List of the provinces of Prussia

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Provinces and administrative districts of Prussia

This list of the provinces of Prussia shows all the provinces that ever existed in the historical state of Prussia after the Congress of Vienna in 1815 . Before the First World War , the territory of Prussia was divided into 12 provinces, which comprised 37 administrative districts.

list

map flag province founding resolution Today's affiliation Remarks
Map-Prussia-Brandenburg.svg Flag of Prussia - Province of Brandenburg.svg Brandenburg 1815 02/25/1947 States of Brandenburg and Berlin (DE), Lebus Voivodeship (PL) Provincial administration in Potsdam , from 1827 in Berlin , from 1843 again in Potsdam, from 1918 in Charlottenburg (since 1920 district of Berlin).

In 1881 Berlin became a province and left Brandenburg.
In 1920 the city was expanded considerably as Greater Berlin at the expense of Brandenburg.
1938 Reorganization of eastern districts when the province of Posen-West Prussia is dissolved.
1945–1990 the areas east of the Oder-Neisse line (including the Neumark ) under Polish administration.
In 1947 areas that remained German were transferred to the new state of Brandenburg .
After the ratification of the two-plus-four treaty in 1990, the Neumark was ceded (among other things) to Poland.

Map-Prussia-Hanover.svg Flag of Prussia - Province of Hannover.svg Hanover 1866 1946 State of Lower Saxony New formation from the Kingdom of Hanover, annexed in 1866 . On August 23, 1946, elevated to the status of an independent state of Hanover by the British occupying forces , three months later it was united with the states of Braunschweig , Oldenburg and Schaumburg-Lippe to form the new state of Lower Saxony .
Map-Prussia-HesseNassau.svg Flag of Prussia - Province of Hessen-Nassau.svg Hessen-Nassau 02/07/1868 04/01/1944 Hessen , Rhineland-Palatinate
Thuringia
New formation from the Duchy of Nassau , Electorate of Hesse and the Free City of Frankfurt, annexed in 1866, as well as parts of the Grand Duchy of Hesse , including the Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg, which had fallen to this a few weeks earlier . Provincial administration in Kassel . 1944 divided into the provinces of Kurhessen and Nassau . The largest part of the provincial area today belongs to Hesse , a smaller part to Rhineland-Palatinate .
Map-Prussia-LowerSilesia.svg Flag of Prussia - Province of Silesia.svg Lower Silesia 10/14/1919 1945 Lower Silesian Voivodeship (PL)
State of Saxony , Brandenburg (DE), Opole Voivodeship (PL)
Originated from the division of the province of Silesia ; Provincial Administration in Wroclaw . April 1, 1938 to April 1, 1941 Reunification of Silesia. 1945 Dissolution, mostly under Polish administration, western part (Upper Lusatia) to Saxony .
Map-Prussia-UpperSilesia.svg Flag of Prussia - Province of Upper Silesia.svg Upper Silesia 10/14/1919 1945 Provinces Oppeln and Silesia (PL) Originated from the division of the province of Silesia ; Provincial administration in Opole , after the re-establishment in 1941 in Katowice . April 1, 1938 to April 1, 1941 Reunification of Silesia. 1945 Dissolution and annexation by Poland.
Map-Prussia-EastPrussia.svg Flag of Prussia - Province of East Prussia.svg East Prussia 1815 1945 Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (PL), Kaliningrad Oblast (RU), Memel and Tauroggen Districts (LT) Provincial administration in Koenigsberg . On December 3, 1829, united with West Prussia to form the Province of Prussia , separated again on April 1, 1878. 1923-1939 was Memel from Lithuania annexed. 1945 Occupation by the Red Army and dissolution, area 1945–1990 under Polish and Soviet administration.
Map-Prussia-Pomerania.svg Flag of the Principality of Schwarzburg.svg Pomerania 1815 1945 West Pomeranian Voivodeship (PL), State of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (DE)
Pomeranian Voivodeship
Provincial administration in Szczecin . Disbanded after the end of the war in 1945, the greater part under Polish administration from 1945 to 1990 (ceded to Poland only in 1990), the smaller part to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Map-Prussia-Posen.svg Flag of Prussia - Province of Posen.svg Poses 1815 01/10/1920 Greater Poland Voivodeship (PL) Historically the core area of Greater Poland , annexed in the partitions of Poland and returned to Poland in 1920; areas remaining German to the new province of Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia .
Map-Prussia-ProvPrussia.svg Flag of Prussia (1892-1918) .svg Prussia December 3rd, 1829 04/01/1878 Provinces Pomerania and Masuria (PL), Kaliningrad (RU), districts Memel and Tauroggen (LT) Temporary unification of the provinces of East Prussia and West Prussia ; Provincial administration in Koenigsberg .
Map-Prussia-RhineProvince.svg Flag of the Duchy of Saxony-Coburg-Gotha (1826-1911) .svg Rhine Province 06/27/1822 1945 North Rhine-Westphalia , Rhineland-Palatinate , Saarland
Hesse , East Belgium
New formation from the provinces of Jülich-Cleve-Berg and the Grand Duchy of Lower Rhine ; Provincial administration in Koblenz . 1945 briefly divided into the provinces of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Hesse-Nassau along the border between the French and British occupation zones.
Map Province of Saxony in Prussia.svg Flag of Prussia - Province of Saxony.svg Saxony 1815 1944 Saxony-Anhalt , Thuringia ,
Brandenburg , Saxony
On June 1, 1944, divided into the provinces of Halle-Merseburg and Magdeburg , but the administrative district of Erfurt was given to Thuringia. The two provinces reunited after the end of the war; Provincial (ial) administration in Magdeburg until 1944 . Raised in the new state of Saxony-Anhalt in 1947 .
Map-Prussia-Silesia.svg Flag of Prussia - Province of Silesia.svg Silesia 1815 1945 Voivodeships of Lower Silesia , Opole and Silesia (PL)
States of Saxony , Brandenburg (DE), District of Opava (CZ)
Provincial Administration in Wroclaw . 1919–1938 and again from 1941 divided into the provinces of Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia . 1945 annexed by Poland, small parts of Lower Silesia came to Saxony.
Map-Prussia-SchleswigHolstein.svg Flag of Prussia - Province of Schleswig-Holstein.svg Schleswig-Holstein 02/12/1867 08/23/1946 State of Schleswig-Holstein (DE), the municipalities of Tondern , Hadersleben , Aabenraa and Sonderburg in the region of Southern Denmark (DK) New formation from the duchies of Holstein , Saxony-Lauenburg and Schleswig ; Provincial administration in Kiel , 1879–1917 in Schleswig . 1920 North Schleswig ceded to Denmark. In 1937 numerous Hamburg surrounding communities, u. a. the large cities of Altona and Wandsbek ceded to the state of Hamburg and in return the state of Lübeck and the Oldenburg region of Lübeck were annexed to Schleswig-Holstein. In 1946 the former Prussian province was elevated to the status of the new state of Schleswig-Holstein by the British occupying forces .
Map-Prussia-Westphalia.svg Flag of Prussia - Province of Westphalia.svg Westphalia 1815 08/23/1946 RB Arnsberg , Münster and Detmold without the Lippe district of North Rhine-Westphalia Provincial administration in Münster . 1946 in the new state of North Rhine-Westphalia .
Map-Prussia-WestPrussia.svg Flag of Prussia - Province of West Prussia.svg West Prussia 1815 1920 Pomorskie (PL)
provinces Masuria , Zachodniopomorskie and Kujawy (PL)
Provincial Administration in Gdansk . December 3, 1829 Merger with East Prussia to form the Province of Prussia , separated again on April 1, 1878. On January 10, 1920 after the separation of the greater part of the provincial area to Poland and the Free City of Danzig, dissolution and amalgamation of the remaining German provinces of West Prussia and Posen in the new province of Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia and the annexation of the Marienwerder administrative district to East Prussia.
Flag of Berlin.svg Provincial city of Berlin 04/01/1881 02/25/1947 State of Berlin "On April 1, 1881, B. [erlin] left the province of Brandenburg and formed an administrative district of its own." On October 1, 1920, the Brandenburg region was united with Berlin as Greater Berlin . From 1945 a four-sector city , today it forms the state of Berlin .
Map-Prussia-Hohenzollern.svg Flag of Prussia - Province of Hohenzollern.svg Hohenzollern country 04/06/1850 02/25/1947 Baden-Württemberg The "Administrative Region Sigmaringen" was formed in 1850 when the two former principalities of Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen fell to Prussia. The two princes had previously abdicated on December 7, 1849. Both ruling houses had inheritance contracts with Prussia since 1695 and 1707, respectively, and state treaties from 1849/50 regulated the takeover. The possession by the Prussian state took place on April 6, 1850 in Sigmaringen and on April 8 in Hechingen. Thereafter, the two principalities were combined to form an administrative district with the administrative seat in Sigmaringen.
Map-Prussia-JKB.svg Jülich-Cleve-Berg 1815 06/27/1822 North Rhine-Westphalia , RB Düsseldorf and Cologne Short-lived province, merged with the province of Grand Duchy of Lower Rhine on June 27, 1822 to form the Rhine province. Provincial administration in Cologne .
Map-Prussia-LowerRhine.svg Grand Duchy of Lower Rhine 1815 1822 Rhineland-Palatinate , North Rhine-Westphalia , RB Cologne ,
Saarland
Hesse , East Belgium
Short-lived province, merged with Jülich-Cleve-Berg to form the Rhine province on June 27, 1822. Provincial administration in Koblenz .
Map-Prussia-PWP.svg Flag of Prussia - Grenzmark Posen-Westpreußen.svg Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia 1922 1938 July 1, 1922 new formation from the remnants of the provinces of Posen and West Prussia that remained German after the territorial separation in 1919 ; Provincial administration in Schneidemühl .
October 1, 1938 dissolution; Territories go to the provinces of Silesia , Brandenburg and especially Pomerania .
Location Nazi Germany - Kurhessen.png Flag of Prussia - Province of Hessen-Nassau.svg Kurhessen 04/01/1944 September 19, 1945 Hessen , RB Kassel
RB Giessen
Short-lived province, emerged from the Kassel administrative district of the Hesse-Nassau province . Provincial administration in Kassel . 1945 up in the state of Greater Hesse .
Province of Nassau (1944) .png Flag of Nassau.svg Nassau 04/01/1944 September 19, 1945 Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate Short-lived province, emerged from the Wiesbaden administrative district of the Hesse-Nassau province . Provincial administration in Wiesbaden . 1945 up in the state of Greater Hesse .
Province of Halle-Merseburg (1944) .png Halle-Merseburg 1944 1945 State of Saxony-Anhalt Short-lived province, resulting from the division of the Province of Saxony in July 1944; Provincial administration in Halle on the Saale .
Province of Magdeburg (1944) .png Magdeburg 07/01/1944 1945 State of Saxony-Anhalt Short-lived province, arose from the division of the province of Saxony in July 1944. Provincial administration in Magdeburg .
North Rhine Province 1945 08/23/1946 North Rhine-Westphalia , RB Aachen , Düsseldorf and Cologne Division of the Rhine Province along the borders of the occupation zones; Provincial administration in Düsseldorf . Raised in the new state of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1946 .
Rhineland-Hesse-Nassau 1945 08/30/1946 Rhineland-Palatinate New formation from the parts of the Rhine Province and the Province of Nassau located in the French occupation zone ; Provincial administration in Koblenz . 1946 in the new state of Rhineland-Palatinate .

coat of arms

Ulrich Kober from the Secret State Archive of Prussian Cultural Heritage writes about the coats of arms of Prussia's provinces :
“The coats of arms of the individual territories of the Prussian monarchy were described in the ordinance on the royal coat of arms of January 9, 1817. However, no coats of arms of the provinces were described (“ Province [ Grand Duchy of Lower Rhine ”,“ Province of Jülich-Kleve-Berg ”), which were probably seen as mere administrative units without the need for their own coat of arms, but rather the coats of arms of the individual countries that made them up in feudal fashion. The newly formed, unhistorical "Grand Duchy of Lower Rhine" (not entirely congruent with the "Province of Lower Rhine") was treated like the individually listed principalities of Jülich, Kleve and Berg. The latter kept their traditional coats of arms individually, while the former - but as a principality - received a new coat of arms. That does not seem to have changed after the provincial administrative change in 1822 ”.

“The need for their own coat of arms for the Prussian provinces themselves only seems to have arisen in the wake of the administrative reforms of 1875 ff. When with the introduction of the self-government of the provinces (provincial order of June 29, 1875) new authorities were brought into being, these newly established provincial organs required a seal, whereby the desire for a coat of arms to be used was expressed ”.

See also

literature

  • Kurt Jeserich : The Prussian provinces. A contribution to administrative and constitutional reform . Deutscher Kommunal-Verlag, Berlin-Friedenau 1931.
  • Walther Hubatsch (Hrsg.): Outline of the German administrative history 1815-1945 . Herder Institute (Marburg) , Series A: Prussia:
    • Vol. 1: East and West Prussia , edited by Dieter Stüttgen, 1975, ISBN 3-87969-108-8 ,
    • Vol. 2: Part 1: Province of Posen , edited by Dieter Stüttgen, Part 2: Province of Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia , edited by Walther Hubatsch, 1975, ISBN 3-87969-109-6 ,
    • Vol. 3: Pomerania , edited by Dieter Stüttgen, 1975, ISBN 3-87969-115-0 ,
    • Vol. 4: Silesia , edited by Dieter Stüttgen, Helmut Neubach and Walther Hubatsch, 1976, ISBN 3-87969-116-9 ,
    • Vol. 5: Brandenburg , edited by Werner Vogel, 1975, ISBN 3-87969-117-7 ,
    • Vol. 6: Province of Saxony , edited by Thomas Klein, 1975, ISBN 3-87969-118-5 ,
    • Vol. 7: Rhineland , edited by Rüdiger Schütz, 1978, ISBN 3-87969-122-3 ,
    • Vol. 8: Westphalia , edited by Walther Hubatsch, 1980, ISBN 3-87969-123-1 ,
    • Vol. 9: Schleswig-Holstein , edited by Klaus Friedland and Kurt Jürgensen, 1977, ISBN 3-87969-124-X ,
    • Vol. 10: Hanover , edited by Iselin Gundermann and Walther Hubatsch, 1981, ISBN 3-87969-125-8 ,
    • Vol. 11: Hessen-Nassau , edited by Thomas Klein, 1979, ISBN 3-87969-126-6 ,
    • Vol. 12: Prussia; Part B, II: The Hohenzollern Lands , edited by Walther Hubatsch, 1978, ISBN 3-87969-127-4 .

Individual evidence

  1. District of Schmalkalden
  2. a b City of Görlitz , districts of Görlitz , Hoyerswerda (partly) and Rothenburg (partly), today in the districts of Görlitz and Bautzen
  3. a b District of Hoyerswerda (partly)
  4. ^ City of Brieg , districts of Brieg and Namslau
  5. ^ City of Stolp , districts of Stolp , Bütow , Lauenburg , Rummelsburg
  6. a b Wetzlar district
  7. a b circles of Eupen and Malmedy
  8. ^ Southern part of the Ratibor district , the so-called Hultschiner Ländchen
  9. ^ Until 2007: South Jutland Office . These include the former Prussian districts of Aabenraa , Hadersleben , Sonderburg , Tondern (partly) and a small part of the district of Flensburg .
  10. Meyer's large conversation lexicon : 20 vols. - gänzl. newly edited and increased edition, Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig and Vienna 1903-08, here second volume: Astilbe bis Bismarck , article Berlin , p. 700. The city name, abbreviated in the original, is here written out as B. [erlin].
  11. In contrast to the other provinces, Berlin only consisted of one urban district. Therefore, no separate provincial parliament, no regional director and no provincial committee were elected, but the city council, the mayor and the magistrate fulfilled the respective tasks simultaneously. The Prussian Minister of the Interior entrusted the President of the Police in Berlin to the President of the Police appointed by him . Evangelical church, medical and school affairs were further regulated with Brandenburg's high presidium. Cf. Meyer's large conversation lexicon : 20 vols. - gänzl. Newly edited and increased edition, Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig and Vienna 1903-08, here second volume: Astilbe bis Bismarck , article Berlin , p. 700.
  12. ^ Marburg district
  13. personal communication (April 24, 2012)
  14. ^ Maximilian Gritzner: Regional and heraldry of the Brandenburg-Prussian monarchy. History of their individual parts of the country, their rulers and coats of arms . Berlin 1894
  15. ^ Heinrich Ahrens: The coat of arms of the provinces of the Kingdom of Prussia . Hanover 1897