List of historic states of Germany

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German Reich

| German Empire| 1871–1918

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World War I| 1914–1918
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Contemporary Germany

* Occupation
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| 1945–1949/1952

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Expulsion of Germans| 1944–1950

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| 1949–1990

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Modern history| since 1990

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Germany is traditionally a country organized as a federal state. The dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and the Napoleonic Wars led to an interregnum of federalized control. But after Congress of Vienna in 1815, the German-speaking territories of the former Holy Roman Empire became allied in the German Confederation (1815–1866), a league of states with a shared army and some federal elements to regulate issues that affected multiple states.[1]: 219 After the Austro-Prussian War, the Northern states joined into a federal state called the North German Confederation (1867–1870), led by Prussia.[1]: 256 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]

Main article: States of the German Confederation

A map of the German Confederation. 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). After the Austro-Prussian War, Austria was forced to relinquish Schleswig and Holstein to Prussian control.[1]: 255

## States of the North German Confederation

[edit]

A map of the North German Confederation. 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]

Main article: States of the German Empire

See also: List of German monarchs in 1918

A map of the German Empire. 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]

Main article: States of the Weimar Republic

A map of the Weimar Republic. 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

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Sime, James (1884). History of Germany. Henry Holt & Company. Retrieved 5 June 2025.

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