constituency ( German: ''Wahlkreis'') represented in the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

. It elects one member via

first-past-the-post voting First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or first-preference, and the candidate with more first- ...

. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 155. It is located in eastern

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, comprising most of the Bautzen district. Bautzen I was created for the 2009 federal election. Since 2017, it has been represented by Karsten Hilse of the

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...

(AfD).

Geography

Bautzen I is located in eastern

. As of the 2021 federal election, it comprises the entirety of the Bautzen district, excluding five south-western municipalities near Dresden: Arnsdorf, Großröhrsdorf, Ottendorf-Okrilla,

Radeberg Radeberg is a small town in the Bautzen (district), district of Bautzen, Saxony, Germany. It is located approximately 20 kilometres north-east of Dresden. The town has an Evangelical and a Roman Catholic church, and an old castle. History Rade ...

, and

Wachau The Wachau () is an Austrian valley formed by the Danube River. It is one of the most prominent tourism in Austria, tourist destinations of Lower Austria, located between the towns of Melk and Krems an der Donau, Krems that attracts epicureans ...

(these five have been part of Dresden II – Bautzen II since

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

). The constituency is in the central area of Sorbian settlement and of the

Upper Sorbian language Upper Sorbian (), occasionally referred to as Wendish (), is a minority language spoken by Sorbs in the historical province of Upper Lusatia, today part of Saxony, Germany. It is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language, along with Lower ...

, of which many cultural institutions are housed in the town of Bautzen/Budyšin.

History

Bautzen I was created in 2009 and contained parts of the abolished constituencies of ''Kamenz – Hoyerswerda – Großenhain'' and ''Bautzen – Weißwasser''. In the 2009 election, it was constituency 157 in the numbering system. In the 2013 through 2021 elections, it was number 156. From the 2025 election, it has been number 155. Its borders have not changed since its creation.

Members

The constituency was first represented by Maria Michalk of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 2009 to 2017. Karsten Hilse of the AfD was elected in 2017 and re-elected in 2021.

Election results

2025 election

2021 election

2017 election

2013 election

2009 election

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bautzen I Federal electoral districts in Saxony 2009 establishments in Germany Constituencies established in 2009 Bautzen (district)