the first "regierungsbezirke" were created by the kingdom of prussia in 1808/16, which divided its provinces into 25 "regierungsbezirke". the "regierungsbezirke" of north rhine-westphalia are in direct continuation of those created in 1815. other states of the german empire created similar entities, named "kreishauptmannschaft" (in saxony) or "kreis" (in bavaria and württemberg) (not to be confused with the "kreis" or "landkreis" today). during the third reich, the nazi government unified the naming; since then all these entities are called "regierungsbezirk".