Grand Duchy of Oldenburg

Grand Duchy of Oldenburg Großherzogtum Oldenburg
1814–1918
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Heil dir, O Oldenburg "Hail to thee, O Oldenburg"
Oldenburg within the German Empire
Capital	Oldenburg
Government	Constitutional monarchy
Grand Duke of Oldenburg
• 1814–1823	Peter Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Oldenburg
• 1823–1829	Peter I, Grand Duke of Oldenburg
• 1829–1853	Augustus, Grand Duke of Oldenburg
• 1853–1900	Peter II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg
• 1900–1918	Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg
History
• Congress of Vienna	1814
• German Revolution	9 November 1918
Currency	Thaler, (until 1858) Vereinsthaler, (1858–1873) German Goldmark, (1873–1914) German Papiermark (1914–1918)
Preceded by Succeeded by First French Empire Free State of Oldenburg

The Grand Duchy of Oldenburg was a Grand Duchy within the German Confederation, and later North German Confederation, consisted of three widely separated portions of territory — Oldenburg, Eutin and Birkenfeld. It ranked tenth among the German states and had one vote in the Bundesrat of Germany and three members in the Reichstag.

History

The bulk of its inhabitants were Saxons, but to the north and west there were numerous descendants of the ancient Frisians. The differences between the two people were still to some extent perceptible, but Low German was universally spoken, except in Saterland, where Saterland Frisian language had maintained itself. The population was somewhat unequally distributed, some parts of the marsh lands containing over 300 persons to the square mile, while in the Geest the number occasionally sank as low as 40. About 70% of the inhabitants lived in the rural area. The harbour of Wilhelmshaven, on the shore of Jade Bight, was built by the Kingdom of Prussia on land ceded by the Jade Treaty.

To William fell the onerous task of governing during the time of the Napoleonic wars. In 1806, the Duchy of Oldenburg was occupied by the French and the Dutch, the duke and the regent being put to flight; but in 1807 William was restored, and in 1808 he joined the Confederation of the Rhine. However, in 1810 his lands were forcibly seized by Napoleon because he refused to exchange them for Erfurt. This drove him to join the Allies, and at the Congress of Vienna due to the good offices of Alexander I of Russia, his services were rewarded by the addition of Eutin and Birkenfeld to make a Grand Duchy. In 1829, Augustus succeeded his father Peter I.

Oldenburg did not entirely escape from the Revolutions of 1848 which swept across Europe, but no serious disturbances took place therein. In 1849, Augustus granted a constitution of a very liberal character to his subjects. Hitherto his country had been ruled in the spirit of enlightened despotism, which was strengthened by the absence of a privileged class of nobles, by the comparative independence of the peasantry, and by the unimportance of the towns; and thus a certain amount of friction was inevitable in the working of the new order. In 1852 some modifications were introduced into the constitution, which, nevertheless, remained one of the most liberal in the German Confederation. Important alterations were made in the administrative system in 1855, and again in 1868, and church affairs were ordered by a law of 1853. In 1863, Peter II who had ruled since the death of his father Augustus in 1853, seemed inclined to press a claim to the vacant Duchy of Schleswig and Duchy of Holstein, but ultimately in 1867 he abandoned this in favour of the Kingdom of Prussia, and received some slight compensation. In 1866 he had sided with this power against the Austrian Empire and had joined the North German Confederation; in 1871 it became a state of the German Empire.

Sources

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)