Bremen is a city-state made up of two cities.

City-state describes constitutional status, not size.

A large city does not become a federal state merely because it has many residents. City-state here describes a particular structure within German federalism. Like the other states, Bremen has a state parliament and a state government: the Bürgerschaft and the Senate.

The name Bremen can mean the city or the entire federal state. Hemelingen, for example, belongs to the city. The federal state additionally includes Bremerhaven as a separate municipality. In this test question, Bremen means the federal state.

The other three answers

Not every well-known city also has the status of a federal state.

Bremen does not fit the simplified formula “exactly one city”.

Berlin and Hamburg are each a city and a federal state. In Bremen, the second city of Bremerhaven is also included. City-state remains the correct term, while the more precise addition two-city state keeps Bremerhaven visible in the explanation.

State and local politics must still be distinguished. The Bürgerschaft as state parliament represents the whole state. The municipality of Bremen has the Stadtbürgerschaft, while Bremerhaven has its own municipal institutions. The two cities are therefore not simply two names for the same municipality.