States of the German Confederation: Map & History

The Lutheran church was the state church of the Kingdom of Hanover, with the King being summus episcopus (Supreme Governor of the Lutheran Church). Regional consistories supervised church and clergy. These were in Aurich, a simultaneously Lutheran and Calvinist consistory dominated by Lutherans (for East Frisia) and the Lutheran consistories in Hanover (for the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg proper), in Ilfeld (for the County of Hohenstein, a Hanoverian exclave in the Eastern Harz mountains), in Osnabrück (for the former Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück), in Otterndorf (existed 1535–1885 for the Land of Hadeln) as well as in Stade (existed 1650–1903, until 1885 for the former Bremen-Verden proper without Hadeln, then including the complete Stade region). A general superintendent chaired each consistory.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Hanover · Reorganisation of religious bodies (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Kingdom of Hanover maintained an army after the Napoleonic Wars. In 1832, King William IV of Hanover and the United Kingdom issued his troops with British Army uniforms, but they differed slightly from their original British versions. When the personal union with the United Kingdom ended in 1837, and Ernst August ascended to the crown of Hanover, he replaced their uniforms with Prussian Army-style ones, which included the pickelhaube spiked helmet for his Guard Corps.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Hanover · Army (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The House of Nassau produced many collateral lines in the course of its nearly one-thousand-year history. Up to the 18th century, the three main lines were the small princedoms of Nassau-Usingen, Nassau-Weilburg, and Nassau-Dietz (later Orange-Nassau), with large, scattered territories in what is now the Netherlands and Belgium. From 1736, many treaties and agreements were made between the different lines (The Nassau Family Pact), which prevented further splitting of territories and enabled general political co-ordination between the branches. In this context, the administrative subdivisions of the individual territories were adjusted, laying the foundations for the later unification of the territories.

From Wikipedia: Duchy of Nassau · History: Establishment (CC BY-SA 4.0)

As a result of the disparate territories that were joined to form the Duchy, Nassau was not a religiously unified state. In 1820, the breakdown of religious groups was: 53% United Protestant, 45% Catholic, 1.7% Jewish, and 0.06% Mennonite. However, settlements with more than one religion were unusual. Most villages and cities were clearly dominated by the members of one of the two major Christian groups. As was common in Protestant parts of Germany, the constitution placed the church under state control. The Lutheran and Reformed churches agreed to unite into the single Protestant Church in Nassau in 1817, at the Unionskirche in Idstein, making it the first united Protestant church in the German Confederation.

From Wikipedia: Duchy of Nassau · Politics: Religion (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Duchy belonged the south German currency area. The most important denomination was therefore the guilder. This was minted for use as currency money. Up to 1837, there were 24 guilders to the Cologne silver marks (233.856 grammes). The guilder was divided into 60 kreutzer. Small change was minted in silver and copper, at 6, 3, 1, 0.5, and 0.25 grammes.

From Wikipedia: Duchy of Nassau · Economy: Currency (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Nassau Parliament met for the first time on 22 May 1848. Over the summer, groupings based on the Left-Right schema began to appear in the parliament. The unrest in Nassau was not calmed after the elections. In July 1848, it reached a new crisis point, with physical clashes on the right of the Duke to veto decisions of Parliament. While the left wing in the Parliament did not recognise this power, the right wing and the Ducal government insisted on it. Soon this dispute led to unrest among the general population. Finally, Hergenhahn called in Prussian and Austrian troops from Mainz, who put down the riots in Wiesbaden. In September, after fighting in the streets in Frankfurt, Federal troops occupied part of the Taunus.

From Wikipedia: Duchy of Nassau · History: End of the Revolution (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The marshes and moraines near Bremen have been settled since about 12,000 BC. Burial places and settlements in Bremen-Mahndorf and Bremen-Osterholz date back to the 7th century AD. Since the Renaissance, chroniclers have assumed that Fabiranum or Phabiranon on Ptolemy's Fourth Map of Europe (dating from AD 150) refers to Bremen. However, Ptolemy's coordinates actually suggest a site northeast of the mouth of the river Visurgis (Weser). In Ptolemy's time the Chauci lived in the area now called North-Western Germany or Lower Saxony. By the end of the 3rd century they had merged with the Saxons.

From Wikipedia: History of Bremen (city) · Early history (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Soon after the beginning of the Thirty Years' War Bremen declared its neutrality. In 1623 it rejected the appeal of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands to assist it in its struggle for independence against Habsburg Spain and imperial forces. Nonetheless, Imperial troops under Albrecht von Wallenstein and those of the Catholic League headed north. Wallenstein had visions of breaking-up the Hanseatic League, and of establishing new Baltic trade monopolies to benefit imperial favourites. In 1628, Bremen paid Wallenstein a hefty ransom to spare itself a siege, and by such means it was able to avoid occupation throughout the war.

From Wikipedia: History of Bremen (city) · Thirty Years' War (CC BY-SA 4.0)

A constitution was adopted on 22 August 1814, and existed with some changes until the end of the duchy. The Grand Duchy of Baden was a hereditary monarchy with executive power vested in the Grand Duke; legislative authority was shared between him and a representative assembly (Landtag) consisting of two chambers.

From Wikipedia: Grand Duchy of Baden · Constitution and government (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Around 1910, 56.8% of the region's land mass was cultivated and 38% was forested. Before 1870, the agricultural sector was responsible for the bulk of the grand duchy's wealth, but this was superseded by industrial production. The chief products were machinery, woollen and cotton goods, silk ribbons, paper, tobacco, china, leather, glass, clocks, jewellery, and chemicals. Beet sugar was also manufactured on a large scale, as were wooden ornaments and toys, music boxes and organs.

From Wikipedia: Grand Duchy of Baden · Industries (CC BY-SA 4.0)

There were numerous educational institutions in Baden. There were three universities, one Protestant in Heidelberg, one Roman Catholic in Freiburg im Breisgau, and a research university in Karlsruhe.

From Wikipedia: Grand Duchy of Baden · Education and religion (CC BY-SA 4.0)

After World War II the French military government created the State of Baden, at first called South Baden, out of the southern half of the former duchy, with Freiburg as its capital; this area was declared in its 1947 constitution to be the true successor of the duchy. The northern half was combined with northern Württemberg, becoming part of the American-occupied zone and forming the state of Württemberg-Baden. Both Baden and Württemberg-Baden became states of West Germany upon the latter's formation in 1949, but in 1952 they merged with each other and with Württemberg-Hohenzollern, which was southern Württemberg and a former Prussian exclave, to form Baden-Württemberg – still the only merger of states to have taken place in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany.

From Wikipedia: Grand Duchy of Baden · Legacy (CC BY-SA 4.0)

During the Napoleonic Wars, Louis X, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, initially sought Prussian protection against Napoleonic France, but after the Battle of Austerlitz, this policy became untenable. At the last minute, Louis X switched sides and supplied troops to Napoleon. Along with fifteen other states, the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt left the Holy Roman Empire and joined the Confederation of the Rhine. The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was promoted to a grand duchy and Louis X thereafter styled himself Grand Duke Louis I (German: Großherzog Ludewig I., with an extra 'e') and announced not only the promotion, but also the territories he had received under the Treaty of the Confederation of the Rhine in an edict on 13 August 1806. Along with the promotion to the rank of grand duchy, Hesse was also rewarded with territorial gains, such as the Electorate of Cologne.

From Wikipedia: Grand Duchy of Hesse · History: 1806 establishment (CC BY-SA 4.0)

After its territorial augmentation, the grand duchy consisted of numerous territories with different administrative systems. To regularise this, it was urgently necessary to integrate the various regions. At the lower levels, the administrative system of these regions was still based on the Amt system which had become obsolete centuries earlier. As well as being the lowest level administrative subdivision, the Ämter were also the courts of first instance. Preliminary work on reforming this system began by 1816, and from 1821, the court system and the administrative system were separated at the lowest level in Starkenburg and Upper Hesse provinces. In Rheinhessen, this had already been done around twenty years earlier, while the area was under French control.

From Wikipedia: Grand Duchy of Hesse · History: Legal and administrative reforms (CC BY-SA 4.0)

A number of companies with global reach were founded in the Grand Duchy of Hesse, with the support of the Hessian Chamber of Commerce. In 1842, the First German Industrial Exhibition took place in Mainz. However, industrialisation occurred relatively late and was relatively restrained. In 1847 there were 24 steam engines in the grand duchy; in 1854 there were 83, and in 1862 there were 240, with a total combined strength of only 2,227 horse power. One of the most important "industries" of the state was the production of cigarettes, with around two hundred workshops. At the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, 74 companies from the grand duchy were present, and at the 1862 International Exhibition, also in London, there were a hundred Hessian companies. In 1908, the air transport pioneer, August Euler built a workshop at the edge of Darmstadt's firing range which became Griesheim Airport.

From Wikipedia: Grand Duchy of Hesse · Economy: Corporations (CC BY-SA 4.0)

While Baden advocated "armed neutrality" in the brewing conflict between Austria and Prussia, von Dalwigk entered the war on the Austrian side immediately after hostilities broke out in June 1866. Initially, the Landstände refused to grant the government the right to issue war bonds, but they backed down in the face of popular opposition, once the government reduced its request from 4 million guilder to 2.5 million.

From Wikipedia: Grand Duchy of Hesse · History: Austro-Prussian War (1866) (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In the cultural sphere, the Kulturkampf was of great significance in the first years of the German Empire. After some delay, the grand duchy brought the Prussian measures into force. The duchy's Catholic bishop, Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler of Mainz, a strict conservative, had worked closely with von Dalwigk and was fiercely opposed to the liberals. The Darmstadt government sought to gain a higher level of control over the Roman Catholic church and the bishop led opposition to this. A whole bundle of laws were put forward by the government in 1875 to achieve this. The bishop sought to maintain the highest possible level of autonomy by all means at his disposal, but in 1876 he had to close the seminary in Mainz and the church was not able to open it again until 1887.

From Wikipedia: Grand Duchy of Hesse · History: Cultural policy (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Under the German Empire's military constitution, Hessian troops participated in World War I as part of the Imperial German Army. Grand Duke Ernest Louis was nominally an infantry general, but he did not exercise an active command. He did visit the headquarters of the Grand Ducal Hessian (25th) Division in France several times. A total of 32,000 men from this unit died during the war. In summer 1918, Darmstadt was hit by allied airstrikes.

From Wikipedia: Grand Duchy of Hesse · History: First World War and end of the grand duchy (1914–1918) (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The government in Darmstadt only implemented the Karlsbad Decrees in a moderate manner, to the displeasure of the great powers, Prussia and Austria. On the other hand, the government continually persecuted the opposition (although without much long-term success in the courts), since they feared a revolution.

From Wikipedia: Grand Duchy of Hesse · History: Impact of the July Revolution (1830–1848) (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Under the Constitution of 5 May 1816 (revised 15 October 1850), Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach was a constitutional monarchy, hereditary in the male line. Under the Electoral Act of 1852, the Landtag had 31 members, of whom 21 were elected in general elections. One member was elected by the landed former Imperial Knights, four were elected by other wealthy landowners, and five by voters who had an annual income exceeding 1000 Thaler from other sources. The latter group of voters were popularly called "thousand thaler men". The Electoral Act of 17 April 1896 enlarged the parliament to 33 members. The grand duchy had one vote in the Imperial Bundesrat and three members in the Reichstag.

From Wikipedia: Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach · Constitution and administration (CC BY-SA 4.0)

A versatile array of manufacturing industries developed in the grand duchy. For example, in Bürgel and Ilmenau, there were porcelain factories (in all, there were 39 such factories in the country).

From Wikipedia: Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach · Economy: Manufacturing Industries (CC BY-SA 4.0)

There was one state university in the grand duchy, the University of Jena, which was funded by Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach together with the other Thuringian states. There were several art and music schools in Weimar, and in Ilmenau, there was the Technische Universität Ilmenau, a privately owned university providing technical and scientific education. Gymnasiums existed in Weimar, Eisenach and Jena; Realschules were found in Weimar, Apolda, Jena, Eisenach, Neustadt and Ilmenau. In 1895, there were 462 primary schools, and any child would receive at least four years of primary education. Large libraries of 200000 volumes each were maintained in Weimar and Jena. In 1869, a State Museum was founded in Weimar.

From Wikipedia: Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach · Education (CC BY-SA 4.0)

On 30 December 1777, the Bavarian line of the Wittelsbachs became extinct, and the Electorate of Bavaria passed to Charles Theodore, the Elector Palatine. After a separation of four and a half centuries, the Electoral Palatinate, to which the duchies of Jülich and Berg had been added, was thus reunited with Bavaria. In 1793, the French Revolutionary Army overran the Palatinate; in 1795, the French, under Moreau, invaded Bavaria itself, advanced to Munich — where they were received with joy by the long-suppressed Liberals — and laid siege to Ingolstadt. Charles Theodore, who had done nothing to prevent the war or to resist the invasion, fled to Saxony, leaving a regency, the members of which signed a convention with Moreau, by which he granted an armistice in return for a heavy contribution (7 September 1796). Between the French and the Austrians, Bavaria was now in a bad situation.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Bavaria · History: Foundation and expansion under Maximilian I (1777–1818) (CC BY-SA 4.0)

When Napoleon established the Confederation of the Rhine, and Bavaria became a kingdom in 1806, its land area doubled. Tyrol (1806–1814) and Salzburg (1810–1816) were temporarily united with Bavaria but then returned (Tyrol) or ceded (Salzburg) to Habsburg/Austrian rule. In return the Rhenish Palatinate and Franconia were annexed to Bavaria in 1815.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Bavaria · Geography, administrative regions and population (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In 1864, Maximilian II died early, and his eighteen-year-old son, Ludwig II, became King of Bavaria as tensions between Austria and Prussia escalated steadily. Prussian Minister-President Otto von Bismarck, recognizing the immediate likelihood of war, tried to keep Bavaria neutral. Ludwig II refused Bismarck's offers and continued Bavaria's alliance with Austria. In 1866, the Austro-Prussian War began. Bavaria and most of the south German states allied with Austria, but contributed far less to the war against Prussia.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Bavaria · History: Austro-Prussian War (1864–1866) (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In 1914, a clash of alliances occurred over Austria-Hungary's invasion of Serbia following the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Bosnian Serb militant. Germany went to the side of its former rival-turned-ally, Austria-Hungary, and declared war on France and Russia. Following the German invasion of neutral Belgium the United Kingdom declared war on Germany. Initially, in Bavaria and all across Germany, many recruits flocked enthusiastically to the Army. At the outbreak of the war, King Ludwig III sent an official dispatch to Berlin, to express Bavaria's solidarity. Later Ludwig even claimed annexations for Bavaria (Alsace and the city of Antwerp in Belgium, to receive access to the sea). His hidden agenda was to maintain the balance of power between Prussia and Bavaria within the German Empire after a victory.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Bavaria · History: World War I and the end of the kingdom (1914–1918) (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Diet, or legislature was divided into two houses, which were constitutionally equal in their rights and status, and neither house was to meet without the other.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Saxony · Governance: Legislature (CC BY-SA 4.0)

During the 1866 Austro-Prussian War, Saxony sided with Austria, and the Royal Saxon Army was generally seen as the only ally to bring substantial aid to the Austrian cause, having abandoned the defence of Saxony itself to join up with the Austrian army in Bohemia. This effectiveness probably allowed Saxony to escape the fate of other north German states allied with Austria – notably the Kingdom of Hanover – which were annexed by Prussia after the war. The Austrians and French insisted as a point of honour that Saxony must be spared, and the Prussians acquiesced. Saxony nevertheless joined the Prussian-led North German Confederation the next year. With Prussia's victory over France in the Franco-Prussian War of 1871, the members of the confederation were organised by Otto von Bismarck into the German Empire, with Wilhelm I as its emperor.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Saxony · History: Austro-Prussian War and the German Empire (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Wilhelm I's grandson Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated in 1918 as a result of a revolution set off in the days before Germany's defeat in World War I. King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony followed him into abdication when workers' and soldiers' councils were set up in the cities of Dresden, Chemnitz and Leipzig. Within the newly formed Weimar Republic, on 1 November 1920, the Kingdom of Saxony was reorganized into the Free State of Saxony.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Saxony · History: End of the kingdom (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Kingdom of Württemberg functioned as a constitutional monarchy within the German Empire, with four votes in the Federal Council (German: Bundesrat) and 17 in the Imperial Diet (Reichstag). The constitution rested on a law of 1819, amended in 1868, 1874, and 1906. The king received a civil list (annual grant) equivalent to 103,227 pounds sterling in the early 20th century.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Württemberg · Government: Constitution (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Textile manufacturers produced linen, woolen, and cotton fabrics, particularly at Esslingen and Göppingen, and paper making was prominent in Ravensburg, Heilbronn, and throughout Lower Swabia.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Württemberg · Economy: Manufacturing (CC BY-SA 4.0)

An 1819/20 attempt to establish a constitution failed and the first basic law was passed in 1836. It was liberalised in 1849, restored in 1853 and then steadily modernised in 1853, 1876, and 1912. The 1876 electoral law abolished an estates-based system and introduced the three-class franchise, which did not offer a general, equal, or democratic possibility of participation to the citizens. Lippe increasingly developed into a constitutional monarchy. In 1836, a Landtag (parliament) was established, which gave moderate legislative power to the landed nobility. The highest national authority was the cabinet, headed by the State Minister, which oversaw the top-level administrative and legal authorities. The top-level administrative authority was German: Regierungsollegium (governing college). In 1868, the property of the princes and the property of the state were separated.

From Wikipedia: Principality of Lippe · Government (CC BY-SA 4.0)

On the whole, Lippe was always an agrarian state and, in economic terms, was one of the weakest states in the German Empire. The loess floodplains of the Werre and the Bega always enabled intensive agriculture. In the less fertile sandy soils of the Senne region, on the other hand, intensive agriculture was not possible. Instead, activity focussed on animal husbandry and the breeding of Senner horses at Jagdschloss Lopshorn.

From Wikipedia: Principality of Lippe · Economy (CC BY-SA 4.0)

A Lippe battalion was formed on 5 May 1807, the 2nd battalion of the 5th infantry regiment of the Prince's Division of the Confederation of the Rhine. It also included a company from Schaumburg-Lippe. In 1867, Lippe concluded a military convention with Prussia, becoming part of the catchment area for Prussia's 26th Infantry brigade of the 13th Division (VII Corps). Following the integration of Lippe into the Prussian Army, the Prince's Division was dissolved on 27 May 1867. The Lippe soldiers were mainly employed in the 55th (6th Westphalian) Infantry Regiment "Count Bülow von Dennewitz". The regiment's headquarters and its 3rd battalion were based in Detmold by 1918.

From Wikipedia: Principality of Lippe · Military (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Waldeck had raised a battalion of infantry in 1681 but for much of the subsequent history leading up to the Napoleonic Wars, Waldeckers generally served as what is commonly described as 'mercenaries', but was actually 'auxiliaries' hired out by the rulers of Waldeck for foreign service. Such was the demand that the single battalion became two in 1740 (the 1st Regiment), three battalions in 1744, four in 1767 (forming a 2nd Regiment). Most notably the foreign service was with the Dutch (the 1st and 2nd Regiments) and British (after an agreement was signed with Great Britain in 1776 to supply troops for the American War of Independence, the 3rd Waldeck Regiment, of a single battalion, was raised). The 3rd Waldeck Regiment thus served in America, where they were known under the 'umbrella term' used during that conflict for all Germans—'Hessians'.

From Wikipedia: Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont · Military (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Kingdom of Westphalia was created by Napoleon in 1807 by merging territories ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia in the Peace of Tilsit (including the Altmark, the part of the Duchy of Magdeburg west of the Elbe river, Paderborn, Hildesheim), the territories of Hanover, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, and the Electorate of Hesse. Hesse's capital Cassel (modern spelling Kassel) then fulfilled the same function for Westphalia, and the king kept his court at the palace of Wilhelmshöhe, renamed Napoleonshöhe. The state was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine.Napoleon chose to make his brother Jérôme the king of Westphalia.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Westphalia · Formation (CC BY-SA 4.0)

A significant burden on the kingdom was the requirement to supply troops and financial support for the Napoleonic Wars. A Westphalian contingent took part in the Russian campaign of 1812. King Jérôme initially had a key role as the commander of the right wing for the invasion, but was reprimanded by Napoleon for his poor performance at the Battle of Smolensk, so he abandoned his command and returned to Westphalia. By the end of the campaign, his troops had been practically wiped out: out of the initial 25,000 soldiers and 800 officers of the Kingdom of Westphalia, only 600 and 18 returned, with 600 others defecting to Russia. In January 1813, revolts against conscription broke out in Düsseldorf and Hanau.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Westphalia · Downfall (CC BY-SA 4.0)

According to the 1885 census, 84.90% (316,208 people) of the Duchy's inhabitants held citizenship of Brunswick, while 54,738 people (14.70%) were citizens of other German states. 1506 people (0.40%) were foreign nationals, among those 785 came from Austria-Hungary, 133 from the United Kingdom, 112 from the United States, 91 from Italy, 83 from the Russian Empire, and 81 from Switzerland.

From Wikipedia: Duchy of Brunswick · Demographics (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In 1905, out of 1,000 residents 455 were working in the industrial sector, mining or construction, 289 were working in agriculture and forestry, 121 in commerce, 57.3 were employed in the civil service and 70 were working in miscellaneous other professions.

From Wikipedia: Duchy of Brunswick · Economy (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Hamburg is made up of seven boroughs (German: Bezirke), which are subdivided into 104 quarters (German: Stadtteile). There are 181 localities (German: Ortsteile). The urban organisation is regulated by the Constitution of Hamburg and several laws. Most of the quarters were former independent cities, towns or villages annexed into Hamburg proper. The last large annexation was done through the Greater Hamburg Act of 1937, when the cities Altona, Harburg, and Wandsbek were merged into the state of Hamburg. The Act of the Constitution and Administration of Hanseatic city of Hamburg established Hamburg as a state and a municipality. Some of the boroughs and quarters have been rearranged several times.

From Wikipedia: Hamburg · Government: Boroughs (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Media businesses employ over 70,000 people. The Norddeutscher Rundfunk, which includes the television station NDR Fernsehen, is based in Hamburg, including the news program Tagesschau, as are the commercial television station Hamburg 1, the Christian television station Bibel TV, and the civil media outlet Tide TV. There are regional radio stations such as Radio Hamburg. Some of Germany's largest publishing companies, Axel Springer AG, Gruner + Jahr, and Bauer Media Group, are located in the city. Many national newspapers and magazines, such as Der Spiegel and Die Zeit, are produced in Hamburg, as well as some special-interest newspapers such as Financial Times Deutschland. Hamburger Abendblatt and Hamburger Morgenpost are daily regional newspapers with a large circulation.

From Wikipedia: Hamburg · Economy: Creative industries (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Hamburg was a Gau within the administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1934 until 1945. The bombing of Hamburg in World War II devastated much of the city and the harbour. On 23 July 1943, the Royal Air Force (RAF) and United States Army Air Force firebombing created a firestorm which spread from the Hauptbahnhof (main railway station) and quickly moved south-east, completely destroying entire boroughs such as Hammerbrook, Billbrook and Hamm South. Thousands of people perished in these densely populated working class boroughs. The raids, codenamed Operation Gomorrah by the RAF, killed at least 42,600 civilians; the precise number is not known. About one million civilians were evacuated in the aftermath of the raids.

From Wikipedia: Hamburg · History: Second World War (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Hamburg State Opera is a leading opera company. Its orchestra is the Philharmoniker Hamburg. The city's other major orchestra is the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra. The main concert venue is the new concert hall Elbphilharmonie. Before it was the Laeiszhalle, Musikhalle Hamburg. The Laeiszhalle also houses a third orchestra, the Hamburger Symphoniker. György Ligeti and Alfred Schnittke taught at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg.

From Wikipedia: Hamburg · Culture: Music (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The free city received an initial constitution in 1815, which had mainly been devised by Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski. The constitution was revised and expanded in 1818, establishing significant autonomy for the city. Legislative power was vested in the Assembly of Representatives (Izba Reprezentantów), and the executive power was given to a Governing Senate.

From Wikipedia: Free City of Cracow · Politics (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Free City of Cracow was created from the southwest part of the Duchy of Warsaw (part of the former Kraków Department on the left bank of the Vistula river). At its smallest, the city encompassed an area of 1,164 to 1,234 km2 (sources vary). It bordered the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire. It comprised the city of Kraków and its environs; the other settlements in the area administered by the Free City included 224 villages and three towns (Chrzanów, Trzebinia and Nowa Góra).

From Wikipedia: Free City of Cracow · Geography, population and economy (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Until 1803 there had only existed one municipal school in Frankfurt, the Municipal grammar school which was founded in 1520 and which was reserved exclusively for sons of Lutheran citizens. Beside the grammar school there still existed nine "Quartierschulen" from the Middle Ages, these were private schools with municipal concession that could be bequeathed and sold. In general, every school had only one teacher. All teachers had united in a kind of guild. Since the school fees they levied were hardly enough to make a living, they often had to do additional work, e.g. the cutting of quills. As each of them had to take care of several hundred pupils, the quality of the education in the "Quartiersschulen" was expectably low.

From Wikipedia: Free City of Frankfurt · Constitution and administration: School system (CC BY-SA 4.0)

During the years in which Frankfurt was a "Free City", the traditional Frankfurt Trade Fair was of little importance. Nevertheless, Frankfurt rose to be one of the major centres for trade and finances in Europe. The most important banking house in Frankfurt belonged to the Rothschild family, who established banking and finance houses all over Europe. The only other banking house that was comparable to the Rothschild bank was the Christian-owned Bethmann Bank. Both of these banks dominated the trading of bonds for different European countries.

From Wikipedia: Free City of Frankfurt · History: Frankfurt as an important centre of transport and trade (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The military in the Free City of Frankfurt of which the city placed 579 men to the federal contingent, consisted of a 700-strong line battalion under the command of a lieutenant colonel. The line military consisted of mercenaries from southern Germany. Its six companies stayed in their barracks and guard rooms when Frankfurt was occupied on 16 July 1866. In the evening, the main guard passed on the line battalion to the Prussian Army with full military honors. Ten days later, on 26 July 1866, the battalion was dissolved after a last muster and the soldiers were released from duty. Depending on their term of service they received a gratuity between 50 and 250 guilders. Many of them let themselves be recruited by the French Foreign Legion afterwards.

From Wikipedia: Free City of Frankfurt · Military (CC BY-SA 4.0)

After the break-up of the national assembly and the re-establishment of the German Confederation in 1850, the democratic opposition continued to advocate their demands, despite the senate's restorative politics that were considerate of the German princes. Nevertheless, the city's antiquated constitution was gradually reformed. In 1853, an electoral reform entitled the residents of the rural district to vote. By withdrawing the senators from courts and legislative meetings, the 1856 judicial and administrative reform established the separation of powers. Trials were henceforth held in public and verbal hearings and the elsewhere already common jury court was established.

From Wikipedia: Free City of Frankfurt · History: The End of the Free City (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Adolf VIII, the last Count of Holstein-Rendsburg and Duke of Schleswig had died without heirs in 1459. As Schleswig had been a Danish fief, it had to fall back to King Christian I of Denmark, who, himself a nephew of Adolf, also sought to enter into possession of Holstein. He was backed by the local nobility, who supported the continued common administration of both lands and by the 1460 Treaty of Ribe proclaimed him as the new Count of Holstein.

From Wikipedia: Duchy of Holstein · History: Establishment (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The royal part, held by Christian III and his successors (identical with the Kings of Denmark). From 1648 the royal parts of Schleswig and Holstein were administered out of Glückstadt and became known as the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein-Glückstadt. Before 1773 its Holstein territory consisted of the following Ämter: Rendsburg, South Dithmarschen, Steinburg, Segeberg, and Plön.

From Wikipedia: Duchy of Holstein · History: Partition (CC BY-SA 4.0)