Complete lookup table for German admin codes in Geonames data? (admin4_code)

Question

I am working with both the postal and Geonames data for Germany. I noticed that while the Postal data may be used as a lookup for ADMIN_CODES 1-3 (ADM1,ADM2,ADM3), it does not mention ADM4 at all.

Does anyone know where to find the lookup table for 'admin4_code' values?

According to http://forum.geonames.org/gforum/posts/list/538.page, this admin code references a 'Gemeinde', an admin field I would like to include in my work, if possible.

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The German dataset I'm working with: http://download.geonames.org/export/dump/DE.zip

The German dataset I'm using as a lookup table for ADMIN CODES: http://download.geonames.org/export/zip/DE.zip

Both zipped folders contain a 'readme.txt' file that outlines the fieldnames in the data.

I am also tracking this question on the Geonames forum: http://forum.geonames.org/gforum/posts/list/2623.page

Answer 1

I've found what I needed. The postal code file for Germany may be used to construct a lookup table for ADM1, ADM2 and ADM3 administrative areas, but not ADM4.

However, upon closer inspection, a lookup table may be constructed for ALL FOUR ADM areas from the German Geonames dataset (http://download.geonames.org/export/dump/DE.zip).

Having imported the file 'DE.txt' into a database, the following query gives me the records of interest:

    SELECT
      NAME,
      ADMIN4_CODE
    FROM DE_imported
    WHERE FEATURE_CLASS='A' and FEATURE_CODE='ADM4'

Somehow, I missed the top section in "GeoNames Feature Codes", which details that FEATURE_CLASS='A' for admin areas.

Thanks to marc, from the Geonames forum, who helped me resolve this issue!