Deutschland Über Alles | |||||
Capital | Berlin | ||||
Largest city | Berlin | ||||
Other cities | Frankfurt/Main, Munich, Hamburg | ||||
Language official |
German | ||||
others | Polish,French,Allemanisch | ||||
Government | Constitutional Monarchy | ||||
Kaiser | Wilhelm IV | ||||
House of: | Hohenzollern | ||||
Chancellor | editing | ||||
Area | 668,483 km² | ||||
Population | 122,490,583 | ||||
Established | 1871 | ||||
Currency | Mark (ℳ) |
The German Empire, also referred to simply as Germany, is a country in central Europe. It shares a frontier to the north with Denmark, the North and Baltic Seas; to the east with Poland and Lithuania; to the South with Austria and Czecho-Slovakia; and to the west with France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Germany's territory covers 668,483 sq. km and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With over 122 million inhabitants, it is the largest state in Europe, if Asiatic Russia is not included.
Germany is a federal constitutional monarchy consisting of twenty-six states. The imperial capital and largest city is Berlin. The German Emperor (Kaiser) is head of state; an elected Parliament (Reichstag) forms the lower house of the national legislature. The Upper chamber of parliament is the Federal Council (Bundesrat) which is appointed by the state governments. The majority party or governing coaltion in the Reichstag nominates the Chancellor (Reichskanzler) as head of government. The government may be dismissed by the Kaiser. The upper chamber is the federal council, (Bundesrat) and each state is allocated a certain number of votes. Germany is a member of the League of Nations and the European Confederation and a founding member of its precurser the European Economic Community.
Constituent states of the Empire
Before unification, German territory was made up of 26 constituent states. These states consisted of kingdoms, grand duchies, duchies, principalities, free Hanseatic cities and one imperial territory. (Alsace-Lorraine was elevated to a Duchy in 1955 as part of Kaiser Louis-Ferdinand's reform program.) The Kingdom of Prussia was the largest of the constituent states, covering some 60 percent of the territory of the German Empire.
Several of these states had gained sovereignty following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire. Others were created as sovereign states after the Congress of Vienna in 1815. 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.
Each component of the German Empire sends representatives to the Imperial Council (Bundesrat) and the Imperial Diet (Reichstag). 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 Kaiser could, for example, intervene on occasions of disputed or unclear succession was much debated on occasion - for example with the Lippe-Detmold inheritance crisis.
States of the Empire
{{#ifeq: | NDB | |State | Capital | |
---|---|---|
Kingdoms (Königreiche) | ||
Prussia (Preußen) | Berlin | |
Bavaria (Bayern) | Munich | |
Saxony (Sachsen) | Dresden | |
Württemberg | Stuttgart | |
Grand duchies (Großherzogtümer) | ||
Baden | Karlsruhe | |
Hesse (Hessen) | Darmstadt | |
Mecklenburg-Schwerin | Schwerin | |
Mecklenburg-Strelitz (EEC) | Neustrelitz | |
File:Oldenburg Flagge.jpg | Oldenburg | Oldenburg |
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) | Weimar | |
Duchies (Herzogtümer) | ||
Anhalt | Dessau | |
Brunswick (Braunschweig) | Braunschweig | |
File:File:Flag Alsace-Lorraine.PNG | Alsace-Lorriane (Elsaß-Lothringen) | Straßburg |
Saxe-Altenburg (Sachsen-Altenburg) | Altenburg | |
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha) | Coburg | |
File:Flagge Herzogtum Sachsen-Meiningen.svg | Saxe-Meiningen (Sachsen-Meiningen) | Meiningen |
Principalities (Fürstentümer) | ||
Lippe | Detmold | |
Reuss, junior line | Gera | |
Reuss, senior line | Greiz | |
Schaumburg-Lippe | Bückeburg | |
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt | Rudolstadt | |
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen | Sondershausen | |
File:Flag of Germany (2-3).svg | Waldeck-Pyrmont | Arolsen |
Free Hanseatic cities (Freie Hansestädte) | ||
Bremen | ||
Hamburg | ||
Lübeck | ||
German Commonwealth (Deutscher Genossenshaft) | ||
File:Flag | Gabon | Capital |
File:Flag | Kamerun | Buea |
File:Flag | Kongo | Kinschasa |
File:Flag | Namibia | Windhoek |
File:Flag | New Guinea | Rabaul |
File:Flag | German Samoa | Apia |
File:Flag | Tanganjika | Dar es Salaam |
File:Flag | Ubangi-Shari | Bangi |
Note that Mecklenburg-Schwerin is in personal union with the Baltic State and Reuß (Elder line) is in personal union with Reuß (junior line). Most former German colonial possessions are sovereign states and members of the "German Commonwealth." Most are constitutional monarchies in personal union with the German emperor.
To be continued
To be continued...
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