Hamblock/Wessels has "kreisfrei" down as "autonomous".
I found the following on the net (it's about Bonn, which is in North Rhine Westphalia).

"Being the capital, Bonn became bigger (incorporating the former autonomous cities of Beuel and Bad Godesberg and now counting about 300.000 inhabitants) and it gained a world-open atmosphere. "

Hope this helps

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Note added at 2002-06-27 14:11:24 (GMT)
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As I understand it, there is the \"Landkreis\" (rural district) with its \"Kreisstädte\" (district towns) and then there are the \"autonomous cities\", which are not part of the Landkreis, i.e. autonomous.

This is the translation given by Eurodicautom, along with "urban commune". The Collins German dictionary does not give a translation, but defines this as "town which is an administrative district in its own right". So I would go for "urban municipality".

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Note added at 2002-06-27 11:56:14 (GMT)
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Sorry, should be plural: \"urban municipalities\".

For an American audience, I would make reference to being independent of the county government since that is the closest governemental form to a Landkreis.

in elaboration on Klaus' answer, here is what the referenced EU docuemnt says:

KREISFREIE STADT: As this is exactly the same level as a Stadtkreis, the translation urban district will generally be satisfactory. Should it be necessary to distinguish between this term and a Stadtkreis, use town constituting a district in its own right.
STADTKREIS: Translate as urban district.

Thus in your context, 'urban district' would not be appropriate'

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Note added at 2002-06-27 12:12:46 (GMT)
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There is actually no exact equivalent to a Landkreis in the US; \'amalgamated municipalities\' perhaps comes close. Most towns or cities in NA are actually equivalent to Kreisfreie Städte, with amalgamation being the exception except for large urban conglomorations (which is opposite to the situation in Germany). The level of administrative integration (relative lack of local authority) is much higher in a Landkreis than in a county.

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Note added at 2002-06-27 12:22:51 (GMT)
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And more (inspired by Steffen\'s \'in addition\' comment): in (NA) English, \'urban district\' in general is urban planning jargon for any area that is not (predominantly) rural, and more specifically it is officialese for the adminstrative domain of a town or city. In the latter sense, the EU suggestion makes sense, but only in the context of civil administration (and more particularly in the context of German civil administration). The potential for misunderstanding in English is real.

Although Klaus is right with his option, you may want to more clearly distinguish the kreisfreie Stadt (i.e. an independent, self-governing administrative unit which forms a district in its own right) from Städte/towns belonging to a district and being subordinated to a Kreisstadt. My suggestion tries to emphasise the independent and autonomous character of such towns.

In addition, I am not sure whether Klaus's suggestion of "urban district" could be mistakenly interpreted as "Stadtbezirk" (i.e. part of a larger town/city), which is an entirely different administrative category.

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Note added at 2002-06-27 12:14:11 (GMT)
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Adding to my first paragraph: ...or to distinguish \"kreisfreie Städte\" from \"Kreisstädte\" themselves (i.e. self-governing towns/cities vs urban/district municipalities; see also my comment on Rowan\'s suggestion).

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Note added at 2002-06-27 12:23:32 (GMT)
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plural of course:

...towns/cities

in U.S. usage.

Siehe: Town of Kittery, Maine:

"The oldest incorporated town in Maine"
Incorporated in 1647

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Note added at 2002-06-27 16:58:53 (GMT)
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Here my adopted home, the city of Baltimore, states as follows:

BALTIMORE CITY, MARYLAND
Origin: Baltimore City was incorporated in 1796 (Chapter 68, Acts of 1796). The City name was derived from the Proprietary\'s Irish Barony. As a governmental unit, the City separated from Baltimore County in 1851.

http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/mdmanual/36loc/bcity/h...

Okay, you have a list of terms - administrative districts, counties, free cities. Those three are descriptive of what you want to say.

"Free city" has a different historical meaning in Germany, but I really don't think that would play in here. And they will be cities, not towns at any rate.

The fact that you have "district" for the "Regierungsbezirk" actually rules out the use of that word again in either "urban district" or "rural district", right?



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Note added at 2002-06-28 00:58:47 (GMT)
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I apologize for saying that Washington DC is both a \"kreisfreie Stadt\" and a city-state. However, in English I could say that it is both a free city and a city-state (and oh gosh, let\'s forget that they call it neither of those, but the \"District of Columbia\" instead).