States of the German Empire
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The States of the German Empire consisted of kingdoms (Königreiche), grand duchies (Großherzogtümer), duchies (Herzogtümer), principalities (Fürstentümer), free cities (Freie Hansestädte) and one imperial territory (Reichsland). Each component of the German Empire sent representatives to the Imperial Council (Bundesrat) and the Imperial Diet (Reichstag).
Territories were not necessarily contiguous - many existed in several parts, as a result of historical acquisition, or, in several cases, divisions of the ruling family trees. Relations between the Imperial centre and the Empire's components were somewhat fluid, and were developed on an ongoing basis. The extent to which the German Emperor could, for example, intervene on occasions of disputed or unclear succession was much debated on occasion - for example with the Lippe-Detmold crisis.
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[edit] Kingdoms
- Bavaria (“Bayern”) - capital Munich
- Prussia (“Preußen”) - capital Berlin
- Saxony (“Sachsen”) - capital Dresden
- Württemberg - capital Stuttgart
[edit] Grand Duchies
- Baden - capital Karlsruhe
- Hesse ("Hessen," informally "Hessen-Darmstadt") - capital Darmstadt
- Mecklenburg-Schwerin - capital Schwerin
- Mecklenburg-Strelitz - capital Strelitz
- Oldenburg - capital Oldenburg
- Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (“Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach”) - capital Weimar
[edit] Duchies
- Anhalt - capital Dessau
- Brunswick-Lüneburg (“Braunschweig”) - capital Braunschweig
- Saxe-Altenburg (“Sachsen-Altenburg”) - capital Altenburg
- Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (see also Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Gotha) (“Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha”) - capital Coburg
- Saxe-Meiningen (“Sachsen-Meiningen”) - capital Meiningen
[edit] Principalities
- Lippe - capital Detmold
- Reuss-Gera or Reuss Younger Line (“Reuß jüngere Linie”) - capital Gera
- Reuss-Greiz or Reuss Elder Line (“Reuß ältere Linie”) - capital Greiz
- Schaumburg-Lippe - capital Bückeburg
- Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt - capital Rudolstadt
- Schwarzburg-Sondershausen - capital Sondershausen
- Waldeck-Pyrmont - capital Arolsen
[edit] Free cities
[edit] Imperial Territories
- Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine (“Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen”)
