Wikipedia
List of historic states of Germany
Germany is traditionally a country organized as a federal state. After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the German-speaking territories of the empire became allied in the German Confederation (1815–1866), a league of states with some federalistic elements. After the Austro-Prussian War, Prussia led the Northern states into a federal state called the North German Confederation (1867–1870). The Southern states joined the federal state in 1870/71, which was consequently renamed the German Empire (1871–1918). The state continued as the Weimar Republic (1919–1933).
Present-day Germany is a federal republic which combines the States of Germany.
States of the German Confederation edit
| State | Capital | |
|---|---|---|
| Empires (Kaisertümer) | ||
| Austria (Österreich) (only western Cisleithania) | Vienna | |
| Kingdoms (Königreiche) | ||
| Bavaria (Bayern) | Munich | |
| Hanover (Hannover) | Hanover | |
| Prussia (Preußen) (excluding Posen, East Prussia and West Prussia) | Berlin | |
| Saxony (Sachsen) | Dresden | |
| Württemberg | Stuttgart | |
| Electorates (Kurfürstentum) | ||
| Hesse-Kassel (Hessen-Kassel) | Kassel | |
| Grand Duchies (Großherzogtümer) | ||
| Baden | Karlsruhe | |
| Hesse-Darmstadt (Hessen-Darmstadt) | Darmstadt | |
| Luxembourg (Luxemburg) | Luxembourg | |
| Mecklenburg-Schwerin | Schwerin | |
| Mecklenburg-Strelitz | Neustrelitz | |
| Oldenburg | Oldenburg | |
| Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) | Weimar | |
| Duchies (Herzogtümer) | ||
| Anhalt – from 1863 | Dessau | |
| Brunswick (Braunschweig) | Braunschweig | |
| Holstein | Glückstadt | |
| Limburg – from 1839 | N/A | |
| Nassau | Wiesbaden | |
| Saxe-Altenburg (Sachsen-Altenburg) – from 1826 | Altenburg | |
| Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha) – from 1826 | Coburg | |
| Saxe-Lauenburg | Ratzeburg | |
| Saxe-Meiningen (Sachsen-Meiningen) | Meiningen | |
| Principalities (Fürstentümer) | ||
| Hohenzollern-Hechingen – to Prussia in 1850 | Hechingen | |
| Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen – to Prussia in 1850 | Sigmaringen | |
| Liechtenstein | Vaduz | |
| Lippe | Detmold | |
| Reuss-Gera (Junior Line) | Gera | |
| Reuss-Greiz (Elder Line) | Greiz | |
| Schaumburg-Lippe | Bückeburg | |
| Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt | Rudolstadt | |
| Schwarzburg-Sondershausen | Sondershausen | |
| Waldeck and Pyrmont (Waldeck und Pyrmont) | Arolsen | |
| Landgraviates (Landgrafschaft) | ||
| Hesse-Homburg (Hessen-Homburg) – from 1817 | Bad Homburg | |
| Free Cities (Freie Städte) | ||
| Bremen | ||
| Frankfurt | ||
| Hamburg | ||
| Lübeck | ||
| States merged to form Anhalt | ||
| Anhalt-Dessau – merged with Anhalt-Bernburg in 1863 | Dessau | |
| Anhalt-Bernburg – merged with Anhalt-Dessau in 1863 | Bernburg | |
| Anhalt-Köthen – merged with Anhalt-Dessau in 1853 | Köthen | |
| States split between Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Meiningen, and Saxe-Altenburg in 1826 | ||
| Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg) | Gotha | |
| Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld) | Coburg | |
| Saxe-Hildburghausen (Sachsen-Hildburghausen) | Hildburghausen | |
In 1864, Austria and Prussia together became the new sovereign of Holstein (a member of the confederation) and Schleswig (outside the confederation).
States of the North German Confederation edit
| State | Capital | |
|---|---|---|
| Kingdoms (Königreiche) | ||
| Prussia (Preußen) as a whole (including Lauenburg) | Berlin | |
| Saxony (Sachsen) | Dresden | |
| Grand Duchies (Großherzogtümer) | ||
| Hesse (Hessen) (Only Upper Hesse, the province north of the river Main) | Giessen | |
| Mecklenburg-Schwerin | Schwerin | |
| Mecklenburg-Strelitz | Neustrelitz | |
| Oldenburg | Oldenburg | |
| Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) | Weimar | |
| Duchies (Herzogtümer) | ||
| Anhalt | Dessau | |
| Brunswick (Braunschweig) | Braunschweig | |
| Saxe-Altenburg (Sachsen-Altenburg) | Altenburg | |
| Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha) | Coburg | |
| Saxe-Meiningen (Sachsen-Meiningen) | Meiningen | |
| Principalities (Fürstentümer) | ||
| Lippe | Detmold | |
| Reuss-Gera (Junior Line) | Gera | |
| Reuss-Greiz (Elder Line) | Greiz | |
| Schaumburg-Lippe | Bückeburg | |
| Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt | Rudolstadt | |
| Schwarzburg-Sondershausen | Sondershausen | |
| Waldeck and Pyrmont (Waldeck und Pyrmont) | Arolsen | |
| Free and Hanseatic Cities (Freie und Hansestädte) | ||
| Bremen | ||
| Hamburg | ||
| Lübeck | ||
States of the German Empire edit
| State | Capital | |
|---|---|---|
| Kingdoms (Königreiche) | ||
| Prussia (Preußen) as a whole | Berlin | |
| Bavaria (Bayern) | Munich | |
| Saxony (Sachsen) | Dresden | |
| Württemberg | Stuttgart | |
| Grand Duchies (Großherzogtümer) | ||
| Baden | Karlsruhe | |
| Hesse (Hessen) | Darmstadt | |
| Mecklenburg-Schwerin | Schwerin | |
| Mecklenburg-Strelitz | Neustrelitz | |
| Oldenburg | Oldenburg | |
| Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) | Weimar | |
| Duchies (Herzogtümer) | ||
| Anhalt | Dessau | |
| Brunswick (Braunschweig) | Braunschweig | |
| Saxe-Altenburg (Sachsen-Altenburg) | Altenburg | |
| Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha) | Coburg | |
| Saxe-Meiningen (Sachsen-Meiningen) | Meiningen | |
| Principalities (Fürstentümer) | ||
| Lippe | Detmold | |
| Reuss-Gera (Junior Line) | Gera | |
| Reuss-Greiz (Elder Line) | Greiz | |
| Schaumburg-Lippe | Bückeburg | |
| Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt | Rudolstadt | |
| Schwarzburg-Sondershausen | Sondershausen | |
| Waldeck and Pyrmont (Waldeck und Pyrmont) | Arolsen | |
| Free and Hanseatic Cities (Freie und Hansestädte) | ||
| Bremen | ||
| Hamburg | ||
| Lübeck | ||
| Imperial Territories (Reichsländer) | ||
| Alsace–Lorraine (Elsass-Lothringen) | Straßburg | |
States of the Weimar Republic edit
| State | Capital | |
|---|---|---|
| Free States (Freistaaten) | ||
| Anhalt | Dessau | |
| Baden | Karlsruhe | |
| Bavaria (Bayern) | Munich | |
| Brunswick (Braunschweig) | Braunschweig | |
| Coburg – to Bavaria in 1920 | Coburg | |
| Hesse (Hessen) | Darmstadt | |
| Lippe | Detmold | |
| Mecklenburg-Schwerin | Schwerin | |
| Mecklenburg-Strelitz | Neustrelitz | |
| Oldenburg | Oldenburg | |
| Prussia (Preußen) | Berlin | |
| Saxony (Sachsen) | Dresden | |
| Schaumburg-Lippe | Bückeburg | |
| Thuringia (Thüringen) – from 1920 | Weimar | |
| Waldeck-Pyrmont – to Prussia (Pyrmont joined Prussia in 1921, Waldeck followed in 1929) | Arolsen | |
| Württemberg | Stuttgart | |
| Free and Hanseatic Cities (Freie und Hansestädte) | ||
| Bremen | ||
| Hamburg | ||
| Lübeck | ||
| States merged to form Thuringia in 1920 | ||
| Gotha | Gotha | |
| Reuss | Gera | |
| Saxe-Altenburg (Sachsen-Altenburg) | Altenburg | |
| Saxe-Meiningen (Sachsen-Meiningen) | Meiningen | |
| Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) | Weimar | |
| Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt | Rudolstadt | |
| Schwarzburg-Sondershausen | Sondershausen | |
See also edit
- List of former sovereign states
- List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (962–1806)
- States of Germany, about the modern states