Department of the Weser
| Department of the Weser | |
| Weserdepartement | |
| Département du Weser | |
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| Basic data (1807) | |
|---|---|
| Consist: | 1807-1810 |
| Kingdom : | Westphalen |
| Prefecture : | Osnabrück |
| Residents: | 334,965 (1807) |
| Structure: | 4 districts |
| Prefects : |
Philipp von Pestel (until 1812) Conrad Wilhelm Delius (from 1812) |
| Absorbed in: |
Department of the Upper Ems , Department of the Fulda , Department of the Leine |
| Location of the department in the Kingdom of Westphalia | |
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The department of the Weser (French: Département du Weser , short Weser-Departement or Weserdepartement ) was from 1807 to 1810 an administrative unit (Département) of the Kingdom of Westphalia . The department's prefecture was Osnabrück .
location
The area was in the northwest of the Kingdom of Westphalia. Small exclaves were Uchte , Thedinghausen and Freudenberg , all of which were north of the core area of the department, Thedinghausen even not far south of Bremen . The department initially bordered (around 1807) in the northeast on Hanover and Schaumburg-Lippe , in the south on Lippe and the department of Fulda , which was also part of the Kingdom of Westphalia, in the west on the Grand Duchy of Berg , in the northwest on the Duchy of Arenberg and on the Duchy of Oldenburg . The exclaves were surrounded by the Kurhannover , which from January 14, 1810 also belonged temporarily to the Kingdom of Westphalia. From 1810 onwards the department of the Weser bordered the east and north-east as a result of this reclassification and a. also to the department of the Aller , which was in the former Hanoverian area. The largest cities were Osnabrück , Minden , Bielefeld and Herford . In the east of the area, the eponymous Weser flowed through the area from south to north. The Wiehengebirge crossed the department from west to east, followed by the Weser Mountains and, a little south of it, the Teutoburg Forest .
The department was essentially in what is now northern East Westphalia , in the Osnabrück region and in the Schaumburger region . It comprised today's Lower Saxony districts of Osnabrück and Schaumburg (southern and eastern parts) as well as the North Rhine-Westphalian districts of Minden-Lübbecke , Herford , Gütersloh (northern part) and the independent city of Bielefeld .
history
After the establishment of the Kingdom of Westphalia , its territory was divided into several departments, including the department of the Weser, which, alongside the department of Fulda, was the only department that really comprised Westphalian areas according to the current and then definition. It comprised the former Prussian territories county Ravensberg , Principality of Minden , as well as the part of the Hanoverian territory that until 1802 the Bishopric of Osnabrück (without official Reckenberg formed). The department also included the shares in Schaumburg ( Grafschaft Schaumburg ) and the Thedinghausen office, which were formerly part of Hessen-Kassel . The area comprised 334,965 residents (as of December 1807).
With a few minor exceptions, the districts roughly mirrored the old territories:
- The district of Rinteln corresponded to the Schaumburg areas previously belonging to Hessel-Kassel and the Hoyaic exclaves Uchte and Freudenberg as well as the former Brunswick office of Thedinghausen. Only Auburg (formerly Hessian exclave near today's Wagenfeld ) was affiliated to the canton of Rahden (Minden district).
- The Osnabrück district consisted of the former Hanoverian areas.
- The districts of Minden and Bielefeld essentially corresponded - apart from minor corrections (e.g. Oldendorf came to the district of Minden) - the old territories of the principality of Minden and the county of Ravensberg.
State in 1811:
When the territorial layout of the kingdom was changed, with effect from January 1, 1811, large parts of the department - namely the areas northwest of the Weser , Werre , Johannisbach and Schwarzbach - fell directly to the French Empire. The cities of Herford and Bielefeld remained Westphalian. The areas annexed to France became one of the three newly established Hanseatic departments under the name Département der Oberen Ems . The parts that remained with the Kingdom of Westphalia, i.e. essentially the districts of Bielefeld (southern part) and Rinteln (without the exclaves, but enlarged by the cantons of Windheim to the right of the Weser and local mountains of the former district of Minden), became the department of Fulda (district of Bielefeld) or incorporated into the Department of the Leine (Rinteln district).
structure
The department was established by Royal Decree of December 24, 1807. It comprised the following arrondissements (also called sub-prefecture or district) and associated cantons :
| District | Population (1807) |
Cantons |
|---|---|---|
| Osnabrück | 124,441 |
Anckum , Berge , Bissendorf , Bramsche , Fürstenau , Glandorf , Gehrde , Dissen , Iburg , Melle , Buer , Neuenkirchen , Osnabrück , Land-Canton Osnabrück , Ostercappeln , Quakenbrück , Schledehausen , Uffeln , Vörden |
| Minden | 76.203 | Haddenhausen , Hausberge , Hille , Levern , Lübbecke , Minden , Oldendorf , Petershagen , Rahden , Reineberg , Windheim |
| Bielefeld | 91,802 | Bielefeld , Brackwede , Bünde , Enger , Halle , Heepen , Herford , Schildesche , Versmold , Vlotho , Werther |
| Rinteln | 37,773 | Rinteln , Oldendorf , Obernkirchen , Rodenberg , Sachsenhagen , Ucht , Freudenberg , Thedinghausen |
Prefectures
The department of the Weser had its seat in Osnabrück. It was headed from 1809 to 1811 by Philipp von Pestel , then by Conrad Wilhelm Delius as prefect with his secretary von Lochhausen. They also directed the fate of the sub-prefecture of Osnabrück.
They were supported by the council meeting with Messrs. Von Buch, Delius, Struckmann and Wedekind.
The council meeting of the sub-prefecture of Osnabrück included Messrs. Baron von Horst , von Busch, Delius, Diederichs, von Diffurth, Gruner, Harmer, Hoffbauer, von Hugo, von Ledebur, Müller, Graf von Münster-Langelage, Niemann, d'Ostmann-von- Leye, Baron von Beck, von Schele, Schrader and Stüve.
There were other sub-prefects in
- Minden: Mr. von Busch with his secretary Gebhard,
- Bielefeld: the Prefect of Bernuth with his secretary Nageld,
- Rinteln: the Prefect of Haxthausen with his secretary Krüger.
See also
Web links
- Friedrich Justin Bertuch: General geographical ephemeris
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (Ed.), Project Westfälische Geschichte: Royal Decree, which orders the division of the kingdom into eight departments , with: Directory of the departments, districts, cantons and communes of the kingdom (PDF; 5.1 MB )
- ^ “Almanach Royal de Westpahlie”, Cassel, all years
Coordinates: 52 ° 7 ' N , 8 ° 23' E