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http://www.friesian.com/deutsch.htm
Francia Orientalis, Germany
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The German Confederation, 1815-1866
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Believe it or not, the Congress of Vienna in 1815 greatly simplified the political division of Germany. The Holy Roman Empire of 1648 contained 234 territorial units, with 51 Free Cities, and multiple ecclesiastical states, like the great Archbishoprics of Salzburg, Magdeburg, and Trier and the Bishopric of MÃÆ’ Ô�Å¡¼nster. Nevertheless, th
32 entities that remained after Vienna (with only 4 Free Cities and no ecclesiastical territories) were still a mess. The "German Confederation" established by the Congress (which makes it sound
like the successor of Napoleon's "Confederation of the Rhine"), with exac
tly the same boundaries as the Empire of 1648, had even less power than the state that, according to Voltaire, was neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire. As an institution the Confederation collapsed when Prussia and Austria went to war in 1866. All the pieces, except for Austria itself, Liechtenstein, and Luxembourg, were then scooped up by Prussia into the new German Empire of 1871. The maps here are based on E.J. Passant, A Short History of Germany, 1815-1945 [Cambridge University Press, 1962]. Some errors in Passant are corrected with sources listed at individual listings. At this scale some detail is lost: There is even more fragmenation than what you see here (e.g. Brunswick was in seven pieces, not just five). No
te that in each map, territories in yellow are possessions of non-German states.
Empire of Austria
The Austrian Empire was self-proclaimed by the Hapsburgs after Napoleon crow
ned himself Emperor in 1804.
Since Napoleon already was obviously not going to allow the electi
on
of another Hapsburg as Holy Roman Emperor,
and actually did abolish the Empire in 1806,
they were one step ahead of him.
Kingdom of Prussia, creates German Empire, 1871
Kingdom of Bavaria, joins German Empire, 1871
Kingdom of Saxony, joins German Empire, 1871
Kingdom of Hanover, to Prussia, 1866
Kingdom of WÃÆ’ Ô�Å¡¼rttemberg, joins German Empire, 1871
Since the original mediaeval Empire was based
on the Kingdom of the East Franks, it never made any sense
that there would be other kingdoms inside it.
Bohemia was acquired and created a Kingdom by the German Emperors,
perhaps with the sense that it was still in some sense external to East Fran
cia; and the Margrave of Brandenburg became the King of Prussia,
far outside the Empire. The other Kingdoms were all created either
by Napoleon or by the Congress of Vienna after the Holy Ro
man Empire
was abolished.
The Kingdom of Saxony suffered the most at the Congress of Vienna,
penalized by Prussia for having been an a
lly of France.
Bavaria, although it had been an ally of France also,
did rather well at Vienna, retaining the family lands in both
the Rhenish and the Upper Palatinate and the extensive lands
that had been attached to it by Napoleon.
The King of Hanover was also the King of England until 1837,
when the Salic Law passed over Queen Victoria.
Later this left Hanover, as an ally of Austria, at the mercy of Prussia.
Electorate of Hesse-Cassel, to Prussia, 1866
Napoleon made the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel an Elector of the Holy Roman Empire in 1803. Since this was a much better title than Landgrave, the ruler o
f Hesse-Cassel got it recognized at the Congress of Vienna. So, until 1866, there was still one Elector of the non-existent Holy Roman Emperor.
Grand Duchy of Baden, joins German Empi
re, 1871
Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, joins German Empire, 1871
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Netherlands; independent, 1890
Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg, joins German Empire, 1871
Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar, joins German Empire, 1871
Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, joins German Empire, 1871
Luxembourg lost half its territory when Belgium became independent in 1830. Then in 1890 the Salic Law prevented Queen Wilhelmina from inheriting the Duchy and it became independent.
Later, the Salic Law was simply set aside, and two Grand Duchesses have since ruled.
Duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg, Denmark; to Austria, 1864; to Prussia, 1866
Duchy of Brunswick, joins German Empire, 1871
Duchy of Saxe-Gotha, passes to Saxe-Coburg, 1826
Duchy of Saxe-Coburg, joins Ge
rman Empire, 1871
Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, joins German Empire, 1871
Duchy of Saxe-Hildburghausen, passes to Saxe-Meiningen, 1826
Duchy and Principality of Nassau, Usingen, &
amp; Nassau-Weilburg, to Prussia, 1866
The Duchies of Holstein and Laurenburg were ruled by Denmark, together with the Danish Duchy of Schleswig, which contained both German and Danish speakers. Prussia and Austria occupied
the Duchies in 1864, with Austria taking Holstein and Prussia Schleswig. A falling out over this led to the Prussian defeat of Austria in 1866, with Prussia taking all the Duchies. Part of Schleswig was returned to Denmark after World War I, when a plebiscite was mandated by the Treaty of Versailles. A son of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Albert, married Queen Victoria of England. Their daughter Victoria married the future Emperor Frederick of Germany. They became the parents of Emperor Wilhelm II.
Duchies of Anhalt (Dessau, Bernburg, & KÃÆ’¶then),
united 1863, joins Germa
n Empire, 1871
Principality of Schwarzburg, joins German Empire, 1871
Principality of Hohenzollern, ceded to Prussia, 1849
Principality of Liechtenstein, independent, 1866 <b
r>Principality of Waldeck, joins German Empire, 1871
Principality of ReuÃƒÔ ’Ô� ’Ãâ┚¬ ’ÃƒÔ ’â┚¬� ’ÃƒÔ ’Ô� ’â┚¬¦Ãƒ¢Ã¢”š¬Ã…¡ÃƒÆ’”�Å¡¸, joins German Empire, 1871
Principality of Lippe (Schaumburg & Detmold), joins German Empire, 1871
Langravate of Hesse-Homburg, to Hesse-Darmstadt then Prussia, 1
866
Principality of Layen (?!), to Baden, 1814
Liechtenstein discovered, to everyone's surprise,
that it was one of the Allies in World War II,
because it had never formally ended hostilities,
as an ally of Austria, against Prussia in 1866.
Passant [A Short History of Germany, 1815-1945] shows some mistakes when it comes to these states. His source, which he says is a map, The German Confederated States [London, 1839], must have contained the errors: (1) What he shows as the "Principalities" of Anhalt had become Duchies in 180
6/7; (2) What he shows as the "Principality" of Hesse-Homberg was never a Principality but only a Landgravate; and (3) The Principality of Layen, listed by Passant, is not
actually shown on the map. This curiosity is treated under the entry in question. The 1839 map was evidently not quite up to date with some of the small domains.
Free City of Bremen, joins German Empire, 1871
Free City of Frankfurt-am-Main, to Prussia, 1866
Free City of Ham
burg, joins German Empire, 1871
Free City of LÃÆ’ Ô�Å¡¼beck, joins German Empire, 1871
There had been 51 Free Cities under the Holy Roman Empire.
Vienna cut this down to four.
Frankfurt held a special status, both as the place of the election of the old Emperors (of their coronation too, after Ferdinand I, and of their portraits,
held in the RÃÆ’¶mer Saal), and as the headquarters of the German Confederation,
where a German National Assembly was convened in 1848.
The triumph of Prussia
ended both Frankfurt's independence and its status.
I would like to know why, when West Germany needed a more practical capital than the isolated Berlin,
it ch
oose the obscure Bonn rather than Frankfurt,
whose historical associations were not only of mediaeval Germany,
but of liberal and republican movements in the 19th century.
Now, with a reunited Germany, the capital has returned to Berlin,
whose associations are entirely of Prussia, Kaiser, and Hitler.
```````````````````
`````````````````````````````````````````
There are some fine maps at the link.
http://www.friesian.com/deutsch.htm
Francia Orientalis, Germany
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The German Confederation, 1815-1866
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Believe it or not, the Congress of Vienna in 1815 greatly simplified the political division of Germany. The Holy Roman Empire of 1648 contained 234 territorial units, with 51 Free Cities, and multiple ecclesiastical states, like the great Archbishoprics of Salzburg, Magdeburg, and Trier and the Bishopric of MÃÆ’ Ô�Å¡¼nster. Nevertheless, th
32 entities that remained after Vienna (with only 4 Free Cities and no ecclesiastical territories) were still a mess. The "German Confederation" established by the Congress (which makes it sound
like the successor of Napoleon's "Confederation of the Rhine"), with exac
tly the same boundaries as the Empire of 1648, had even less power than the state that, according to Voltaire, was neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire. As an institution the Confederation collapsed when Prussia and Austria went to war in 1866. All the pieces, except for Austria itself, Liechtenstein, and Luxembourg, were then scooped up by Prussia into the new German Empire of 1871. The maps here are based on E.J. Passant, A Short History of Germany, 1815-1945 [Cambridge University Press, 1962]. Some errors in Passant are corrected with sources listed at individual listings. At this scale some detail is lost: There is even more fragmenation than what you see here (e.g. Brunswick was in seven pieces, not just five). No
te that in each map, territories in yellow are possessions of non-German states.
Empire of Austria
The Austrian Empire was self-proclaimed by the Hapsburgs after Napoleon crow
ned himself Emperor in 1804.
Since Napoleon already was obviously not going to allow the electi
on
of another Hapsburg as Holy Roman Emperor,
and actually did abolish the Empire in 1806,
they were one step ahead of him.
Kingdom of Prussia, creates German Empire, 1871
Kingdom of Bavaria, joins German Empire, 1871
Kingdom of Saxony, joins German Empire, 1871
Kingdom of Hanover, to Prussia, 1866
Kingdom of WÃÆ’ Ô�Å¡¼rttemberg, joins German Empire, 1871
Since the original mediaeval Empire was based
on the Kingdom of the East Franks, it never made any sense
that there would be other kingdoms inside it.
Bohemia was acquired and created a Kingdom by the German Emperors,
perhaps with the sense that it was still in some sense external to East Fran
cia; and the Margrave of Brandenburg became the King of Prussia,
far outside the Empire. The other Kingdoms were all created either
by Napoleon or by the Congress of Vienna after the Holy Ro
man Empire
was abolished.
The Kingdom of Saxony suffered the most at the Congress of Vienna,
penalized by Prussia for having been an a
lly of France.
Bavaria, although it had been an ally of France also,
did rather well at Vienna, retaining the family lands in both
the Rhenish and the Upper Palatinate and the extensive lands
that had been attached to it by Napoleon.
The King of Hanover was also the King of England until 1837,
when the Salic Law passed over Queen Victoria.
Later this left Hanover, as an ally of Austria, at the mercy of Prussia.
Electorate of Hesse-Cassel, to Prussia, 1866
Napoleon made the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel an Elector of the Holy Roman Empire in 1803. Since this was a much better title than Landgrave, the ruler o
f Hesse-Cassel got it recognized at the Congress of Vienna. So, until 1866, there was still one Elector of the non-existent Holy Roman Emperor.
Grand Duchy of Baden, joins German Empi
re, 1871
Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, joins German Empire, 1871
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Netherlands; independent, 1890
Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg, joins German Empire, 1871
Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar, joins German Empire, 1871
Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, joins German Empire, 1871
Luxembourg lost half its territory when Belgium became independent in 1830. Then in 1890 the Salic Law prevented Queen Wilhelmina from inheriting the Duchy and it became independent.
Later, the Salic Law was simply set aside, and two Grand Duchesses have since ruled.
Duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg, Denmark; to Austria, 1864; to Prussia, 1866
Duchy of Brunswick, joins German Empire, 1871
Duchy of Saxe-Gotha, passes to Saxe-Coburg, 1826
Duchy of Saxe-Coburg, joins Ge
rman Empire, 1871
Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, joins German Empire, 1871
Duchy of Saxe-Hildburghausen, passes to Saxe-Meiningen, 1826
Duchy and Principality of Nassau, Usingen, &
amp; Nassau-Weilburg, to Prussia, 1866
The Duchies of Holstein and Laurenburg were ruled by Denmark, together with the Danish Duchy of Schleswig, which contained both German and Danish speakers. Prussia and Austria occupied
the Duchies in 1864, with Austria taking Holstein and Prussia Schleswig. A falling out over this led to the Prussian defeat of Austria in 1866, with Prussia taking all the Duchies. Part of Schleswig was returned to Denmark after World War I, when a plebiscite was mandated by the Treaty of Versailles. A son of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Albert, married Queen Victoria of England. Their daughter Victoria married the future Emperor Frederick of Germany. They became the parents of Emperor Wilhelm II.
Duchies of Anhalt (Dessau, Bernburg, & KÃÆ’¶then),
united 1863, joins Germa
n Empire, 1871
Principality of Schwarzburg, joins German Empire, 1871
Principality of Hohenzollern, ceded to Prussia, 1849
Principality of Liechtenstein, independent, 1866 <b
r>Principality of Waldeck, joins German Empire, 1871
Principality of ReuÃƒÔ ’Ô� ’Ãâ┚¬ ’ÃƒÔ ’â┚¬� ’ÃƒÔ ’Ô� ’â┚¬¦Ãƒ¢Ã¢”š¬Ã…¡ÃƒÆ’”�Å¡¸, joins German Empire, 1871
Principality of Lippe (Schaumburg & Detmold), joins German Empire, 1871
Langravate of Hesse-Homburg, to Hesse-Darmstadt then Prussia, 1
866
Principality of Layen (?!), to Baden, 1814
Liechtenstein discovered, to everyone's surprise,
that it was one of the Allies in World War II,
because it had never formally ended hostilities,
as an ally of Austria, against Prussia in 1866.
Passant [A Short History of Germany, 1815-1945] shows some mistakes when it comes to these states. His source, which he says is a map, The German Confederated States [London, 1839], must have contained the errors: (1) What he shows as the "Principalities" of Anhalt had become Duchies in 180
6/7; (2) What he shows as the "Principality" of Hesse-Homberg was never a Principality but only a Landgravate; and (3) The Principality of Layen, listed by Passant, is not
actually shown on the map. This curiosity is treated under the entry in question. The 1839 map was evidently not quite up to date with some of the small domains.
Free City of Bremen, joins German Empire, 1871
Free City of Frankfurt-am-Main, to Prussia, 1866
Free City of Ham
burg, joins German Empire, 1871
Free City of LÃÆ’ Ô�Å¡¼beck, joins German Empire, 1871
There had been 51 Free Cities under the Holy Roman Empire.
Vienna cut this down to four.
Frankfurt held a special status, both as the place of the election of the old Emperors (of their coronation too, after Ferdinand I, and of their portraits,
held in the RÃÆ’¶mer Saal), and as the headquarters of the German Confederation,
where a German National Assembly was convened in 1848.
The triumph of Prussia
ended both Frankfurt's independence and its status.
I would like to know why, when West Germany needed a more practical capital than the isolated Berlin,
it ch
oose the obscure Bonn rather than Frankfurt,
whose historical associations were not only of mediaeval Germany,
but of liberal and republican movements in the 19th century.
Now, with a reunited Germany, the capital has returned to Berlin,
whose associations are entirely of Prussia, Kaiser, and Hitler.
```````````````````
`````````````````````````````````````````
There are some fine maps at the link.