Old page wikitext, before the edit (old_wikitext) | '{{Short description|Federal state in Northern Germany, 1866–1871}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Infobox Former Country
|native_name = {{native name|de|Norddeutscher Bund}}
|conventional_long_name = North German Confederation
|common_name = North German Confederation
|era = [[New Imperialism]]
|status = [[Federation]]
|common_languages = [[German language|German]], [[Low German]], [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Saterland Frisian language|East Frisian]], [[North Frisian language|North Frisian]], [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Kashubian language|Kashubian]], [[Slovincian language|Slovincian]], [[Silesian language|Silesian]], [[Czech language|Czech]], [[Moravian language|Moravian]], [[Upper Sorbian language|Upper Sorbian]], [[Lower Sorbian language|Lower Sorbian]], [[Polabian language|Polabian]], [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], [[Kursenieki language|Kursenieki]], [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], [[Wymysorys language|Wymysorys]], [[French language|French]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]]
|religion = '''Majority:'''<br/>[[Protestantism]] ([[Lutheran]], [[Calvinist]], [[United and uniting churches|United churches]])<br/>{{hidden|'''Minorities:'''|[[Catholicism]], [[Judaism]]|style=font-size:100%;padding:0.25em 0 0; |headerstyle=text-align:left;font-weight:normal;}}
|currency = [[Vereinsthaler]]
|year_start = 1866
|year_end = 1871
|event_start = [[North German Confederation Treaty|Confederation Treaty]]
|date_start = 18 August
|event1 = [[Peace of Prague (1866)|Peace of Prague; German Confederation dissolved]]
|date_event1 = 20 August 1866
|event2 = [[North German Constitution|Constitution adopted]]
|date_event2 = 16 April 1867
|event3 = [[Constitution of the German Confederation (1871)|Accession of southern states; German Empire adopted as name]]
|date_event3 = 1 January 1871
|event_end = {{nowrap|[[Proclamation of the German Empire|Empire proclaimed]]}}
|date_end = 18 January
|event_post = [[Constitution of the German Empire|Constitution of the Empire]]
|date_post = 4 May 1871
|p1 = German Confederation{{!}}German Confederation{{efn|''de facto'', except [[Austrian Empire]], [[Duchy of Limburg (1839–1867)]], [[Grand Duchy of Luxembourg]] and [[Principality of Liechtenstein]]}}
|image_p1 = <span style="padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px;">[[File:Wappen Deutscher Bund.svg|16px|link=German Confederation]]</span>
|p2 = Duchy of Schleswig
|image_p2 = <span style="padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px;">[[File:Schleswig Arms.svg|16px|link=Duchy of Schleswig]]</span>
|p3 = Province of Prussia
|flag_p3 = Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg
|p4 = Province of Posen
|flag_p4 = Flagge Preußen - Provinz Posen.svg
|p5 = Kingdom of Prussia
|flag_p5 = Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg
|s1 = German Empire
|flag_s1 = Flag of the German Empire.svg
|image_flag = Flag of the German Empire.svg
|flag_type_article = Flag of Germany#North German Confederation and the German Empire (1867–1918)
|image_coat = Coat of arms of the North German Confederation.svg
|symbol_type = Coat of arms
|symbol_type_article = Coat of arms of Germany#North German Confederation
|image_map = North German Confederation 1870.svg
|image_map_caption = The North German Confederation in 1870
|image_map2 = Map-NDB.svg
|image_map2_caption = The North German Confederation (red). The southern German states that [[Unification of Germany|joined in 1870]] to form the [[German Empire]] are in orange. [[Alsace–Lorraine]], the territory annexed following the [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1870, is in tan. The red territory in the south marks the [[Province of Hohenzollern|original princedom]] of the House of Hohenzollern, rulers of the [[Kingdom of Prussia]].
|capital = [[Berlin]]
|government_type = [[Confederation|Confederal]] [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[semi-constitutional monarchy]]
|title_leader = [[President of the North German Confederation|President]]
|leader1 = [[Wilhelm I, German Emperor|Wilhelm I]]
|year_leader1 = 1867–1871
|title_deputy = [[List of chancellors of Germany|Chancellor]]
|deputy1 = [[Otto von Bismarck]]
|year_deputy1 = 1867–1871
|legislature = [[Bicameralism|Bicameral]]
|upper_house = [[Bundesrat (German Empire)|Bundesrat]]
|lower_house = [[Reichstag (North German Confederation)|Reichstag]]
|demonym= North German|area_km2=|area_rank=|GDP_PPP=|GDP_PPP_year=|HDI=|HDI_year=}}
{{History of Germany}}
[[File:NB 1866-1871.99.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|Map of the North German Confederation ([[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] with its [[Provinces of Prussia|provinces]] are shown in blue)]]
The '''North German Confederation''' ({{lang-de|{{audio|De-Norddeutscher Bund.ogg|Norddeutscher Bund}}}})<ref>An alternative translation is "North German Federation." The German word ''Bund'' is used in the German constitutional history (a) for confederations (associations of states, in German ''Staatenbund'') such as the [[German Confederation]] of 1815, but (b) also for federations (federal states, in German ''Bundesstaat'' or ''Föderaler Staat'') such as the Federal Republic of Germany or the United States of America.</ref> was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the [[Kingdom of Prussia]], which was transformed in the subsequent year into a [[Confederation|confederated state]] (a ''de facto'' [[federal state]]) that existed from July 1867 to December 1870. A milestone of the [[Unification of Germany|German Unification]], it was the earliest [[Succession of states|continual legal predecessor]] of the modern German nation-state known today as the [[Federal Republic of Germany]].<ref>See Michael Kotulla: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte. Vom Alten Reich bis Weimar (1495–1934).'' Springer, Berlin 2008, p. 526. R. Stettner, in: H. Dreier (ed.), Grundgesetz-Kommentar, vol. 2, second edition 2006, Art. 123, Rn. 14. Bernhard Diestelkamp: ''Rechtsgeschichte als Zeitgeschichte. Historische Betrachtungen zur Entstehung und Durchsetzung der Theorie vom Fortbestand des Deutschen Reiches als Staat nach 1945.'' In: ''Zeitschrift für Neuere Rechtsgeschichte'' 7 (1985), pp. 187 and following.</ref>
The Confederation came into existence following the Prussian victory in the [[Austro-Prussian War]] of 1866 over the lordship of two small Danish [[duchies]] ([[Schleswig-Holstein]]) resulting in the [[Peace of Prague (1866)|Peace of Prague]], where Prussia pressured Austria and its allies into accepting the dissolution of the existing [[German Confederation]] (an association of German states under the leadership of the [[Austrian Empire]]), thus paving the way for the [[Lesser Germany|Lesser German version]] of German unification in the form of a federal state in Northern Germany. Construction of such state became a reality in August 1866, following the [[North German Confederation Treaty]], initially as a military alliance only, while its first federal constitution establishing a constitutional monarchy with the Prussian king holding as the head of state the ''{{lang|de|[[Bundespräsidium]]}}'' was adopted on 1 July 1867.<ref>Michael Kotulla: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte. Vom Alten Reich bis Weimar (1495–1934)''. Springer, Berlin 2008, pp. 487–489.</ref> Laws could only be enabled with the consent of the ''{{lang|de|Reichstag}}'' (a parliament based on universal male suffrage) and the [[Bundesrat (German Empire)|Federal Council]] ({{lang|de|Bundesrat}}, a representation of the states). During the initial three and a half years of the Confederation, a conservative-liberal cooperation undertook important steps to unify (Northern) Germany with regard to law and infrastructure. The designed political system and the political parties remained essentially the same also after 1870.
Shortly after its inception, tensions emerged between the North German Confederation and the [[Second French Empire]], which was ruled by the [[Emperor of the French|French Emperor]] [[Napoleon III]]. In Summer 1870, a dispute over a new king for Spain escalated into the [[Franco-Prussian War]]. At the time, the original Confederation had nearly 30 million inhabitants of whom 80% lived in [[Prussia]], thus making up roughly 75% of the population of the future German Empire. Under these circumstances, the South German states of [[Grand Duchy of Baden|Baden]], [[Grand Duchy of Hesse|Hesse-Darmstadt]], [[Kingdom of Württemberg|Württemberg]] and [[Kingdom of Bavaria|Bavaria]] previously opposed to the Confederation ultimately decided to join it.<ref>Michael Kotulla: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte. Vom Alten Reich bis Weimar (1495–1934)''. Springer, Berlin 2008, pp. 525–527.</ref> [[Constitution of the German Confederation 1871|A new short-lived constitution]] subsequently entered into force on 1 January 1871 proclaiming in its preamble and article 11 the "[[German Empire]]" despite being titled as one of a new "German Confederation", but it lasted only four months. Following the victory in the war with France, the German princes and senior military commanders [[William I of Germany#Emperor|proclaimed Wilhelm "German Emperor"]] in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles.<ref>[http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/kaiserreich/innenpolitik/reichsgruendung/index.html Die Reichsgründung 1871] (The Foundation of the Empire, 1871), Lebendiges virtuelles Museum Online, accessed 2008-12-22. German text translated: [...] on the wishes of Wilhelm I, on the 170th anniversary of the elevation of the House of Brandenburg to royal status on January 18, 1701, the assembled German princes and high military officials proclaimed Wilhelm I as German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Versailles Palace.</ref> Transition from the Confederation to the Empire was completed when the [[Constitution of the German Empire]] which prevailed until the demise of the monarchy entered into force on 4 May 1871, while France recognised the empire on 10 May 1871 in the [[Treaty of Frankfurt (1871)|Treaty of Frankfurt]].<ref>Crankshaw, Edward. ''Bismarck''. New York, The Viking Press, 1981, p. 299.</ref><ref>Ernst Rudolf Huber: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789.'' Vol. III: ''Bismarck und das Reich.'' 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [et al.] 1988, p. 747.</ref>
== Prelude ==
For most of 1815–1833, Austria and Prussia worked together and used the [[German Confederation]] as a tool to suppress liberal and national ambitions in the German population.
===''Zollverein''===
The first major step towards a [[Lesser Germany|Lesser German solution]] was the ''[[Zollverein]]'', a customs union formed by the treaties of 1833, with [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] being the primary driver behind the customs union.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ploeckl|first=Florian|date=2020|title=A novel institution: the ''Zollverein'' and the origins of the customs union|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-institutional-economics/article/abs/novel-institution-the-zollverein-and-the-origins-of-the-customs-union/44D39974F7D2B3B9DE3DCD1135764EB4|journal=Journal of Institutional Economics|volume=17|issue=2|language=en|pages=305–319|doi=10.1017/S1744137420000387|s2cid=211238300|issn=1744-1374}}</ref> Although it was formally inaugurated on 1 January 1834, its origins may be traced to a variety of [[custom union]]s among the German states, formed beginning from 1818. The ''Zollverein'' was not subordinate to the Austrian-led [[German Confederation]] (1815–1866) and [[Austrian Empire|Austria]] itself was excluded because of its highly [[Protectionism|protectionist]] trade policy, the unwillingness to split its customs territory into the separate Austrian, Hungarian and Galician-Lodomerian ones, as well as due to opposition of [[Prince von Metternich]] to the idea.<ref>{{cite web |title=Germany – The age of Metternich and the era of unification, 1815–71 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany/The-age-of-Metternich-and-the-era-of-unification-1815-71 |publisher=Britannica}}</ref> Nevertheless, the ''Zollverein'' managed to include by 1866 the majority of the German states.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ploeckl|first=Florian|date=2020|title=A novel institution: the ''Zollverein'' and the origins of the customs union|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-institutional-economics/article/abs/novel-institution-the-zollverein-and-the-origins-of-the-customs-union/44D39974F7D2B3B9DE3DCD1135764EB4|journal=Journal of Institutional Economics|volume=17|issue=2|language=en|pages=305–319|doi=10.1017/S1744137420000387|s2cid=211238300|issn=1744-1374}}</ref>
===Frankfurt Parliament and the Erfurt Union===
In 1849, the National Assembly in Frankfurt elected the Prussian king as the Emperor of a [[Lesser Germany]] (a Germany without Austria). The king refused and tried to unite Germany with the [[Erfurt Union]] of 1849–1850. When the union parliament met in early 1850 to discuss the constitution, the participating states were mainly only those in Northern and Central Germany. Austria and the southern German states Württemberg and Bavaria forced Prussia to give up its union plans in late 1850.<ref>David E. Barclay: ''Preußen und die Unionspolitik 1849/1850''. In: Gunther Mai (ed.): ''Die Erfurter Union und das Erfurter Unionsparlament 1850''. 2000, pp. 53–80, here pp. 78–80.</ref>
In April and June 1866, Prussia proposed a Lesser Germany again. A corner stone of the proposal was the election of a German parliament based on universal male suffrage.<ref>Ernst Rudolf Huber: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789''. Vol. III: ''Bismarck und das Reich''. 3rd edition, [[Kohlhammer Verlag]], Stuttgart et al. 1988, pp. 536/537.</ref> The proposal explicitly mentioned the Frankfurt election law of 1849. [[Otto von Bismarck]], the minister-president of Prussia, wanted to gain sympathy within the national and liberal movement of the time. Austria and its allies refused the proposal. In summer 1866 Austria and Prussia fought with their respective allies in the [[Austro-Prussian War]].
=== Peace of Prague and dissolution of German Confederation===
Prussia and Austria signed a Nikolsburg preliminary (26 July) and a final [[Peace of Prague (1866)|peace treaty of Prague]] (23 August). Austria accepted the Prussian demand for the German Confederation to be dissolved. Prussia was allowed to create instead a "closer federation" ({{lang|de|ein engerer Bund}}) in Germany north of the river Main. Bismarck had already agreed on this limitation with the French emperor Napoleon III prior to the peace talks.<ref>Ernst Rudolf Huber: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789''. Vol. III: ''Bismarck und das Reich''. W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [et al.] 1963, p. 570.</ref>
==Formation of the North German Confederation==
===Military alliance===
On 18 August 1866, Prussia and a larger number of North and Central German states signed the [[North German Confederation Treaty]] establishing a {{lang|de|Bündnis}} (alliance). The treaty created a military alliance for one year. It also affirmed that the states wanted to form a federal state based on the Prussian proposals of June 1866. They agreed to have a parliament elected to discuss a draft constitution. At the same time, the original East Prussian cradle of the Prussian statehood as well as the Prussian-held Polish- or Kashubian-speaking territories of [[Province of Posen]] and [[West Prussia]] were formally ′annexed into Germany. Saxony and Hesse-Darmstadt, former enemies in the war of 1866, had to agree their accession to the new federation in their respective peace treaties (Hesse-Darmstadt only joined with its northern province, Upper Hesse).<ref>Michael Kotulla: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte. Vom Alten Reich bis Weimar (1495–1934)''. Springer, Berlin 2008, pp. 491–492.</ref> Later in 1866, other states joined the treaty. The liberals in the Prussian parliament favored a wholesale annexation of all North German territories by Prussia. In a similar way, Sardinia–Piedmont had created the [[Kingdom of Italy]]. But Bismarck chose a different approach. Prussia incorporated (in October 1866) only the former military opponents Hannover, Hesse-Kassel, Nassau, the free city of Frankfurt, and the Hesse-Homburg area of Hesse Darmstadt. These areas were combined into the two new Prussian provinces of Hannover and Hesse-Nassau. Schleswig and Holstein also became a Prussian province.<ref>Ernst Rudolf Huber: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789''. Vol. III: "Bismarck und das Reich". 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart (et al.) 1988, pp. 580–583.</ref>
=== Towards a federal constitution ===
[[File:Chart Constitution of the North German Confederation 1867 EN.svg|thumb|Chart illustrating the constitution of the North German Confederation]]
Bismarck sought advice from conservative and democratic politicians and finally presented a draft constitution to the other state governments. At the same time, in late 1866, Prussia and the other states prepared the election of a North German parliament. This {{lang|de|konstituierender Reichstag}} was elected in February 1867 based on state laws. The {{lang|de|konstituierender Reichstag}} gathered from February to April. In close talks with Bismarck, it altered the draft constitution in some significant points. The {{lang|de|konstituierender Reichstag}} was not a parliament but only an organ to discuss and accept the draft constitution. After that, the state parliaments (June 1867) ratified it so that on 1 July the constitution was enabled. In August, the first Reichstag of the new federal state was elected.
A major factor in determining the form the new federal government would take was the aftermath of the recently concluded [[American Civil War]], which had seen the southern states forcibly re-incorporated into the [[United States of America]] and [[slavery in the United States|slavery]] abolished. While few Germans were particularly sympathetic toward the precise institution (i.e., slavery) which had precipitated civil war in America, the prevailing viewpoint outside the U.S. at this time was that the slaves had only been emancipated as a reprisal for Southern secession from the American Union. With this in mind, many Catholics especially in Southern Germany feared that Prussia might one day might attempt to engineer a similar sort of secession crisis within a united Germany and use it as a pretext to launch a violent repression against Catholicism throughout Germany. Thus, it was Bismarck's intention to make the new federal state look like a confederation in the tradition of the German Confederation and explains the name of the country and several provisions in the draft constitution — Bismarck needed to make the federal state more attractive (or at least less repulsive) to southern German states which might later join.<ref>Christoph Vondenhoff: ''Hegemonie und Gleichgewicht im Bundesstaat. Preußen 1867–1933: Geschichte eines hegemonialen Gliedstaates''. Diss. Bonn 2000, Shaker Verlag, Aachen 2001, pp. 31–33.</ref>
== Constructing the nation-state ==
During the roughly three and a half years of the North German Confederation its major action existed in legislation unifying Northern Germany. The Reichstag decided on laws concerning, for example:
* free movement of citizens within the territory of the Confederation (1867)
* a common postal system (1867–1868)
* common passports (1867)
* equal rights for the different religious denominations (1869)
* unified measures and weights (with the obligatory introduction of the metric system)
* penal code (1870)
The North German Confederation also became a member of the {{lang|de|[[Zollverein]]}}, the German customs union of 1834.
=== Political system ===
[[File:KonstsitNDBT.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|First session of the {{lang|de|konstituierender Reichstag}} on 24 February 1867. This organ was actually not a parliament as there was no federal state then. Its sole purpose was to discuss and accept the draft constitution. Later, in August, the North Germans elected the first Reichstag as established by the new constitution.]]
The [[North German Constitution]] of 16 April 1867 created a national parliament with universal suffrage (for men above the age of 25), the {{lang|de|[[Reichstag (North German Confederation)|Reichstag]]}}. Another important organ was the {{lang|de|[[Bundesrat of Germany|Bundesrat]]}}, the 'federal council' of the representatives of the state governments. To adopt a law, a majority in the Reichstag and in the Bundesrat was necessary. This gave the allied governments, meaning the states (and, depending on the state, their princes), an important veto.
Executive power was vested in a [[chancellor of Germany|chancellor]], being the only responsible federal minister of the country. There was no formal cabinet, and in the time of the North German Confederation there were only two government departments anyway: the {{lang|de|Bundeskanzleramt}} as the general office of the chancellor, and, since early 1870, the foreign office.
The chancellor was installed and dismissed by the {{lang|de|Bundespräsidium}}. This office belonged automatically to the Prussian king (art. 11). The holder was de facto the head of state of the North German Confederation. (Bismarck wanted to avoid the title {{lang|de|Präsident}} with its republican air.)
For all intents and purposes, the Confederation was dominated by Prussia. It had four-fifths of the confederation's territory and population – more than the other 21 members combined. The Prussian king was a kind of head of state. Chancellor Bismarck was also prime minister and foreign minister of Prussia. In that role he instructed the Prussian votes in the Bundesrat. Prussia had 17 of 43 votes in the Bundesrat despite being by far the largest state but could easily get a majority by making alliances with the smaller states.
===Customs union===
In June 1867 a conference took place between Prussia and the south German states, who were not members of the North German Confederation. After pressure from Prussia, new Customs Union ({{lang|de|Zollverein}}) treaties were signed the following month. Henceforth, the governing bodies of the Customs Union were the Bundesrat and Reichstag of the North German Confederation, augmented by representatives of the south German governments in the former and members from these states elected in the same way as the others in the latter. When augmented thus for customs matters, the institutions were known as the Federal Customs Council and the Customs Parliament ({{lang|de|Zollparlament}}).<ref name=Hend314>Henderson, William. The Zollverein. Publ Cambridge University Press, 1939; p.314</ref>
On 1 January 1868, the new institutions came into force. Bismarck hoped that the {{lang|de|Zollverein}} might become the vehicle of German unification. But in the 1868 [[Zollparlament election, 1868|{{lang|de|Zollparlament|nocat=y}} election]] the South Germans voted mainly for anti-Prussian parties.
On the other hand, the two Mecklenburg duchies and three Hanseatic cities were initially not members of the Customs Union. The Mecklenburgs and Lübeck joined soon after the North German Confederation was formed. Eventually, after heavy Prussian pressure, [[Accession of Hamburg to the German Customs Union (Zollverein)|Hamburg acceded to the Customs Union]] in 1888. Bremen joined at the same time. Despite this, all these states fully participated in the federal institutions, even while outside the Customs Union and not directly affected by their decisions in that regard.
=== Postage stamps ===
[[File:Stamp of North German Confederation.jpg|thumb|North German 7-[[kreuzer]] stamp, 1868. The postal services in the north German states were united into the {{lang|de|Norddeutscher Postbezirk}}, the predecessor of the {{lang|de|Reichspost}}.]]
{{Main|Postage stamps and postal history of the North German Confederation}}
One of the functions of the confederation was to handle mail and issue postage stamps.
===Transition to the German Empire===
{{main|German Empire}}
In mid-1870, a diplomatic crisis concerning the Spanish throne led eventually to the [[Franco-Prussian War]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Manfred |last=Görtemaker |title=Deutschland im 19. Jahrhundert: Entwicklungslinien |location=Opladen |year=1983 |page=244 |isbn=9783663096559 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jGyEBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA244 }}</ref> During the war, in November 1870, the south German states of [[Kingdom of Bavaria|Bavaria]], [[Kingdom of Württemberg|Württemberg]], and [[Grand Duchy of Baden|Baden]] (together with the parts of [[Grand Duchy of Hesse|Hesse-Darmstadt]] that were left out of the Confederation) joined the North German Confederation. On this occasion, the country adopted a new constitution, and the name of the federal state was changed to {{lang|de|Deutsches Reich}} (German Empire).
According to a minority among German experts, the North German Confederation and the southern states created a new federal state (the German Empire). Indeed, Bismarck allowed the south German states to save face and therefore used terminology suggesting a new creation. But Kotulla emphasizes that legally only accession of the southern states to the North German Confederation was possible; the legal basis for such an accession was art. 79 of the North German federal constitution.<ref>Michael Kotulla: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte. Vom Alten Reich bis Weimar (1495–1934)''. Springer, Berlin 2008, p. 526.</ref>
On 10 December 1870 the Reichstag of the North German Confederation had adopted a [[Constitution of the German Confederation (1871)|new constitution]], still titled as one of the {{lang|de|Deutscher Bund}} (German Confederation) in spite of establishing for the state a new name {{lang|de|Deutsches Reich}} (German Realm or German Empire) and granting the title of [[German Emperor]] to the [[King of Prussia]] holding the {{lang|de|Bundespräsidium}} of the Confederation; it entered into force on 1 January 1871, but lasted only four months.<ref name="case139-140">{{cite book |title=European Constitutional History |last=Case |first=Nelson |year=1902 |publisher=Jennings & Pye |location=Cincinnati |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_G2t9AAAAMAAJ/page/n151 139]–140 |oclc=608806061 |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_G2t9AAAAMAAJ}}</ref>
Following the victory in the war with France, the German princes and senior military commanders [[William I of Germany#Emperor|proclaimed Wilhelm "German Emperor"]] in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles.<ref>[http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/kaiserreich/innenpolitik/reichsgruendung/index.html Die Reichsgründung 1871] (The Foundation of the Empire, 1871), Lebendiges virtuelles Museum Online, accessed 2008-12-22. German text translated: [...] on the wishes of Wilhelm I, on the 170th anniversary of the elevation of the House of Brandenburg to royal status on January 18, 1701, the assembled German princes and high military officials proclaimed Wilhelm I as German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Versailles Palace, and he accepted the title.</ref> This latter date was later customarily celebrated as the symbolic day of 'foundation of the German Empire' ({{lang|de|Deutsche Reichsgründung}}), although it had no constitutional meaning.<ref>Ernst Rudolf Huber: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789.'' Vol. III: ''Bismarck und das Reich.'' 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [et al.] 1988, pp. 750/751.</ref>
After a new Reichstag was elected on 3 March 1871, the transition from the Confederation to the Empire was completed when the permanent [[Constitution of the German Empire]] prevailing until the demise of the monarchy entered into force on 4 May 1871, while France recognised the empire on 10 May 1871 in the [[Treaty of Frankfurt (1871)|Treaty of Frankfurt]].<ref>Crankshaw, Edward. ''Bismarck''. New York, The Viking Press, 1981, p. 299.</ref><ref>Ernst Rudolf Huber: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789.'' Vol. III: ''Bismarck und das Reich.'' 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [et al.] 1988, p. 747.</ref>
The three constitutions (1867, January 1871, and April 1871) were nearly identical. It took roughly a decade to develop the country into a fully grown federal state, with several governmental departments (a kind of ministries), responsible state secretaries (a kind of ministers, 1878), and an imperial court ({{lang|de|Reichsgericht}}, 1879).
== List of member states ==
[[File:North German Confederation and Prussia (Fullarton, 1872).jpg|thumb|Detailed map of North German Confederation.]]
All of the member states had already belonged to the German Confederation of 1815–66. Austria and the south German states Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden and the Grand Duchy of Hesse (Hesse-Darmstadt) remained outside of the North German Confederation. Though, the northern province {{lang|de|Oberhessen}} of the Grand Duchy of Hesse did join.
In northern, central and eastern Germany, Prussia:
* had gathered a number of allies that joined the North German Confederation via the August treaties ({{lang|de|Augustverträge}}) of August 1866;
* annexed four former enemy states (Hanover, Kurhessen, Nassau, Frankfurt) which became parts of Prussia (October 1866);
* included its own territories formerly outside of the Holy Roman Empire and the German Confederation, namely the East Prussian cradle of its statehood as well as the Prussian-conquered Polish territories ([[Province of Posen]], [[West Prussia]]) in the new state, thus formally annexing them into Germany
* forced the remaining states into the North German Confederation via the peace treaties.
Lauenburg is sometimes mentioned as one of the member states, sometimes not. It was one of the three duchies that had earlier belong to Denmark. Lauenburg was a state with the Prussian king as duke until 1876, when it became a part of the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein.
{{Table of states in the German Empire|NDB}}
== See also ==
{{Commons category|North German Confederation}}
* [[North German Constitution]]
* [[Former countries in Europe after 1815]]
* [[German unification]]
==Notes==
{{Notelist}}
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== Further reading ==
* Craig, Gordon A. ''Germany, 1866–1945'' (1978) pp. 11–22 [https://www.questia.com/library/book/germany-1866-1945-by-gordon-a-craig.jsp online edition]
* {{Cite book |last=Holborn |first=Hajo |title=A History of Modern Germany: 1840–1945 |date=1959 |isbn=9780394302782 |pages=173–232|publisher=Knopf }}
* Hudson, Richard. "The Formation of the North German Confederation." ''[[Political Science Quarterly]]'' (1891) 6#3 pp: 424–438. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2139487 in JSTOR]
* Nipperdey, Thomas. ''Germany from Napoleon to Bismarck: 1800–1866'' (1996), very dense coverage of every aspect of German society, economy and government
* Pflanze, Otto. ''Bismarck and the Development of Germany, Vol. 1: The Period of Unification, 1815–1871'' (1971)
* Taylor, A.J.P. ''Bismarck: The Man and the Statesman'' (1967) [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=14683010 online edition]
{{States of the North German Confederation}}
{{GermanUnification}}
{{Authority control}}
{{coord|52|31|N|13|24|E|type:country_source:kolossus-ptwiki|display=title}}
[[Category:North German Confederation| ]]
[[Category:Modern history of Germany]]
[[Category:Former confederations]]
[[Category:Kingdom of Prussia]]
[[Category:Kingdom of Saxony]]
[[Category:1860s in Germany]]
[[Category:1870s in Germany]]
[[Category:1860s in Prussia]]
[[Category:1870s in Prussia]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1867]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1871]]
[[Category:1867 establishments in Germany]]
[[Category:1871 disestablishments in Germany]]
[[Category:1867 establishments in Prussia]]
[[Category:1870s disestablishments in Prussia]]
[[Category:19th century in Germany]]
[[Category:19th century in Prussia]]' |
New page wikitext, after the edit (new_wikitext) | '{{Short description|Federal state in Northern Germany, 1866–1871}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Infobox Former Country
|native_name = {{native name|de|Norddeutscher Bund}}
|conventional_long_name = North German Confederation
|common_name = North German Confederation
|era = [[New Imperialism]]
|status = [[Federation]]
|common_languages = [[German language|German]], [[Low German]], [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Saterland Frisian language|East Frisian]], [[North Frisian language|North Frisian]], [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Kashubian language|Kashubian]], [[Slovincian language|Slovincian]], [[Silesian language|Silesian]], [[Czech language|Czech]], [[Moravian language|Moravian]], [[Upper Sorbian language|Upper Sorbian]], [[Lower Sorbian language|Lower Sorbian]], [[Polabian language|Polabian]], [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], [[Kursenieki language|Kursenieki]], [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], [[Wymysorys language|Wymysorys]], [[French language|French]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]]
|religion = '''Majority:'''<br/>[[Protestantism]] ([[Lutheran]], [[Calvinist]], [[United and uniting churches|United churches]])<br/>{{hidden|'''Minorities:'''|[[Catholicism]], [[Judaism]]|style=font-size:100%;padding:0.25em 0 0; |headerstyle=text-align:left;font-weight:normal;}}
|currency = [[Vereinsthaler]]
|year_start = 1866
|year_end = 1871
|event_start = [[North German Confederation Treaty|Confederation Treaty]]
|date_start = 18 August
|event1 = [[Peace of Prague (1866)|Peace of Prague; German Confederation dissolved]]
|date_event1 = 20 August 1866
|event2 = [[North German Constitution|Constitution adopted]]
|date_event2 = 16 April 1867
|event3 = [[Constitution of the German Confederation (1871)|Accession of southern states; German Empire adopted as name]]
|date_event3 = 1 January 1871
|event_end = {{nowrap|[[Proclamation of the German Empire|Empire proclaimed]]}}
|date_end = 18 January
|event_post = [[Constitution of the German Empire|Constitution of the Empire]]
|date_post = 4 May 1871
|p1 = German Confederation{{!}}German Confederation{{efn|''de facto'', except [[Austrian Empire]], [[Duchy of Limburg (1839–1867)]], [[Grand Duchy of Luxembourg]] and [[Principality of Liechtenstein]]}}
|image_p1 = <span style="padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px;">[[File:Wappen Deutscher Bund.svg|16px|link=German Confederation]]</span>
|p2 = Duchy of Schleswig
|image_p2 = <span style="padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px;">[[File:Schleswig Arms.svg|16px|link=Duchy of Schleswig]]</span>
|p3 = Province of Prussia
|flag_p3 = Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg
|p4 = Province of Posen
|flag_p4 = Flagge Preußen - Provinz Posen.svg
|p5 = Kingdom of Prussia
|flag_p5 = Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg
|s1 = German Empire
|flag_s1 = Flag of the German Empire.svg
|image_flag = Flag of the German Empire.svg
|flag_type_article = Flag of Germany#North German Confederation and the German Empire (1867–1918)
|image_coat = Coat of arms of the North German Confederation.svg
|symbol_type = Coat of arms
|symbol_type_article = Coat of arms of Germany#North German Confederation
|image_map = North German Confederation 1870.svg
|image_map_caption = The North German Confederation in 1870
|image_map2 = Map-NDB.svg
|image_map2_caption = The North German Confederation (red). The southern German states that [[Unification of Germany|joined in 1870]] to form the [[German Empire]] are in orange. [[Alsace–Lorraine]], the territory annexed following the [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1870, is in tan. The red territory in the south marks the [[Province of Hohenzollern|original princedom]] of the House of Hohenzollern, rulers of the [[Kingdom of Prussia]].
|capital = [[Berlin]]
|government_type = [[Confederation|Confederal]] [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[semi-constitutional monarchy]]
|title_leader = [[President of the North German Confederation|President]]
|leader1 = [[Wilhelm I, German Emperor|Wilhelm I]]
|year_leader1 = 1867–1871
|title_deputy = [[List of chancellors of Germany|Chancellor]]
|deputy1 = [[Otto von Bismarck]]
|year_deputy1 = 1867–1871
|legislature = [[Bicameralism|Bicameral]]
|upper_house = [[Bundesrat (German Empire)|Bundesrat]]
|lower_house = [[Reichstag (North German Confederation)|Reichstag]]
|demonym= North German|area_km2=|area_rank=|GDP_PPP=|GDP_PPP_year=|HDI=|HDI_year=}}
{{History of Germany}}
[[File:NB 1866-1871.99.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|Map of the North German Confederation ([[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] with its [[Provinces of Prussia|provinces]] are shown in blue)]]
The '''North German Confederation''' ({{lang-de|{{audio|De-Norddeutscher Bund.ogg|Norddeutscher Bund}}}})<ref>An alternative translation is "North German Federation." The German word ''Bund'' is used in the German constitutional history (a) for confederations (associations of states, in German ''Staatenbund'') such as the [[German Confederation]] of 1815, but (b) also for federations (federal states, in German ''Bundesstaat'' or ''Föderaler Staat'') such as the Federal Republic of Germany or the United States of America.</ref> was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the [[Kingdom of Prussia]], which was transformed in the subsequent year into a [[Confederation|confederated state]] (a ''de facto'' [[federal state]]) that existed from July 1867 to December 1870. A milestone of the [[Unification of Germany|German Unification]], it was the earliest [[Succession of states|continual legal predecessor]] of the modern German nation-state known today as the [[Federal Republic of Germany]].<ref>See Michael Kotulla: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte. Vom Alten Reich bis Weimar (1495–1934).'' Springer, Berlin 2008, p. 526. R. Stettner, in: H. Dreier (ed.), Grundgesetz-Kommentar, vol. 2, second edition 2006, Art. 123, Rn. 14. Bernhard Diestelkamp: ''Rechtsgeschichte als Zeitgeschichte. Historische Betrachtungen zur Entstehung und Durchsetzung der Theorie vom Fortbestand des Deutschen Reiches als Staat nach 1945.'' In: ''Zeitschrift für Neuere Rechtsgeschichte'' 7 (1985), pp. 187 and following.</ref>
The Confederation came into existence following the Prussian victory in the [[Austro-Prussian War]] of 1866 over the lordship of two small Danish [[duchies]] ([[Schleswig-Holstein]]) resulting in the [[Peace of Prague (1866)|Peace of Prague]], where Prussia pressured Austria and its allies into accepting the dissolution of the existing [[German Confederation]] (an association of German states under the leadership of the [[Austrian Empire]]), thus paving the way for the [[Lesser Germany|Lesser German version]] of German unification in the form of a federal state in Northern Germany. Construction of such state became a reality in August 1866, following the [[North German Confederation Treaty]], initially as a military alliance only, while its first federal constitution establishing a constitutional monarchy with the Prussian king holding as the head of state the ''{{lang|de|[[Bundespräsidium]]}}'' was adopted on 1 July 1867.<ref>Michael Kotulla: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte. Vom Alten Reich bis Weimar (1495–1934)''. Springer, Berlin 2008, pp. 487–489.</ref> Laws could only be enabled with the consent of the ''{{lang|de|Reichstag}}'' (a parliament based on universal male suffrage) and the [[Bundesrat (German Empire)|Federal Council]] ({{lang|de|Bundesrat}}, a representation of the states). During the initial three and a half years of the Confederation, a conservative-liberal cooperation undertook important steps to unify (Northern) Germany with regard to law and infrastructure. The designed political system and the political parties remained essentially the same also after 1870.
Shortly after its inception, tensions emerged between the North German Confederation and the [[Second French Empire]], which was ruled by the [[Emperor of the French|French Emperor]] [[Napoleon III]]. In Summer 1870, a dispute over a new king for Spain escalated into the [[Franco-Prussian War]]. At the time, the original Confederation had nearly 30 million inhabitants of whom 80% lived in [[Prussia]], thus making up roughly 75% of the population of the future German Empire. Under these circumstances, the South German states of [[Grand Duchy of Baden|Baden]], [[Grand Duchy of Hesse|Hesse-Darmstadt]], [[Kingdom of Württemberg|Württemberg]] and [[Kingdom of Bavaria|Bavaria]] previously opposed to the Confederation ultimately decided to join it.<ref>Michael Kotulla: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte. Vom Alten Reich bis Weimar (1495–1934)''. Springer, Berlin 2008, pp. 525–527.</ref> [[Constitution of the German Confederation 1871|A new short-lived constitution]] subsequently entered into force on 1 January 1871 proclaiming in its preamble and article 11 the "[[German Empire]]" despite being titled as one of a new "German Confederation", but it lasted only four months. Following the victory in the war with France, the German princes and senior military commanders [[William I of Germany#Emperor|proclaimed Wilhelm "German Emperor"]] in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles.<ref>[http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/kaiserreich/innenpolitik/reichsgruendung/index.html Die Reichsgründung 1871] (The Foundation of the Empire, 1871), Lebendiges virtuelles Museum Online, accessed 2008-12-22. German text translated: [...] on the wishes of Wilhelm I, on the 170th anniversary of the elevation of the House of Brandenburg to royal status on January 18, 1701, the assembled German princes and high military officials proclaimed Wilhelm I as German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Versailles Palace.</ref> Transition from the Confederation to the Empire was completed when the [[Constitution of the German Empire]] which prevailed until the demise of the monarchy entered into force on 4 May 1871, while France recognised the empire on 10 May 1871 in the [[Treaty of Frankfurt (1871)|Treaty of Frankfurt]].<ref>Crankshaw, Edward. ''Bismarck''. New York, The Viking Press, 1981, p. 299.</ref><ref>Ernst Rudolf Huber: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789.'' Vol. III: ''Bismarck und das Reich.'' 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [et al.] 1988, p. 747.</ref>
== Prelude ==
For most of 1815–1833, Austria and Prussia worked together and used the [[German Confederation]] as a tool to suppress liberal and national ambitions in the German population.
===''Zollverein''===
The first major step towards a [[Lesser Germany|Lesser German solution]] was the ''[[Zollverein]]'', a customs union formed by the treaties of 1833, with [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] being the primary driver behind the customs union.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ploeckl|first=Florian|date=2020|title=A novel institution: the ''Zollverein'' and the origins of the customs union|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-institutional-economics/article/abs/novel-institution-the-zollverein-and-the-origins-of-the-customs-union/44D39974F7D2B3B9DE3DCD1135764EB4|journal=Journal of Institutional Economics|volume=17|issue=2|language=en|pages=305–319|doi=10.1017/S1744137420000387|s2cid=211238300|issn=1744-1374}}</ref> Although it was formally inaugurated on 1 January 1834, its origins may be traced to a variety of [[custom union]]s among the German states, formed beginning from 1818. The ''Zollverein'' was not subordinate to the Austrian-led [[German Confederation]] (1815–1866) and [[Austrian Empire|Austria]] itself was excluded because of its highly [[Protectionism|protectionist]] trade policy, the unwillingness to split its customs territory into the separate Austrian, Hungarian and Galician-Lodomerian ones, as well as due to opposition of [[Prince von Metternich]] to the idea.<ref>{{cite web |title=Germany – The age of Metternich and the era of unification, 1815–71 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany/The-age-of-Metternich-and-the-era-of-unification-1815-71 |publisher=Britannica}}</ref> Nevertheless, the ''Zollverein'' managed to include by 1866 the majority of the German states.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ploeckl|first=Florian|date=2020|title=A novel institution: the ''Zollverein'' and the origins of the customs union|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-institutional-economics/article/abs/novel-institution-the-zollverein-and-the-origins-of-the-customs-union/44D39974F7D2B3B9DE3DCD1135764EB4|journal=Journal of Institutional Economics|volume=17|issue=2|language=en|pages=305–319|doi=10.1017/S1744137420000387|s2cid=211238300|issn=1744-1374}}</ref>
===Frankfurt Parliament and the Erfurt Union===
In 1849, the National Assembly in Frankfurt elected the Prussian king as the Emperor of a [[Lesser Germany]] (a Germany without Austria). The king refused and tried to unite Germany with the [[Erfurt Union]] of 1849–1850. When the union parliament met in early 1850 to discuss the constitution, the participating states were mainly only those in Northern and Central Germany. Austria and the southern German states Württemberg and Bavaria forced Prussia to give up its union plans in late 1850.<ref>David E. Barclay: ''Preußen und die Unionspolitik 1849/1850''. In: Gunther Mai (ed.): ''Die Erfurter Union und das Erfurter Unionsparlament 1850''. 2000, pp. 53–80, here pp. 78–80.</ref>
In April and June 1866, Prussia proposed a Lesser Germany again. A corner stone of the proposal was the election of a German parliament based on universal male suffrage.<ref>Ernst Rudolf Huber: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789''. Vol. III: ''Bismarck und das Reich''. 3rd edition, [[Kohlhammer Verlag]], Stuttgart et al. 1988, pp. 536/537.</ref> The proposal explicitly mentioned the Frankfurt election law of 1849. [[Otto von Bismarck]], the minister-president of Prussia, wanted to gain sympathy within the national and liberal movement of the time. Austria and its allies refused the proposal. In summer 1866 Austria and Prussia fought with their respective allies in the [[Austro-Prussian War]].
=== Peace of Prague and dissolution of German Confederation===
Prussia and Austria signed a Nikolsburg preliminary (26 July) and a final [[Peace of Prague (1866)|peace treaty of Prague]] (23 August). Austria accepted the Prussian demand for the German Confederation to be dissolved. Prussia was allowed to create instead a "closer federation" ({{lang|de|ein engerer Bund}}) in Germany north of the river Main. Bismarck had already agreed on this limitation with the French emperor Napoleon III prior to the peace talks.<ref>Ernst Rudolf Huber: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789''. Vol. III: ''Bismarck und das Reich''. W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [et al.] 1963, p. 570.</ref>
==Formation of the North German Confederation==
===Military alliance===
On 18 August 1866, Prussia and a larger number of North and Central German states signed the [[North German Confederation Treaty]] establishing a {{lang|de|Bündnis}} (alliance). The treaty created a military alliance for one year. It also affirmed that the states wanted to form a federal state based on the Prussian proposals of June 1866. They agreed to have a parliament elected to discuss a draft constitution. At the same time, the original East Prussian cradle of the Prussian statehood as well as the Prussian-held Polish- or Kashubian-speaking territories of [[Province of Posen]] and [[West Prussia]] were formally ′annexed into Germany. Saxony and Hesse-Darmstadt, former enemies in the war of 1866, had to agree their accession to the new federation in their respective peace treaties (Hesse-Darmstadt only joined with its northern province, Upper Hesse).<ref>Michael Kotulla: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte. Vom Alten Reich bis Weimar (1495–1934)''. Springer, Berlin 2008, pp. 491–492.</ref> Later in 1866, other states joined the treaty. The liberals in the Prussian parliament favored a wholesale annexation of all North German territories by Prussia. In a similar way, Sardinia–Piedmont had created the [[Kingdom of Italy]]. But Bismarck chose a different approach. Prussia incorporated (in October 1866) only the former military opponents Hannover, Hesse-Kassel, Nassau, the free city of Frankfurt, and the Hesse-Homburg area of Hesse Darmstadt. These areas were combined into the two new Prussian provinces of Hannover and Hesse-Nassau. Schleswig and Holstein also became a Prussian province.<ref>Ernst Rudolf Huber: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789''. Vol. III: "Bismarck und das Reich". 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart (et al.) 1988, pp. 580–583.</ref>
=== Towards a federal constitution ===
[[File:Chart Constitution of the North German Confederation 1867 EN.svg|thumb|Chart illustrating the constitution of the North German Confederation]]
Bismarck sought advice from conservative and democratic politicians and finally presented a draft constitution to the other state governments. At the same time, in late 1866, Prussia and the other states prepared the election of a North German parliament. This {{lang|de|konstituierender Reichstag}} was elected in February 1867 based on state laws. The {{lang|de|konstituierender Reichstag}} gathered from February to April. In close talks with Bismarck, it altered the draft constitution in some significant points. The {{lang|de|konstituierender Reichstag}} was not a parliament but only an organ to discuss and accept the draft constitution. After that, the state parliaments (June 1867) ratified it so that on 1 July the constitution was enabled. In August, the first Reichstag of the new federal state was elected.
A major factor in determining the form the new federal government would take was the aftermath of the recently concluded [[American Civil War]], which had seen the southern states forcibly re-incorporated into the [[United States of America]] and [[slavery in the United States|slavery]] abolished. While few Germans were particularly sympathetic toward the precise institution (i.e., slavery) which had precipitated civil war in America, the prevailing viewpoint outside the U.S. at this time was that the slaves had only been emancipated as a reprisal for Southern secession from the American Union. With this in mind, many Catholics especially in Southern Germany feared that Prussia might one day might attempt to engineer a similar sort of secession crisis within a united Germany and use it as a pretext to launch a violent repression against Catholicism throughout Germany. Thus, it was Bismarck's intention to make the new federal state look like a confederation in the tradition of the German Confederation and explains the name of the country and several provisions in the draft constitution — Bismarck needed to make the federal state more attractive (or at least less repulsive) to southern German states which might later join.<ref>Christoph Vondenhoff: ''Hegemonie und Gleichgewicht im Bundesstaat. Preußen 1867–1933: Geschichte eines hegemonialen Gliedstaates''. Diss. Bonn 2000, Shaker Verlag, Aachen 2001, pp. 31–33.</ref>
== Constructing the nation-state ==
During the roughly three and a half years of the North German Confederation its major action existed in legislation unifying Northern Germany. The Reichstag decided on laws concerning, for example:
* free movement of citizens within the territory of the Confederation (1867)
* a common postal system (1867–1868)
* common passports (1867)
* equal rights for the different religious denominations (1869)
* unified measures and weights (with the obligatory introduction of the metric system)
* penal code (1870)
The North German Confederation also became a member of the {{lang|de|[[Zollverein]]}}, the German customs union of 1834.
=== Political system ===
[[File:KonstsitNDBT.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|First session of the {{lang|de|konstituierender Reichstag}} on 24 February 1867. This organ was actually not a parliament as there was no federal state then. Its sole purpose was to discuss and accept the draft constitution. Later, in August, the North Germans elected the first Reichstag as established by the new constitution.]]
The [[North German Constitution]] of 16 April 1867 created a national parliament with universal suffrage (for men above the age of 25), the {{lang|de|[[Reichstag (North German Confederation)|Reichstag]]}}. Another important organ was the {{lang|de|[[Bundesrat of Germany|Bundesrat]]}}, the 'federal council' of the representatives of the state governments. To adopt a law, a majority in the Reichstag and in the Bundesrat was necessary. This gave the allied governments, meaning the states (and, depending on the state, their princes), an important veto.
Executive power was vested in a [[chancellor of Germany|chancellor]], being the only responsible federal minister of the country. There was no formal cabinet, and in the time of the North German Confederation there were only two government departments anyway: the {{lang|de|Bundeskanzleramt}} as the general office of the chancellor, and, since early 1870, the foreign office.
The chancellor was installed and dismissed by the {{lang|de|Bundespräsidium}}. This office belonged automatically to the Prussian king (art. 11). The holder was de facto the head of state of the North German Confederation. (Bismarck wanted to avoid the title {{lang|de|Präsident}} with its republican air.)
For all intents and purposes, the Confederation was dominated by Prussia. It had four-fifths of the confederation's territory and population – more than the other 21 members combined. The Prussian king was a kind of head of state. Chancellor Bismarck was also prime minister and foreign minister of Prussia. In that role he instructed the Prussian votes in the Bundesrat. Prussia had 17 of 43 votes in the Bundesrat despite being by far the largest state but could easily get a majority by making alliances with the smaller states.
===Customs union===
In June 1867 a conference took place between Prussia and the south German states, who were not members of the North German Confederation. After pressure from Prussia, new Customs Union ({{lang|de|Zollverein}}) treaties were signed the following month. Henceforth, the governing bodies of the Customs Union were the Bundesrat and Reichstag of the North German Confederation, augmented by representatives of the south German governments in the former and members from these states elected in the same way as the others in the latter. When augmented thus for customs matters, the institutions were known as the Federal Customs Council and the Customs Parliament ({{lang|de|Zollparlament}}).<ref name=Hend314>Henderson, William. The Zollverein. Publ Cambridge University Press, 1939; p.314</ref>
On 1 January 1868, the new institutions came into force. Bismarck hoped that the {{lang|de|Zollverein}} might become the vehicle of German unification. But in the 1868 [[Zollparlament election, 1868|{{lang|de|Zollparlament|nocat=y}} election]] the South Germans voted mainly for anti-Prussian parties.
On the other hand, the two Mecklenburg duchies and three Hanseatic cities were initially not members of the Customs Union. The Mecklenburgs and Lübeck joined soon after the North German Confederation was formed. Eventually, after heavy Prussian pressure, [[Accession of Hamburg to the German Customs Union (Zollverein)|Hamburg acceded to the Customs Union]] in 1888. Bremen joined at the same time. Despite this, all these states fully participated in the federal institutions, even while outside the Customs Union and not directly affected by their decisions in that regard.
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=== Postage stamps ===
[[File:Stamp of North German Confederation.jpg|thumb|North German 7-[[kreuzer]] stamp, 1868. The postal services in the north German states were united into the {{lang|de|Norddeutscher Postbezirk}}, the predecessor of the {{lang|de|Reichspost}}.]]
{{Main|Postage stamps and postal history of the North German Confederation}}
One of the functions of the confederation was to handle mail and issue postage stamps.
===Transition to the German Empire===
{{main|German Empire}}
In mid-1870, a diplomatic crisis concerning the Spanish throne led eventually to the [[Franco-Prussian War]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Manfred |last=Görtemaker |title=Deutschland im 19. Jahrhundert: Entwicklungslinien |location=Opladen |year=1983 |page=244 |isbn=9783663096559 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jGyEBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA244 }}</ref> During the war, in November 1870, the south German states of [[Kingdom of Bavaria|Bavaria]], [[Kingdom of Württemberg|Württemberg]], and [[Grand Duchy of Baden|Baden]] (together with the parts of [[Grand Duchy of Hesse|Hesse-Darmstadt]] that were left out of the Confederation) joined the North German Confederation. On this occasion, the country adopted a new constitution, and the name of the federal state was changed to {{lang|de|Deutsches Reich}} (German Empire).
According to a minority among German experts, the North German Confederation and the southern states created a new federal state (the German Empire). Indeed, Bismarck allowed the south German states to save face and therefore used terminology suggesting a new creation. But Kotulla emphasizes that legally only accession of the southern states to the North German Confederation was possible; the legal basis for such an accession was art. 79 of the North German federal constitution.<ref>Michael Kotulla: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte. Vom Alten Reich bis Weimar (1495–1934)''. Springer, Berlin 2008, p. 526.</ref>
On 10 December 1870 the Reichstag of the North German Confederation had adopted a [[Constitution of the German Confederation (1871)|new constitution]], still titled as one of the {{lang|de|Deutscher Bund}} (German Confederation) in spite of establishing for the state a new name {{lang|de|Deutsches Reich}} (German Realm or German Empire) and granting the title of [[German Emperor]] to the [[King of Prussia]] holding the {{lang|de|Bundespräsidium}} of the Confederation; it entered into force on 1 January 1871, but lasted only four months.<ref name="case139-140">{{cite book |title=European Constitutional History |last=Case |first=Nelson |year=1902 |publisher=Jennings & Pye |location=Cincinnati |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_G2t9AAAAMAAJ/page/n151 139]–140 |oclc=608806061 |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_G2t9AAAAMAAJ}}</ref>
Following the victory in the war with France, the German princes and senior military commanders [[William I of Germany#Emperor|proclaimed Wilhelm "German Emperor"]] in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles.<ref>[http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/kaiserreich/innenpolitik/reichsgruendung/index.html Die Reichsgründung 1871] (The Foundation of the Empire, 1871), Lebendiges virtuelles Museum Online, accessed 2008-12-22. German text translated: [...] on the wishes of Wilhelm I, on the 170th anniversary of the elevation of the House of Brandenburg to royal status on January 18, 1701, the assembled German princes and high military officials proclaimed Wilhelm I as German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Versailles Palace, and he accepted the title.</ref> This latter date was later customarily celebrated as the symbolic day of 'foundation of the German Empire' ({{lang|de|Deutsche Reichsgründung}}), although it had no constitutional meaning.<ref>Ernst Rudolf Huber: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789.'' Vol. III: ''Bismarck und das Reich.'' 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [et al.] 1988, pp. 750/751.</ref>
After a new Reichstag was elected on 3 March 1871, the transition from the Confederation to the Empire was completed when the permanent [[Constitution of the German Empire]] prevailing until the demise of the monarchy entered into force on 4 May 1871, while France recognised the empire on 10 May 1871 in the [[Treaty of Frankfurt (1871)|Treaty of Frankfurt]].<ref>Crankshaw, Edward. ''Bismarck''. New York, The Viking Press, 1981, p. 299.</ref><ref>Ernst Rudolf Huber: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789.'' Vol. III: ''Bismarck und das Reich.'' 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [et al.] 1988, p. 747.</ref>
The three constitutions (1867, January 1871, and April 1871) were nearly identical. It took roughly a decade to develop the country into a fully grown federal state, with several governmental departments (a kind of ministries), responsible state secretaries (a kind of ministers, 1878), and an imperial court ({{lang|de|Reichsgericht}}, 1879).
== List of member states ==
[[File:North German Confederation and Prussia (Fullarton, 1872).jpg|thumb|Detailed map of North German Confederation.]]
All of the member states had already belonged to the German Confederation of 1815–66. Austria and the south German states Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden and the Grand Duchy of Hesse (Hesse-Darmstadt) remained outside of the North German Confederation. Though, the northern province {{lang|de|Oberhessen}} of the Grand Duchy of Hesse did join.
In northern, central and eastern Germany, Prussia:
* had gathered a number of allies that joined the North German Confederation via the August treaties ({{lang|de|Augustverträge}}) of August 1866;
* annexed four former enemy states (Hanover, Kurhessen, Nassau, Frankfurt) which became parts of Prussia (October 1866);
* included its own territories formerly outside of the Holy Roman Empire and the German Confederation, namely the East Prussian cradle of its statehood as well as the Prussian-conquered Polish territories ([[Province of Posen]], [[West Prussia]]) in the new state, thus formally annexing them into Germany
* forced the remaining states into the North German Confederation via the peace treaties.
Lauenburg is sometimes mentioned as one of the member states, sometimes not. It was one of the three duchies that had earlier belong to Denmark. Lauenburg was a state with the Prussian king as duke until 1876, when it became a part of the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein.
{{Table of states in the German Empire|NDB}}
== See also ==
{{Commons category|North German Confederation}}
* [[North German Constitution]]
* [[Former countries in Europe after 1815]]
* [[German unification]]
==Notes==
{{Notelist}}
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== Further reading ==
* Craig, Gordon A. ''Germany, 1866–1945'' (1978) pp. 11–22 [https://www.questia.com/library/book/germany-1866-1945-by-gordon-a-craig.jsp online edition]
* {{Cite book |last=Holborn |first=Hajo |title=A History of Modern Germany: 1840–1945 |date=1959 |isbn=9780394302782 |pages=173–232|publisher=Knopf }}
* Hudson, Richard. "The Formation of the North German Confederation." ''[[Political Science Quarterly]]'' (1891) 6#3 pp: 424–438. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2139487 in JSTOR]
* Nipperdey, Thomas. ''Germany from Napoleon to Bismarck: 1800–1866'' (1996), very dense coverage of every aspect of German society, economy and government
* Pflanze, Otto. ''Bismarck and the Development of Germany, Vol. 1: The Period of Unification, 1815–1871'' (1971)
* Taylor, A.J.P. ''Bismarck: The Man and the Statesman'' (1967) [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=14683010 online edition]
{{States of the North German Confederation}}
{{GermanUnification}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:North German Confederation| ]]
[[Category:Modern history of Germany]]
[[Category:Former confederations]]
[[Category:Kingdom of Prussia]]
[[Category:Kingdom of Saxony]]
[[Category:1860s in Germany]]
[[Category:1870s in Germany]]
[[Category:1860s in Prussia]]
[[Category:1870s in Prussia]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1867]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1871]]
[[Category:1867 establishments in Germany]]
[[Category:1871 disestablishments in Germany]]
[[Category:1867 establishments in Prussia]]
[[Category:1870s disestablishments in Prussia]]
[[Category:19th century in Germany]]
[[Category:19th century in Prussia]]' |
Parsed HTML source of the new revision (new_html) | '<div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Federal state in Northern Germany, 1866–1871</div>
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<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1237879389">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-header,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-above,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-title,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-image,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-below{text-align:center}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1043282317">.mw-parser-output .ib-country{border-collapse:collapse;line-height:1.2em}.mw-parser-output .ib-country td,.mw-parser-output .ib-country th{border-top:1px solid #a2a9b1;padding:0.4em 0.6em 0.4em 0.6em}.mw-parser-output .ib-country .mergedtoprow .infobox-header,.mw-parser-output .ib-country .mergedtoprow .infobox-label,.mw-parser-output .ib-country .mergedtoprow .infobox-data,.mw-parser-output .ib-country .mergedtoprow .infobox-full-data,.mw-parser-output .ib-country .mergedtoprow .infobox-below{border-top:1px solid #a2a9b1;padding:0.4em 0.6em 0.2em 0.6em}.mw-parser-output .ib-country .mergedrow .infobox-label,.mw-parser-output .ib-country .mergedrow .infobox-data,.mw-parser-output .ib-country .mergedrow .infobox-full-data{border:0;padding:0 0.6em 0.2em 0.6em}.mw-parser-output .ib-country .mergedbottomrow .infobox-label,.mw-parser-output .ib-country .mergedbottomrow .infobox-data,.mw-parser-output .ib-country .mergedbottomrow .infobox-full-data{border-top:0;border-bottom:1px solid #a2a9b1;padding:0 0.6em 0.4em 0.6em}.mw-parser-output .ib-country .infobox-header{text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .ib-country .infobox-above{font-size:125%;line-height:1.2}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-names{padding-top:0.25em;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-name-style{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .ib-country .infobox-image{padding:0.5em 0}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-anthem{border-top:1px solid #a2a9b1;padding-top:0.5em;margin-top:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-map-caption{position:relative;top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-largest,.mw-parser-output .ib-country-lang{font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-ethnic,.mw-parser-output .ib-country-religion,.mw-parser-output .ib-country-sovereignty{font-weight:normal;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-fake-li{text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-fake-li2{text-indent:0.5em;margin-left:1em;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-website{line-height:11pt}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-map-caption3{position:relative;top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-fn{text-align:left;margin:0 auto}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-fn-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-fn-num{margin-left:1em}</style><table class="infobox ib-country vcard"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above adr"><div class="fn org country-name">North German Confederation</div><div class="ib-country-names"><span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Norddeutscher Bund</i></span> <span class="languageicon" style="font-size:100%; font-weight:normal">(<a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_language" title="German language">German</a>)</span></div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-subheader">1866–1871</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><div class="noresize" style="display:table; width:100%;">
<div style="display:table-cell; vertical-align:middle; padding-left:5px;">
<div style="padding-bottom:3px;"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Flag_of_Germany_(1867%E2%80%931918).svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Flag of North German Confederation"><img alt="Flag of North German Confederation" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/Flag_of_Germany_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg/125px-Flag_of_Germany_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="125" height="83" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/Flag_of_Germany_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg/188px-Flag_of_Germany_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/Flag_of_Germany_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg/250px-Flag_of_Germany_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></div>
<div><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Flag_of_Germany#North_German_Confederation_and_the_German_Empire_(1867–1918)" title="Flag of Germany">Flag</a></div>
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<div style="padding-bottom:3px;"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_the_North_German_Confederation.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Coat of arms of North German Confederation"><img alt="Coat of arms of North German Confederation" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/Coat_of_arms_of_the_North_German_Confederation.svg/85px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_North_German_Confederation.svg.png" decoding="async" width="85" height="69" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/Coat_of_arms_of_the_North_German_Confederation.svg/128px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_North_German_Confederation.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/Coat_of_arms_of_the_North_German_Confederation.svg/170px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_North_German_Confederation.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="518" data-file-height="421" /></a></span></div>
<div><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Germany#North_German_Confederation" title="Coat of arms of Germany"> Coat of arms</a></div>
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</div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:North_German_Confederation_1870.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="The North German Confederation in 1870"><img alt="The North German Confederation in 1870" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/North_German_Confederation_1870.svg/250px-North_German_Confederation_1870.svg.png" decoding="async" width="250" height="253" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/North_German_Confederation_1870.svg/375px-North_German_Confederation_1870.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/North_German_Confederation_1870.svg/500px-North_German_Confederation_1870.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="450" data-file-height="456" /></a></span><div class="ib-country-map-caption">The North German Confederation in 1870</div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Map-NDB.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="The North German Confederation (red). The southern German states that joined in 1870 to form the German Empire are in orange. Alsace–Lorraine, the territory annexed following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, is in tan. The red territory in the south marks the original princedom of the House of Hohenzollern, rulers of the Kingdom of Prussia."><img alt="The North German Confederation (red). The southern German states that joined in 1870 to form the German Empire are in orange. Alsace–Lorraine, the territory annexed following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, is in tan. The red territory in the south marks the original princedom of the House of Hohenzollern, rulers of the Kingdom of Prussia." src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Map-NDB.svg/250px-Map-NDB.svg.png" decoding="async" width="250" height="212" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Map-NDB.svg/375px-Map-NDB.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Map-NDB.svg/500px-Map-NDB.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="2621" data-file-height="2224" /></a></span><div class="ib-country-map-caption">The North German Confederation (red). The southern German states that <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Unification_of_Germany" title="Unification of Germany">joined in 1870</a> to form the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_Empire" title="German Empire">German Empire</a> are in orange. <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Alsace%E2%80%93Lorraine" title="Alsace–Lorraine">Alsace–Lorraine</a>, the territory annexed following the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Franco-Prussian_War" title="Franco-Prussian War">Franco-Prussian War</a> of 1870, is in tan. The red territory in the south marks the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Province_of_Hohenzollern" title="Province of Hohenzollern">original princedom</a> of the House of Hohenzollern, rulers of the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kingdom_of_Prussia" title="Kingdom of Prussia">Kingdom of Prussia</a>.</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Status</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Federation" title="Federation">Federation</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Capital</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Berlin" title="Berlin">Berlin</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Common languages</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_language" title="German language">German</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Low_German" title="Low German">Low German</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Danish_language" title="Danish language">Danish</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Saterland_Frisian_language" title="Saterland Frisian language">East Frisian</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/North_Frisian_language" title="North Frisian language">North Frisian</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Polish_language" title="Polish language">Polish</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kashubian_language" title="Kashubian language">Kashubian</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Slovincian_language" title="Slovincian language">Slovincian</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Silesian_language" title="Silesian language">Silesian</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Czech_language" title="Czech language">Czech</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Moravian_language" class="mw-redirect" title="Moravian language">Moravian</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Upper_Sorbian_language" title="Upper Sorbian language">Upper Sorbian</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Lower_Sorbian_language" title="Lower Sorbian language">Lower Sorbian</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Polabian_language" title="Polabian language">Polabian</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Lithuanian_language" title="Lithuanian language">Lithuanian</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kursenieki_language" title="Kursenieki language">Kursenieki</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Yiddish_language" class="mw-redirect" title="Yiddish language">Yiddish</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Wymysorys_language" title="Wymysorys language">Wymysorys</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/French_language" title="French language">French</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Dutch_language" title="Dutch language">Dutch</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Religion <div class="ib-country-religion"></div></th><td class="infobox-data"><b>Majority:</b><br /><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Protestantism" title="Protestantism">Protestantism</a> (<a href="/enwiki/wiki/Lutheran" class="mw-redirect" title="Lutheran">Lutheran</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Calvinist" class="mw-redirect" title="Calvinist">Calvinist</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/United_and_uniting_churches" title="United and uniting churches">United churches</a>)<br /><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1214851843">.mw-parser-output .hidden-begin{box-sizing:border-box;width:100%;padding:5px;border:none;font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .hidden-title{font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .hidden-content{text-align:left}@media all and (max-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .hidden-begin{width:auto!important;clear:none!important;float:none!important}}</style><div class="hidden-begin mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-size:100%;padding:0.25em 0 0;"><div class="hidden-title skin-nightmode-reset-color" style="text-align:center; text-align:left;font-weight:normal;"><b>Minorities:</b></div><div class="hidden-content mw-collapsible-content" style="">
<a href="/enwiki/wiki/Catholicism" class="mw-redirect" title="Catholicism">Catholicism</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Judaism" title="Judaism">Judaism</a></div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Demonym" title="Demonym">Demonym(s)</a></th><td class="infobox-data">North German</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Government</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Confederation" title="Confederation">Confederal</a> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Parliamentary_system" title="Parliamentary system">parliamentary</a> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Semi-constitutional_monarchy" class="mw-redirect" title="Semi-constitutional monarchy">semi-constitutional monarchy</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/President_of_the_North_German_Confederation" class="mw-redirect" title="President of the North German Confederation">President</a></th><td class="infobox-data"> </td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1237879389"></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal;">• 1867–1871 </div></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Wilhelm_I,_German_Emperor" class="mw-redirect" title="Wilhelm I, German Emperor">Wilhelm I</a></td></tr><tr style="display:none"><td colspan="2">
</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/List_of_chancellors_of_Germany" title="List of chancellors of Germany">Chancellor</a></th><td class="infobox-data"> </td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1237879389"></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal;">• 1867–1871 </div></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Otto_von_Bismarck" title="Otto von Bismarck">Otto von Bismarck</a></td></tr><tr style="display:none"><td colspan="2">
</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Legislature</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Bicameralism" title="Bicameralism">Bicameral</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div class="ib-country-fake-li">• <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Upper_house" title="Upper house">Upper house</a></div></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Bundesrat_(German_Empire)" title="Bundesrat (German Empire)">Bundesrat</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedbottomrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div class="ib-country-fake-li">• <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Lower_house" title="Lower house">Lower house</a></div></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Reichstag_(North_German_Confederation)" title="Reichstag (North German Confederation)">Reichstag</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Historical era</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/New_Imperialism" title="New Imperialism">New Imperialism</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1237879389"></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal;">• <a href="/enwiki/wiki/North_German_Confederation_Treaty" title="North German Confederation Treaty">Confederation Treaty</a> </div></th><td class="infobox-data">18 August 1866</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal;">• <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Peace_of_Prague_(1866)" title="Peace of Prague (1866)">Peace of Prague; German Confederation dissolved</a> </div></th><td class="infobox-data">20 August 1866</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal;">• <a href="/enwiki/wiki/North_German_Constitution" title="North German Constitution">Constitution adopted</a> </div></th><td class="infobox-data">16 April 1867</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal;">• <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Constitution_of_the_German_Confederation_(1871)" title="Constitution of the German Confederation (1871)">Accession of southern states; German Empire adopted as name</a> </div></th><td class="infobox-data">1 January 1871</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal;">• <span class="nowrap"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Proclamation_of_the_German_Empire" title="Proclamation of the German Empire">Empire proclaimed</a></span> </div></th><td class="infobox-data">18 January 1871</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal;">• <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Constitution_of_the_German_Empire" title="Constitution of the German Empire">Constitution of the Empire</a> </div></th><td class="infobox-data">4 May 1871</td></tr><tr style="display:none"><td colspan="2">
</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Currency</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Vereinsthaler" title="Vereinsthaler">Vereinsthaler</a></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data">
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<tbody><tr>
<td style="text-align:center; border:0; padding-bottom:0"><div id="before-after"></div> <b>Preceded by</b></td>
<td style="text-align:center;border:0; padding-bottom:0;"><b>Succeeded by</b>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center; border:0;">
<table style="width:100%; background: transparent; text-align:center; margin:0 auto; border:0;">
<tbody><tr>
<td style="border:0; padding:0; vertical-align:middle;"><span style="padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px;"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_Confederation" title="German Confederation"><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Wappen_Deutscher_Bund.svg/16px-Wappen_Deutscher_Bund.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="20" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Wappen_Deutscher_Bund.svg/24px-Wappen_Deutscher_Bund.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Wappen_Deutscher_Bund.svg/32px-Wappen_Deutscher_Bund.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="194" data-file-height="248" /></a></span></span>
</td>
<td style="border:0; padding:0; vertical-align:middle; text-align:left;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_Confederation" title="German Confederation">German Confederation<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"></sup></a><a href="#cite_note-1">[a]</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="border:0; padding:0; vertical-align:middle;"><span style="padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px;"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Duchy_of_Schleswig" title="Duchy of Schleswig"><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Schleswig_Arms.svg/16px-Schleswig_Arms.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="19" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Schleswig_Arms.svg/24px-Schleswig_Arms.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Schleswig_Arms.svg/32px-Schleswig_Arms.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="550" data-file-height="659" /></a></span></span>
</td>
<td style="border:0; padding:0; vertical-align:middle; text-align:left;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Duchy_of_Schleswig" title="Duchy of Schleswig">Duchy of Schleswig</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="border:0; padding:0; vertical-align:middle;"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Flag_of_the_Kingdom_of_Prussia_%281803-1892%29.svg/20px-Flag_of_the_Kingdom_of_Prussia_%281803-1892%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="20" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Flag_of_the_Kingdom_of_Prussia_%281803-1892%29.svg/30px-Flag_of_the_Kingdom_of_Prussia_%281803-1892%29.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Flag_of_the_Kingdom_of_Prussia_%281803-1892%29.svg/40px-Flag_of_the_Kingdom_of_Prussia_%281803-1892%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1500" data-file-height="1000" /></span></span>
</td>
<td style="border:0; padding:0; vertical-align:middle; text-align:left;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Province_of_Prussia" title="Province of Prussia">Province of Prussia</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="border:0; padding:0; vertical-align:middle;"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/Flagge_Preu%C3%9Fen_-_Provinz_Posen.svg/20px-Flagge_Preu%C3%9Fen_-_Provinz_Posen.svg.png" decoding="async" width="20" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/Flagge_Preu%C3%9Fen_-_Provinz_Posen.svg/30px-Flagge_Preu%C3%9Fen_-_Provinz_Posen.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/Flagge_Preu%C3%9Fen_-_Provinz_Posen.svg/40px-Flagge_Preu%C3%9Fen_-_Provinz_Posen.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="400" /></span></span>
</td>
<td style="border:0; padding:0; vertical-align:middle; text-align:left;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Province_of_Posen" title="Province of Posen">Province of Posen</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="border:0; padding:0; vertical-align:middle;"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Flag_of_the_Kingdom_of_Prussia_%281803-1892%29.svg/20px-Flag_of_the_Kingdom_of_Prussia_%281803-1892%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="20" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Flag_of_the_Kingdom_of_Prussia_%281803-1892%29.svg/30px-Flag_of_the_Kingdom_of_Prussia_%281803-1892%29.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Flag_of_the_Kingdom_of_Prussia_%281803-1892%29.svg/40px-Flag_of_the_Kingdom_of_Prussia_%281803-1892%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1500" data-file-height="1000" /></span></span>
</td>
<td style="border:0; padding:0; vertical-align:middle; text-align:left;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kingdom_of_Prussia" title="Kingdom of Prussia">Kingdom of Prussia</a>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center;border:0;">
<table style="width:92%; background:transparent; text-align:center; margin:0 auto; border:0;">
<tbody><tr>
<td style="border:0; padding:0; vertical-align:middle; text-align:right;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_Empire" title="German Empire">German Empire</a>
</td>
<td style="border:0; padding:0; vertical-align:middle;"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/Flag_of_Germany_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg/20px-Flag_of_Germany_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="20" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/Flag_of_Germany_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg/30px-Flag_of_Germany_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/Flag_of_Germany_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg/40px-Flag_of_Germany_%281867%E2%80%931918%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></span></span>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>
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href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><table class="sidebar sidebar-collapse nomobile nowraplinks vcard hlist"><tbody><tr><th class="sidebar-title"><div class="sidebar-pretitle" style="margin: -0.2em 0; font-size:69%; font-weight:normal;">Part of <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Category:History_of_Germany" title="Category:History of Germany">a series</a> on the</div></th>
</tr><tr>
<th class="sidebar-title-with-pretitle" style="background: none;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/History_of_Germany" title="History of Germany">History of <span class="fn org label">Germany</span></a></th>
</tr><tr><td class="sidebar-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Coat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg/90px-Coat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg.png" decoding="async" width="90" height="116" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Coat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg/135px-Coat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Coat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg/180px-Coat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="396" data-file-height="510" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content">
<div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Topics</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content">
<ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Timeline_of_German_history" title="Timeline of German history">Chronology</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Historiography_of_Germany" title="Historiography of Germany">Historiography</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Military_history_of_Germany" title="Military history of Germany">Military</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Economic_history_of_Germany" title="Economic history of Germany">Economy</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Timeline_of_LGBT_history_in_Germany" title="Timeline of LGBT history in Germany">LGBT</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Germany" title="History of the Jews in Germany">Judaism</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/History_of_women_in_Germany" title="History of women in Germany">Women</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Territorial_evolution_of_Germany" title="Territorial evolution of Germany">Territorial evolution</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/List_of_historic_states_of_Germany" title="List of historic states of Germany">Historic states</a> (<a href="/enwiki/wiki/List_of_states_in_the_Holy_Roman_Empire" title="List of states in the Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a>)</li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/List_of_German_monarchs" title="List of German monarchs">Monarchs</a> (<a href="/enwiki/wiki/List_of_German_queens" title="List of German queens">Queens</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/List_of_Holy_Roman_empresses" title="List of Holy Roman empresses">Empresses</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/List_of_German_monarchs_in_1918" title="List of German monarchs in 1918">1918</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Family_tree_of_German_monarchs" title="Family tree of German monarchs">Family tree</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/List_of_rulers_of_Austria" title="List of rulers of Austria">Austria</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/List_of_rulers_of_Bavaria" class="mw-redirect" title="List of rulers of Bavaria">Bavaria</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/List_of_monarchs_of_Prussia" title="List of monarchs of Prussia">Prussia</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/List_of_rulers_of_Saxony" title="List of rulers of Saxony">Saxony</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/List_of_rulers_of_W%C3%BCrttemberg" class="mw-redirect" title="List of rulers of Württemberg">Württemberg</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Mediatised_houses" title="Mediatised houses">Mediatised</a>)</li></ul></div></div></td>
</tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content">
<div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Early history</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content">
<ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Linear_Pottery_culture" title="Linear Pottery culture">Linear Pottery culture</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/%C3%9An%C4%9Btice_culture" title="Únětice culture">Únětice culture</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Urnfield_culture" title="Urnfield culture">Urnfield culture</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Germanic_peoples" title="Germanic peoples">Germanic peoples</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Migration_Period" title="Migration Period">Migration Period</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Barbarian_kingdoms" title="Barbarian kingdoms">Barbarian kingdoms</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Francia" title="Francia">Frankish Empire</a></li></ul></div></div></td>
</tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content">
<div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Middle Ages</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content">
<ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/East_Francia" title="East Francia">East Francia</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kingdom_of_Germany" title="Kingdom of Germany">Kingdom of Germany</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Ostsiedlung" title="Ostsiedlung">Eastward settlement</a></li></ul></div></div></td>
</tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content">
<div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Germany_in_the_early_modern_period" title="Germany in the early modern period">Early Modern period</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content">
<ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kleinstaaterei" title="Kleinstaaterei">Sectionalism</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/18th-century_history_of_Germany" title="18th-century history of Germany">18th century</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kingdom_of_Prussia" title="Kingdom of Prussia">Kingdom of Prussia</a></li></ul></div></div></td>
</tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content">
<div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Unification_of_Germany" title="Unification of Germany">Unification</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content">
<ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_mediatisation" title="German mediatisation">Mediatisation</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Confederation_of_the_Rhine" title="Confederation of the Rhine">Confederation of the Rhine</a></li>
<li><div class="hlist"><ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_Confederation" title="German Confederation">German Confederation</a></li><li><span title="German-language text"><i lang="de"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Zollverein" title="Zollverein">Zollverein</a></i></span></li></ul></div></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_revolutions_of_1848%E2%80%931849" title="German revolutions of 1848–1849">German revolutions of 1848–1849</a></li>
<li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">North German Confederation</a></li></ul></div></div></td>
</tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content">
<div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_Reich" title="German Reich">German Reich</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"><table style="width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px 0px;border:none"><tbody><tr style="vertical-align:top"><td style="text-align:left;padding-right:0.65em;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_Empire" title="German Empire">German Empire</a></td><td style="text-align:right;">1871–1918</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align:top"><td style="text-align:left;padding-right:0.65em;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/History_of_Germany_during_World_War_I" title="History of Germany during World War I">World War I</a></td><td style="text-align:right;">1914–1918</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align:top"><td style="text-align:left;padding-right:0.65em;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Weimar_Republic" title="Weimar Republic">Weimar Republic</a></td><td style="text-align:right;">1918–1933</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align:top"><td style="text-align:left;padding-right:0.65em;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Nazi_Germany" title="Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a></td><td style="text-align:right;">1933–1945</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align:top"><td style="text-align:left;padding-right:0.65em;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a></td><td style="text-align:right;">1939–1945</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></td>
</tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content">
<div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Germany" title="Germany">Contemporary Germany</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"><table style="width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px 0px;border:none"><tbody><tr style="vertical-align:top"><td style="text-align:left;padding-right:0.65em;"><div class="hlist"><ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Allied-occupied_Germany" title="Allied-occupied Germany">Occupation</a></li><li><span title="German-language text"><i lang="de"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Former_eastern_territories_of_Germany" title="Former eastern territories of Germany">Ostgebiete</a></i></span></li></ul></div></td><td style="text-align:right;">1945–1949/1952</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align:top"><td style="text-align:left;padding-right:0.65em;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Flight_and_expulsion_of_Germans_(1944%E2%80%931950)" title="Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950)">Expulsion of Germans</a></td><td style="text-align:right;">1944–1950</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align:top"><td style="text-align:left;padding-right:0.65em;"><div class="hlist"><ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/West_Germany" title="West Germany">West</a>–<a href="/enwiki/wiki/East_Germany" title="East Germany">East</a> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/History_of_Germany_(1945%E2%80%931990)" title="History of Germany (1945–1990)">division</a></li></ul></div></td><td style="text-align:right;">1949–1990</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align:top"><td style="text-align:left;padding-right:0.65em;"><div class="hlist"><ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_reunification" title="German reunification">Reunification</a></li><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/New_states_of_Germany" title="New states of Germany">New states</a></li></ul></div></td><td style="text-align:right;">1990</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align:top"><td style="text-align:left;padding-right:0.65em;"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/History_of_Germany_(1990%E2%80%93present)" title="History of Germany (1990–present)">Modern history</a></td><td style="text-align:right;">since 1990</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></td>
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<figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:NB_1866-1871.99.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/NB_1866-1871.99.svg/290px-NB_1866-1871.99.svg.png" decoding="async" width="290" height="268" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/NB_1866-1871.99.svg/435px-NB_1866-1871.99.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/NB_1866-1871.99.svg/580px-NB_1866-1871.99.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="971" data-file-height="899" /></a><figcaption>Map of the North German Confederation (<a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kingdom_of_Prussia" title="Kingdom of Prussia">Prussia</a> with its <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Provinces_of_Prussia" title="Provinces of Prussia">provinces</a> are shown in blue)</figcaption></figure>
<p>The <b>North German Confederation</b> (<a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_language" title="German language">German</a>: <i lang="de"><span class="noprint"><span class="ext-phonos"><span data-nosnippet="" id="ooui-php-1" class="ext-phonos-PhonosButton noexcerpt oo-ui-widget oo-ui-widget-enabled oo-ui-buttonElement oo-ui-buttonElement-frameless oo-ui-iconElement oo-ui-labelElement oo-ui-buttonWidget" data-ooui="{"_":"mw.Phonos.PhonosButton","href":"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/transcoded\/d\/d9\/De-Norddeutscher_Bund.ogg\/De-Norddeutscher_Bund.ogg.mp3","rel":["nofollow"],"framed":false,"icon":"volumeUp","label":{"html":"Norddeutscher Bund"},"data":{"ipa":"","text":"","lang":"en","wikibase":"","file":"De-Norddeutscher Bund.ogg"},"classes":["ext-phonos-PhonosButton","noexcerpt"]}"><a role="button" tabindex="0" href="/enwiki//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d9/De-Norddeutscher_Bund.ogg/De-Norddeutscher_Bund.ogg.mp3" rel="nofollow" aria-label="Play audio" title="Play audio" class="oo-ui-buttonElement-button"><span class="oo-ui-iconElement-icon oo-ui-icon-volumeUp"></span><span class="oo-ui-labelElement-label">Norddeutscher Bund</span><span class="oo-ui-indicatorElement-indicator oo-ui-indicatorElement-noIndicator"></span></a></span><sup class="ext-phonos-attribution noexcerpt navigation-not-searchable"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:De-Norddeutscher_Bund.ogg" title="File:De-Norddeutscher Bund.ogg">ⓘ</a></sup></span></span></i>)<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2">[1]</a></sup> was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kingdom_of_Prussia" title="Kingdom of Prussia">Kingdom of Prussia</a>, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Confederation" title="Confederation">confederated state</a> (a <i>de facto</i> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Federal_state" class="mw-redirect" title="Federal state">federal state</a>) that existed from July 1867 to December 1870. A milestone of the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Unification_of_Germany" title="Unification of Germany">German Unification</a>, it was the earliest <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Succession_of_states" title="Succession of states">continual legal predecessor</a> of the modern German nation-state known today as the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Federal_Republic_of_Germany" class="mw-redirect" title="Federal Republic of Germany">Federal Republic of Germany</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3">[2]</a></sup>
</p><p>The Confederation came into existence following the Prussian victory in the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Austro-Prussian_War" title="Austro-Prussian War">Austro-Prussian War</a> of 1866 over the lordship of two small Danish <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Duchies" class="mw-redirect" title="Duchies">duchies</a> (<a href="/enwiki/wiki/Schleswig-Holstein" title="Schleswig-Holstein">Schleswig-Holstein</a>) resulting in the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Peace_of_Prague_(1866)" title="Peace of Prague (1866)">Peace of Prague</a>, where Prussia pressured Austria and its allies into accepting the dissolution of the existing <a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_Confederation" title="German Confederation">German Confederation</a> (an association of German states under the leadership of the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Austrian_Empire" title="Austrian Empire">Austrian Empire</a>), thus paving the way for the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Lesser_Germany" title="Lesser Germany">Lesser German version</a> of German unification in the form of a federal state in Northern Germany. Construction of such state became a reality in August 1866, following the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/North_German_Confederation_Treaty" title="North German Confederation Treaty">North German Confederation Treaty</a>, initially as a military alliance only, while its first federal constitution establishing a constitutional monarchy with the Prussian king holding as the head of state the <i><span title="German-language text"><i lang="de"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Bundespr%C3%A4sidium" title="Bundespräsidium">Bundespräsidium</a></i></span></i> was adopted on 1 July 1867.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4">[3]</a></sup> Laws could only be enabled with the consent of the <i><span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Reichstag</i></span></i> (a parliament based on universal male suffrage) and the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Bundesrat_(German_Empire)" title="Bundesrat (German Empire)">Federal Council</a> (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Bundesrat</i></span>, a representation of the states). During the initial three and a half years of the Confederation, a conservative-liberal cooperation undertook important steps to unify (Northern) Germany with regard to law and infrastructure. The designed political system and the political parties remained essentially the same also after 1870.
</p><p>Shortly after its inception, tensions emerged between the North German Confederation and the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Second_French_Empire" title="Second French Empire">Second French Empire</a>, which was ruled by the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Emperor_of_the_French" title="Emperor of the French">French Emperor</a> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Napoleon_III" title="Napoleon III">Napoleon III</a>. In Summer 1870, a dispute over a new king for Spain escalated into the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Franco-Prussian_War" title="Franco-Prussian War">Franco-Prussian War</a>. At the time, the original Confederation had nearly 30 million inhabitants of whom 80% lived in <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Prussia" title="Prussia">Prussia</a>, thus making up roughly 75% of the population of the future German Empire. Under these circumstances, the South German states of <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Baden" title="Grand Duchy of Baden">Baden</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Hesse" title="Grand Duchy of Hesse">Hesse-Darmstadt</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kingdom_of_W%C3%BCrttemberg" title="Kingdom of Württemberg">Württemberg</a> and <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kingdom_of_Bavaria" title="Kingdom of Bavaria">Bavaria</a> previously opposed to the Confederation ultimately decided to join it.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5">[4]</a></sup> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Constitution_of_the_German_Confederation_1871" class="mw-redirect" title="Constitution of the German Confederation 1871">A new short-lived constitution</a> subsequently entered into force on 1 January 1871 proclaiming in its preamble and article 11 the "<a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_Empire" title="German Empire">German Empire</a>" despite being titled as one of a new "German Confederation", but it lasted only four months. Following the victory in the war with France, the German princes and senior military commanders <a href="/enwiki/wiki/William_I_of_Germany#Emperor" class="mw-redirect" title="William I of Germany">proclaimed Wilhelm "German Emperor"</a> in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6">[5]</a></sup> Transition from the Confederation to the Empire was completed when the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Constitution_of_the_German_Empire" title="Constitution of the German Empire">Constitution of the German Empire</a> which prevailed until the demise of the monarchy entered into force on 4 May 1871, while France recognised the empire on 10 May 1871 in the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Treaty_of_Frankfurt_(1871)" title="Treaty of Frankfurt (1871)">Treaty of Frankfurt</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7">[6]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8">[7]</a></sup>
</p>
<div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div>
<ul>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#Prelude"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Prelude</span></a>
<ul>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-2"><a href="#Zollverein"><span class="tocnumber">1.1</span> <span class="toctext"><i>Zollverein</i></span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3"><a href="#Frankfurt_Parliament_and_the_Erfurt_Union"><span class="tocnumber">1.2</span> <span class="toctext">Frankfurt Parliament and the Erfurt Union</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4"><a href="#Peace_of_Prague_and_dissolution_of_German_Confederation"><span class="tocnumber">1.3</span> <span class="toctext">Peace of Prague and dissolution of German Confederation</span></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="#Formation_of_the_North_German_Confederation"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Formation of the North German Confederation</span></a>
<ul>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6"><a href="#Military_alliance"><span class="tocnumber">2.1</span> <span class="toctext">Military alliance</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7"><a href="#Towards_a_federal_constitution"><span class="tocnumber">2.2</span> <span class="toctext">Towards a federal constitution</span></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8"><a href="#Constructing_the_nation-state"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Constructing the nation-state</span></a>
<ul>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9"><a href="#Political_system"><span class="tocnumber">3.1</span> <span class="toctext">Political system</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-10"><a href="#Customs_union"><span class="tocnumber">3.2</span> <span class="toctext">Customs union</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-11"><a href="#Postage_stamps"><span class="tocnumber">3.3</span> <span class="toctext">Postage stamps</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-12"><a href="#Transition_to_the_German_Empire"><span class="tocnumber">3.4</span> <span class="toctext">Transition to the German Empire</span></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-13"><a href="#List_of_member_states"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">List of member states</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-14"><a href="#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-15"><a href="#Notes"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">Notes</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-16"><a href="#References"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-17"><a href="#Further_reading"><span class="tocnumber">8</span> <span class="toctext">Further reading</span></a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Prelude">Prelude</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=North_German_Confederation&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Prelude"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div>
<p>For most of 1815–1833, Austria and Prussia worked together and used the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_Confederation" title="German Confederation">German Confederation</a> as a tool to suppress liberal and national ambitions in the German population.
</p>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Zollverein"><i>Zollverein</i></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=North_German_Confederation&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Zollverein"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div>
<p>The first major step towards a <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Lesser_Germany" title="Lesser Germany">Lesser German solution</a> was the <i><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Zollverein" title="Zollverein">Zollverein</a></i>, a customs union formed by the treaties of 1833, with <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kingdom_of_Prussia" title="Kingdom of Prussia">Prussia</a> being the primary driver behind the customs union.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9">[8]</a></sup> Although it was formally inaugurated on 1 January 1834, its origins may be traced to a variety of <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Custom_union" class="mw-redirect" title="Custom union">custom unions</a> among the German states, formed beginning from 1818. The <i>Zollverein</i> was not subordinate to the Austrian-led <a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_Confederation" title="German Confederation">German Confederation</a> (1815–1866) and <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Austrian_Empire" title="Austrian Empire">Austria</a> itself was excluded because of its highly <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Protectionism" title="Protectionism">protectionist</a> trade policy, the unwillingness to split its customs territory into the separate Austrian, Hungarian and Galician-Lodomerian ones, as well as due to opposition of <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Prince_von_Metternich" class="mw-redirect" title="Prince von Metternich">Prince von Metternich</a> to the idea.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10">[9]</a></sup> Nevertheless, the <i>Zollverein</i> managed to include by 1866 the majority of the German states.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11">[10]</a></sup>
</p>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Frankfurt_Parliament_and_the_Erfurt_Union">Frankfurt Parliament and the Erfurt Union</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=North_German_Confederation&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Frankfurt Parliament and the Erfurt Union"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div>
<p>In 1849, the National Assembly in Frankfurt elected the Prussian king as the Emperor of a <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Lesser_Germany" title="Lesser Germany">Lesser Germany</a> (a Germany without Austria). The king refused and tried to unite Germany with the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Erfurt_Union" title="Erfurt Union">Erfurt Union</a> of 1849–1850. When the union parliament met in early 1850 to discuss the constitution, the participating states were mainly only those in Northern and Central Germany. Austria and the southern German states Württemberg and Bavaria forced Prussia to give up its union plans in late 1850.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12">[11]</a></sup>
</p><p>In April and June 1866, Prussia proposed a Lesser Germany again. A corner stone of the proposal was the election of a German parliament based on universal male suffrage.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13">[12]</a></sup> The proposal explicitly mentioned the Frankfurt election law of 1849. <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Otto_von_Bismarck" title="Otto von Bismarck">Otto von Bismarck</a>, the minister-president of Prussia, wanted to gain sympathy within the national and liberal movement of the time. Austria and its allies refused the proposal. In summer 1866 Austria and Prussia fought with their respective allies in the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Austro-Prussian_War" title="Austro-Prussian War">Austro-Prussian War</a>.
</p>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Peace_of_Prague_and_dissolution_of_German_Confederation">Peace of Prague and dissolution of German Confederation</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=North_German_Confederation&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Peace of Prague and dissolution of German Confederation"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div>
<p>Prussia and Austria signed a Nikolsburg preliminary (26 July) and a final <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Peace_of_Prague_(1866)" title="Peace of Prague (1866)">peace treaty of Prague</a> (23 August). Austria accepted the Prussian demand for the German Confederation to be dissolved. Prussia was allowed to create instead a "closer federation" (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">ein engerer Bund</i></span>) in Germany north of the river Main. Bismarck had already agreed on this limitation with the French emperor Napoleon III prior to the peace talks.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14">[13]</a></sup>
</p>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Formation_of_the_North_German_Confederation">Formation of the North German Confederation</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=North_German_Confederation&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Formation of the North German Confederation"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Military_alliance">Military alliance</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=North_German_Confederation&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Military alliance"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div>
<p>On 18 August 1866, Prussia and a larger number of North and Central German states signed the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/North_German_Confederation_Treaty" title="North German Confederation Treaty">North German Confederation Treaty</a> establishing a <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Bündnis</i></span> (alliance). The treaty created a military alliance for one year. It also affirmed that the states wanted to form a federal state based on the Prussian proposals of June 1866. They agreed to have a parliament elected to discuss a draft constitution. At the same time, the original East Prussian cradle of the Prussian statehood as well as the Prussian-held Polish- or Kashubian-speaking territories of <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Province_of_Posen" title="Province of Posen">Province of Posen</a> and <a href="/enwiki/wiki/West_Prussia" title="West Prussia">West Prussia</a> were formally ′annexed into Germany. Saxony and Hesse-Darmstadt, former enemies in the war of 1866, had to agree their accession to the new federation in their respective peace treaties (Hesse-Darmstadt only joined with its northern province, Upper Hesse).<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15">[14]</a></sup> Later in 1866, other states joined the treaty. The liberals in the Prussian parliament favored a wholesale annexation of all North German territories by Prussia. In a similar way, Sardinia–Piedmont had created the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kingdom_of_Italy" title="Kingdom of Italy">Kingdom of Italy</a>. But Bismarck chose a different approach. Prussia incorporated (in October 1866) only the former military opponents Hannover, Hesse-Kassel, Nassau, the free city of Frankfurt, and the Hesse-Homburg area of Hesse Darmstadt. These areas were combined into the two new Prussian provinces of Hannover and Hesse-Nassau. Schleswig and Holstein also became a Prussian province.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16">[15]</a></sup>
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Towards_a_federal_constitution">Towards a federal constitution</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=North_German_Confederation&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Towards a federal constitution"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div>
<figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Chart_Constitution_of_the_North_German_Confederation_1867_EN.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/Chart_Constitution_of_the_North_German_Confederation_1867_EN.svg/220px-Chart_Constitution_of_the_North_German_Confederation_1867_EN.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="156" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/Chart_Constitution_of_the_North_German_Confederation_1867_EN.svg/330px-Chart_Constitution_of_the_North_German_Confederation_1867_EN.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/Chart_Constitution_of_the_North_German_Confederation_1867_EN.svg/440px-Chart_Constitution_of_the_North_German_Confederation_1867_EN.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1052" data-file-height="744" /></a><figcaption>Chart illustrating the constitution of the North German Confederation</figcaption></figure>
<p>Bismarck sought advice from conservative and democratic politicians and finally presented a draft constitution to the other state governments. At the same time, in late 1866, Prussia and the other states prepared the election of a North German parliament. This <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">konstituierender Reichstag</i></span> was elected in February 1867 based on state laws. The <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">konstituierender Reichstag</i></span> gathered from February to April. In close talks with Bismarck, it altered the draft constitution in some significant points. The <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">konstituierender Reichstag</i></span> was not a parliament but only an organ to discuss and accept the draft constitution. After that, the state parliaments (June 1867) ratified it so that on 1 July the constitution was enabled. In August, the first Reichstag of the new federal state was elected.
</p><p>A major factor in determining the form the new federal government would take was the aftermath of the recently concluded <a href="/enwiki/wiki/American_Civil_War" title="American Civil War">American Civil War</a>, which had seen the southern states forcibly re-incorporated into the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/United_States_of_America" class="mw-redirect" title="United States of America">United States of America</a> and <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Slavery_in_the_United_States" title="Slavery in the United States">slavery</a> abolished. While few Germans were particularly sympathetic toward the precise institution (i.e., slavery) which had precipitated civil war in America, the prevailing viewpoint outside the U.S. at this time was that the slaves had only been emancipated as a reprisal for Southern secession from the American Union. With this in mind, many Catholics especially in Southern Germany feared that Prussia might one day might attempt to engineer a similar sort of secession crisis within a united Germany and use it as a pretext to launch a violent repression against Catholicism throughout Germany. Thus, it was Bismarck's intention to make the new federal state look like a confederation in the tradition of the German Confederation and explains the name of the country and several provisions in the draft constitution — Bismarck needed to make the federal state more attractive (or at least less repulsive) to southern German states which might later join.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17">[16]</a></sup>
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Constructing_the_nation-state">Constructing the nation-state</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=North_German_Confederation&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Constructing the nation-state"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div>
<p>During the roughly three and a half years of the North German Confederation its major action existed in legislation unifying Northern Germany. The Reichstag decided on laws concerning, for example:
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<ul><li>free movement of citizens within the territory of the Confederation (1867)</li>
<li>a common postal system (1867–1868)</li>
<li>common passports (1867)</li>
<li>equal rights for the different religious denominations (1869)</li>
<li>unified measures and weights (with the obligatory introduction of the metric system)</li>
<li>penal code (1870)</li></ul>
<p>The North German Confederation also became a member of the <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Zollverein" title="Zollverein">Zollverein</a></i></span>, the German customs union of 1834.
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Political_system">Political system</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=North_German_Confederation&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Political system"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div>
<figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:KonstsitNDBT.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/KonstsitNDBT.jpg/290px-KonstsitNDBT.jpg" decoding="async" width="290" height="186" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/KonstsitNDBT.jpg/435px-KonstsitNDBT.jpg 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/KonstsitNDBT.jpg/580px-KonstsitNDBT.jpg 2x" data-file-width="720" data-file-height="462" /></a><figcaption>First session of the <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">konstituierender Reichstag</i></span> on 24 February 1867. This organ was actually not a parliament as there was no federal state then. Its sole purpose was to discuss and accept the draft constitution. Later, in August, the North Germans elected the first Reichstag as established by the new constitution.</figcaption></figure>
<p>The <a href="/enwiki/wiki/North_German_Constitution" title="North German Constitution">North German Constitution</a> of 16 April 1867 created a national parliament with universal suffrage (for men above the age of 25), the <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Reichstag_(North_German_Confederation)" title="Reichstag (North German Confederation)">Reichstag</a></i></span>. Another important organ was the <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Bundesrat_of_Germany" class="mw-redirect" title="Bundesrat of Germany">Bundesrat</a></i></span>, the 'federal council' of the representatives of the state governments. To adopt a law, a majority in the Reichstag and in the Bundesrat was necessary. This gave the allied governments, meaning the states (and, depending on the state, their princes), an important veto.
</p><p>Executive power was vested in a <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Chancellor_of_Germany" title="Chancellor of Germany">chancellor</a>, being the only responsible federal minister of the country. There was no formal cabinet, and in the time of the North German Confederation there were only two government departments anyway: the <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Bundeskanzleramt</i></span> as the general office of the chancellor, and, since early 1870, the foreign office.
</p><p>The chancellor was installed and dismissed by the <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Bundespräsidium</i></span>. This office belonged automatically to the Prussian king (art. 11). The holder was de facto the head of state of the North German Confederation. (Bismarck wanted to avoid the title <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Präsident</i></span> with its republican air.)
</p><p>For all intents and purposes, the Confederation was dominated by Prussia. It had four-fifths of the confederation's territory and population – more than the other 21 members combined. The Prussian king was a kind of head of state. Chancellor Bismarck was also prime minister and foreign minister of Prussia. In that role he instructed the Prussian votes in the Bundesrat. Prussia had 17 of 43 votes in the Bundesrat despite being by far the largest state but could easily get a majority by making alliances with the smaller states.
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Customs_union">Customs union</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=North_German_Confederation&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Customs union"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div>
<p>In June 1867 a conference took place between Prussia and the south German states, who were not members of the North German Confederation. After pressure from Prussia, new Customs Union (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Zollverein</i></span>) treaties were signed the following month. Henceforth, the governing bodies of the Customs Union were the Bundesrat and Reichstag of the North German Confederation, augmented by representatives of the south German governments in the former and members from these states elected in the same way as the others in the latter. When augmented thus for customs matters, the institutions were known as the Federal Customs Council and the Customs Parliament (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Zollparlament</i></span>).<sup id="cite_ref-Hend314_18-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Hend314-18">[17]</a></sup>
On 1 January 1868, the new institutions came into force. Bismarck hoped that the <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Zollverein</i></span> might become the vehicle of German unification. But in the 1868 <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Zollparlament_election,_1868" class="mw-redirect" title="Zollparlament election, 1868"><span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Zollparlament</i></span> election</a> the South Germans voted mainly for anti-Prussian parties.
</p><p>On the other hand, the two Mecklenburg duchies and three Hanseatic cities were initially not members of the Customs Union. The Mecklenburgs and Lübeck joined soon after the North German Confederation was formed. Eventually, after heavy Prussian pressure, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Accession_of_Hamburg_to_the_German_Customs_Union_(Zollverein)" class="mw-redirect" title="Accession of Hamburg to the German Customs Union (Zollverein)">Hamburg acceded to the Customs Union</a> in 1888. Bremen joined at the same time. Despite this, all these states fully participated in the federal institutions, even while outside the Customs Union and not directly affected by their decisions in that regard.
and i like boys
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Postage_stamps">Postage stamps</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=North_German_Confederation&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Postage stamps"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div>
<figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:Stamp_of_North_German_Confederation.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Stamp_of_North_German_Confederation.jpg" decoding="async" width="179" height="198" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="179" data-file-height="198" /></a><figcaption>North German 7-<a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kreuzer" title="Kreuzer">kreuzer</a> stamp, 1868. The postal services in the north German states were united into the <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Norddeutscher Postbezirk</i></span>, the predecessor of the <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Reichspost</i></span>.</figcaption></figure>
<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_North_German_Confederation" title="Postage stamps and postal history of the North German Confederation">Postage stamps and postal history of the North German Confederation</a></div>
<p>One of the functions of the confederation was to handle mail and issue postage stamps.
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Transition_to_the_German_Empire">Transition to the German Empire</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=North_German_Confederation&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Transition to the German Empire"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div>
<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_Empire" title="German Empire">German Empire</a></div>
<p>In mid-1870, a diplomatic crisis concerning the Spanish throne led eventually to the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Franco-Prussian_War" title="Franco-Prussian War">Franco-Prussian War</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19">[18]</a></sup> During the war, in November 1870, the south German states of <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kingdom_of_Bavaria" title="Kingdom of Bavaria">Bavaria</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kingdom_of_W%C3%BCrttemberg" title="Kingdom of Württemberg">Württemberg</a>, and <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Baden" title="Grand Duchy of Baden">Baden</a> (together with the parts of <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Hesse" title="Grand Duchy of Hesse">Hesse-Darmstadt</a> that were left out of the Confederation) joined the North German Confederation. On this occasion, the country adopted a new constitution, and the name of the federal state was changed to <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Deutsches Reich</i></span> (German Empire).
</p><p>According to a minority among German experts, the North German Confederation and the southern states created a new federal state (the German Empire). Indeed, Bismarck allowed the south German states to save face and therefore used terminology suggesting a new creation. But Kotulla emphasizes that legally only accession of the southern states to the North German Confederation was possible; the legal basis for such an accession was art. 79 of the North German federal constitution.<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20">[19]</a></sup>
</p><p>On 10 December 1870 the Reichstag of the North German Confederation had adopted a <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Constitution_of_the_German_Confederation_(1871)" title="Constitution of the German Confederation (1871)">new constitution</a>, still titled as one of the <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Deutscher Bund</i></span> (German Confederation) in spite of establishing for the state a new name <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Deutsches Reich</i></span> (German Realm or German Empire) and granting the title of <a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_Emperor" title="German Emperor">German Emperor</a> to the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/King_of_Prussia" class="mw-redirect" title="King of Prussia">King of Prussia</a> holding the <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Bundespräsidium</i></span> of the Confederation; it entered into force on 1 January 1871, but lasted only four months.<sup id="cite_ref-case139-140_21-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-case139-140-21">[20]</a></sup>
</p><p>Following the victory in the war with France, the German princes and senior military commanders <a href="/enwiki/wiki/William_I_of_Germany#Emperor" class="mw-redirect" title="William I of Germany">proclaimed Wilhelm "German Emperor"</a> in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22">[21]</a></sup> This latter date was later customarily celebrated as the symbolic day of 'foundation of the German Empire' (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Deutsche Reichsgründung</i></span>), although it had no constitutional meaning.<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23">[22]</a></sup>
</p><p>After a new Reichstag was elected on 3 March 1871, the transition from the Confederation to the Empire was completed when the permanent <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Constitution_of_the_German_Empire" title="Constitution of the German Empire">Constitution of the German Empire</a> prevailing until the demise of the monarchy entered into force on 4 May 1871, while France recognised the empire on 10 May 1871 in the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Treaty_of_Frankfurt_(1871)" title="Treaty of Frankfurt (1871)">Treaty of Frankfurt</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24">[23]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25">[24]</a></sup>
</p><p>The three constitutions (1867, January 1871, and April 1871) were nearly identical. It took roughly a decade to develop the country into a fully grown federal state, with several governmental departments (a kind of ministries), responsible state secretaries (a kind of ministers, 1878), and an imperial court (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Reichsgericht</i></span>, 1879).
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="List_of_member_states">List of member states</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=North_German_Confederation&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: List of member states"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div>
<figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:North_German_Confederation_and_Prussia_(Fullarton,_1872).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/North_German_Confederation_and_Prussia_%28Fullarton%2C_1872%29.jpg/220px-North_German_Confederation_and_Prussia_%28Fullarton%2C_1872%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="172" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/North_German_Confederation_and_Prussia_%28Fullarton%2C_1872%29.jpg/330px-North_German_Confederation_and_Prussia_%28Fullarton%2C_1872%29.jpg 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/North_German_Confederation_and_Prussia_%28Fullarton%2C_1872%29.jpg/440px-North_German_Confederation_and_Prussia_%28Fullarton%2C_1872%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="8551" data-file-height="6679" /></a><figcaption>Detailed map of North German Confederation.</figcaption></figure>
<p>All of the member states had already belonged to the German Confederation of 1815–66. Austria and the south German states Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden and the Grand Duchy of Hesse (Hesse-Darmstadt) remained outside of the North German Confederation. Though, the northern province <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Oberhessen</i></span> of the Grand Duchy of Hesse did join.
</p><p>In northern, central and eastern Germany, Prussia:
</p>
<ul><li>had gathered a number of allies that joined the North German Confederation via the August treaties (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Augustverträge</i></span>) of August 1866;</li>
<li>annexed four former enemy states (Hanover, Kurhessen, Nassau, Frankfurt) which became parts of Prussia (October 1866);</li>
<li>included its own territories formerly outside of the Holy Roman Empire and the German Confederation, namely the East Prussian cradle of its statehood as well as the Prussian-conquered Polish territories (<a href="/enwiki/wiki/Province_of_Posen" title="Province of Posen">Province of Posen</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/West_Prussia" title="West Prussia">West Prussia</a>) in the new state, thus formally annexing them into Germany</li>
<li>forced the remaining states into the North German Confederation via the peace treaties.</li></ul>
<p>Lauenburg is sometimes mentioned as one of the member states, sometimes not. It was one of the three duchies that had earlier belong to Denmark. Lauenburg was a state with the Prussian king as duke until 1876, when it became a part of the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein.
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<table style="text-align: left; border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 1.3em; font-size: 90%;">
<caption>
</caption>
<tbody><tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background-color:#eeeee0;text-align:center;">State
</th>
<th style="background-color:#eeeee0">Capital
</th></tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3" style="background-color:#efefef;text-align:center;"><b>Kingdoms</b> (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Königreiche</i></span>)
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/Flag_of_Prussia_%281892-1918%29.svg/25px-Flag_of_Prussia_%281892-1918%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/Flag_of_Prussia_%281892-1918%29.svg/38px-Flag_of_Prussia_%281892-1918%29.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/Flag_of_Prussia_%281892-1918%29.svg/50px-Flag_of_Prussia_%281892-1918%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="540" /></span></span>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kingdom_of_Prussia" title="Kingdom of Prussia">Prussia</a></b> (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Preußen</i></span>) as a whole <br /><small>(including <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Duchy_of_Lauenburg" class="mw-redirect" title="Duchy of Lauenburg">Lauenburg</a>)</small>
</td>
<td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Berlin" title="Berlin">Berlin</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Flagge_K%C3%B6nigreich_Sachsen_%281815-1918%29.svg/25px-Flagge_K%C3%B6nigreich_Sachsen_%281815-1918%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="17" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Flagge_K%C3%B6nigreich_Sachsen_%281815-1918%29.svg/38px-Flagge_K%C3%B6nigreich_Sachsen_%281815-1918%29.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Flagge_K%C3%B6nigreich_Sachsen_%281815-1918%29.svg/50px-Flagge_K%C3%B6nigreich_Sachsen_%281815-1918%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="400" /></span></span>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kingdom_of_Saxony" title="Kingdom of Saxony">Saxony</a></b> (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Sachsen</i></span>)
</td>
<td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Dresden" title="Dresden">Dresden</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3" style="background-color:#efefef;text-align:center;"><b>Grand Duchies</b> (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Großherzogtümer</i></span>)
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogtum_Hessen_ohne_Wappen.svg/25px-Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogtum_Hessen_ohne_Wappen.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="20" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogtum_Hessen_ohne_Wappen.svg/38px-Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogtum_Hessen_ohne_Wappen.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogtum_Hessen_ohne_Wappen.svg/50px-Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogtum_Hessen_ohne_Wappen.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="500" data-file-height="400" /></span></span>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Hesse" title="Grand Duchy of Hesse">Hesse</a></b> (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Hessen</i></span>) <br /><small>(Only <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Upper_Hesse" title="Upper Hesse">Upper Hesse</a>, the province north of the river <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Main_(river)" title="Main (river)">Main</a>)</small>
</td>
<td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Giessen" title="Giessen">Giessen</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogt%C3%BCmer_Mecklenburg.svg/25px-Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogt%C3%BCmer_Mecklenburg.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="17" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogt%C3%BCmer_Mecklenburg.svg/38px-Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogt%C3%BCmer_Mecklenburg.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogt%C3%BCmer_Mecklenburg.svg/50px-Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogt%C3%BCmer_Mecklenburg.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="400" /></span></span>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Mecklenburg-Schwerin" title="Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin">Mecklenburg-Schwerin</a></b>
</td>
<td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Schwerin" title="Schwerin">Schwerin</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogt%C3%BCmer_Mecklenburg.svg/25px-Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogt%C3%BCmer_Mecklenburg.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="17" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogt%C3%BCmer_Mecklenburg.svg/38px-Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogt%C3%BCmer_Mecklenburg.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogt%C3%BCmer_Mecklenburg.svg/50px-Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogt%C3%BCmer_Mecklenburg.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="400" /></span></span>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Mecklenburg-Strelitz" title="Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz">Mecklenburg-Strelitz</a></b>
</td>
<td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Neustrelitz" title="Neustrelitz">Neustrelitz</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Civil_flag_of_Oldenburg.svg/25px-Civil_flag_of_Oldenburg.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Civil_flag_of_Oldenburg.svg/38px-Civil_flag_of_Oldenburg.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Civil_flag_of_Oldenburg.svg/50px-Civil_flag_of_Oldenburg.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="360" data-file-height="216" /></span></span>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Oldenburg" title="Grand Duchy of Oldenburg">Oldenburg</a></b>
</td>
<td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Oldenburg_(city)" title="Oldenburg (city)">Oldenburg</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogtum_Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach_%281897-1920%29.svg/25px-Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogtum_Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach_%281897-1920%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="17" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogtum_Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach_%281897-1920%29.svg/38px-Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogtum_Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach_%281897-1920%29.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogtum_Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach_%281897-1920%29.svg/50px-Flagge_Gro%C3%9Fherzogtum_Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach_%281897-1920%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="400" /></span></span>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach" title="Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach">Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach</a></b> (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach</i></span>)
</td>
<td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Weimar" title="Weimar">Weimar</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3" style="background-color:#efefef;text-align:center;"><b>Duchies</b> (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Herzogtümer</i></span>)
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Flagge_Herzogtum_Anhalt.svg/25px-Flagge_Herzogtum_Anhalt.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="17" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Flagge_Herzogtum_Anhalt.svg/38px-Flagge_Herzogtum_Anhalt.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Flagge_Herzogtum_Anhalt.svg/50px-Flagge_Herzogtum_Anhalt.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="400" /></span></span>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Duchy_of_Anhalt" title="Duchy of Anhalt">Anhalt</a></b>
</td>
<td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Dessau" title="Dessau">Dessau</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/Flagge_Herzogtum_Braunschweig.svg/25px-Flagge_Herzogtum_Braunschweig.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="17" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/Flagge_Herzogtum_Braunschweig.svg/38px-Flagge_Herzogtum_Braunschweig.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/Flagge_Herzogtum_Braunschweig.svg/50px-Flagge_Herzogtum_Braunschweig.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="400" /></span></span>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Duchy_of_Brunswick" title="Duchy of Brunswick">Brunswick</a></b> (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Braunschweig</i></span>)
</td>
<td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Braunschweig" title="Braunschweig">Braunschweig</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Flagge_Herzogtum_Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha_%281826-1911%29.svg/25px-Flagge_Herzogtum_Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha_%281826-1911%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="17" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Flagge_Herzogtum_Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha_%281826-1911%29.svg/38px-Flagge_Herzogtum_Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha_%281826-1911%29.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Flagge_Herzogtum_Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha_%281826-1911%29.svg/50px-Flagge_Herzogtum_Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha_%281826-1911%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="400" /></span></span>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Saxe-Altenburg" title="Saxe-Altenburg">Saxe-Altenburg</a></b> (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Sachsen-Altenburg</i></span>)
</td>
<td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Altenburg" title="Altenburg">Altenburg</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Flagge_Herzogtum_Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha_%281911-1920%29.svg/25px-Flagge_Herzogtum_Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha_%281911-1920%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="17" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Flagge_Herzogtum_Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha_%281911-1920%29.svg/38px-Flagge_Herzogtum_Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha_%281911-1920%29.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Flagge_Herzogtum_Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha_%281911-1920%29.svg/50px-Flagge_Herzogtum_Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha_%281911-1920%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="400" /></span></span>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Saxe-Coburg_and_Gotha" title="Saxe-Coburg and Gotha">Saxe-Coburg and Gotha</a></b> (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha</i></span>)
</td>
<td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Coburg" title="Coburg">Coburg</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Flagge_Herzogtum_Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha_%281826-1911%29.svg/25px-Flagge_Herzogtum_Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha_%281826-1911%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="17" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Flagge_Herzogtum_Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha_%281826-1911%29.svg/38px-Flagge_Herzogtum_Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha_%281826-1911%29.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Flagge_Herzogtum_Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha_%281826-1911%29.svg/50px-Flagge_Herzogtum_Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha_%281826-1911%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="400" /></span></span>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Saxe-Meiningen" title="Saxe-Meiningen">Saxe-Meiningen</a></b> (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Sachsen-Meiningen</i></span>)
</td>
<td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Meiningen" title="Meiningen">Meiningen</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3" style="background-color:#efefef;text-align:center;"><b>Principalities</b> (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Fürstentümer</i></span>)
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Lippe.svg/25px-Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Lippe.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="17" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Lippe.svg/38px-Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Lippe.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Lippe.svg/50px-Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Lippe.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="400" /></span></span>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Principality_of_Lippe" title="Principality of Lippe">Lippe</a></b>
</td>
<td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Detmold" title="Detmold">Detmold</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Reu%C3%9F_j%C3%BCngere_Linie.svg/25px-Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Reu%C3%9F_j%C3%BCngere_Linie.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="20" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Reu%C3%9F_j%C3%BCngere_Linie.svg/38px-Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Reu%C3%9F_j%C3%BCngere_Linie.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Reu%C3%9F_j%C3%BCngere_Linie.svg/50px-Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Reu%C3%9F_j%C3%BCngere_Linie.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="480" /></span></span>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Principality_of_Reuss-Gera" title="Principality of Reuss-Gera">Reuss-Gera <small>(Junior Line)</small></a></b>
</td>
<td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Gera" title="Gera">Gera</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Reu%C3%9F_%C3%A4ltere_Linie.svg/25px-Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Reu%C3%9F_%C3%A4ltere_Linie.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="20" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Reu%C3%9F_%C3%A4ltere_Linie.svg/38px-Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Reu%C3%9F_%C3%A4ltere_Linie.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Reu%C3%9F_%C3%A4ltere_Linie.svg/50px-Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Reu%C3%9F_%C3%A4ltere_Linie.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="510" data-file-height="405" /></span></span>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Principality_of_Reuss-Greiz" title="Principality of Reuss-Greiz">Reuss-Greiz <small>(Elder Line)</small></a></b>
</td>
<td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Greiz" title="Greiz">Greiz</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Schaumburg-Lippe.svg/25px-Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Schaumburg-Lippe.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="17" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Schaumburg-Lippe.svg/38px-Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Schaumburg-Lippe.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Schaumburg-Lippe.svg/50px-Flagge_F%C3%BCrstentum_Schaumburg-Lippe.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="400" /></span></span>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Principality_of_Schaumburg-Lippe" title="Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe">Schaumburg-Lippe</a></b>
</td>
<td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/B%C3%BCckeburg" title="Bückeburg">Bückeburg</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Flagge_F%C3%BCrstent%C3%BCmer_Schwarzburg.svg/25px-Flagge_F%C3%BCrstent%C3%BCmer_Schwarzburg.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="17" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Flagge_F%C3%BCrstent%C3%BCmer_Schwarzburg.svg/38px-Flagge_F%C3%BCrstent%C3%BCmer_Schwarzburg.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Flagge_F%C3%BCrstent%C3%BCmer_Schwarzburg.svg/50px-Flagge_F%C3%BCrstent%C3%BCmer_Schwarzburg.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="400" /></span></span>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt" title="Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt">Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt</a></b>
</td>
<td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Rudolstadt" title="Rudolstadt">Rudolstadt</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Flagge_F%C3%BCrstent%C3%BCmer_Schwarzburg.svg/25px-Flagge_F%C3%BCrstent%C3%BCmer_Schwarzburg.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="17" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Flagge_F%C3%BCrstent%C3%BCmer_Schwarzburg.svg/38px-Flagge_F%C3%BCrstent%C3%BCmer_Schwarzburg.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Flagge_F%C3%BCrstent%C3%BCmer_Schwarzburg.svg/50px-Flagge_F%C3%BCrstent%C3%BCmer_Schwarzburg.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="400" /></span></span>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Schwarzburg-Sondershausen" title="Schwarzburg-Sondershausen">Schwarzburg-Sondershausen</a></b>
</td>
<td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Sondershausen" title="Sondershausen">Sondershausen</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Flag_of_Germany_%283-2%29.svg/25px-Flag_of_Germany_%283-2%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="17" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Flag_of_Germany_%283-2%29.svg/38px-Flag_of_Germany_%283-2%29.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Flag_of_Germany_%283-2%29.svg/50px-Flag_of_Germany_%283-2%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></span></span>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Principality_of_Waldeck_and_Pyrmont" title="Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont">Waldeck and Pyrmont</a></b> (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Waldeck und Pyrmont</i></span>)
</td>
<td><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Arolsen" class="mw-redirect" title="Arolsen">Arolsen</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3" style="background-color:#efefef;text-align:center;"><b>Free and Hanseatic Cities</b> (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Freie und Hansestädte</i></span>)
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Flag_of_Bremen.svg/25px-Flag_of_Bremen.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="17" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Flag_of_Bremen.svg/38px-Flag_of_Bremen.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Flag_of_Bremen.svg/50px-Flag_of_Bremen.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="400" /></span></span>
</td>
<td colspan="2"><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Bremen_(state)" title="Bremen (state)">Bremen</a></b>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Flag_of_Hamburg.svg/25px-Flag_of_Hamburg.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="17" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Flag_of_Hamburg.svg/38px-Flag_of_Hamburg.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Flag_of_Hamburg.svg/50px-Flag_of_Hamburg.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="400" /></span></span>
</td>
<td colspan="2"><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Hamburg" title="Hamburg">Hamburg</a></b>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Flag_of_the_Free_City_of_L%C3%BCbeck.svg/25px-Flag_of_the_Free_City_of_L%C3%BCbeck.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Flag_of_the_Free_City_of_L%C3%BCbeck.svg/38px-Flag_of_the_Free_City_of_L%C3%BCbeck.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Flag_of_the_Free_City_of_L%C3%BCbeck.svg/50px-Flag_of_the_Free_City_of_L%C3%BCbeck.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1280" data-file-height="800" /></span></span>
</td>
<td colspan="2"><b><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Free_City_of_L%C3%BCbeck" class="mw-redirect" title="Free City of Lübeck">Lübeck</a></b>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=North_German_Confederation&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div>
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<ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/North_German_Constitution" title="North German Constitution">North German Constitution</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Former_countries_in_Europe_after_1815" title="Former countries in Europe after 1815">Former countries in Europe after 1815</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_unification" class="mw-redirect" title="German unification">German unification</a></li></ul>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=North_German_Confederation&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div>
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<div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references">
<li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>de facto</i>, except <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Austrian_Empire" title="Austrian Empire">Austrian Empire</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Duchy_of_Limburg_(1839%E2%80%931867)" title="Duchy of Limburg (1839–1867)">Duchy of Limburg (1839–1867)</a>, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Luxembourg" class="mw-redirect" title="Grand Duchy of Luxembourg">Grand Duchy of Luxembourg</a> and <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Principality_of_Liechtenstein" class="mw-redirect" title="Principality of Liechtenstein">Principality of Liechtenstein</a></span>
</li>
</ol></div></div>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=North_German_Confederation&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div>
<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1217336898"><div class="reflist">
<div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references">
<li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">An alternative translation is "North German Federation." The German word <i>Bund</i> is used in the German constitutional history (a) for confederations (associations of states, in German <i>Staatenbund</i>) such as the <a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_Confederation" title="German Confederation">German Confederation</a> of 1815, but (b) also for federations (federal states, in German <i>Bundesstaat</i> or <i>Föderaler Staat</i>) such as the Federal Republic of Germany or the United States of America.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">See Michael Kotulla: <i>Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte. Vom Alten Reich bis Weimar (1495–1934).</i> Springer, Berlin 2008, p. 526. R. Stettner, in: H. Dreier (ed.), Grundgesetz-Kommentar, vol. 2, second edition 2006, Art. 123, Rn. 14. Bernhard Diestelkamp: <i>Rechtsgeschichte als Zeitgeschichte. Historische Betrachtungen zur Entstehung und Durchsetzung der Theorie vom Fortbestand des Deutschen Reiches als Staat nach 1945.</i> In: <i>Zeitschrift für Neuere Rechtsgeschichte</i> 7 (1985), pp. 187 and following.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Michael Kotulla: <i>Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte. Vom Alten Reich bis Weimar (1495–1934)</i>. Springer, Berlin 2008, pp. 487–489.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Michael Kotulla: <i>Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte. Vom Alten Reich bis Weimar (1495–1934)</i>. Springer, Berlin 2008, pp. 525–527.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/kaiserreich/innenpolitik/reichsgruendung/index.html">Die Reichsgründung 1871</a> (The Foundation of the Empire, 1871), Lebendiges virtuelles Museum Online, accessed 2008-12-22. German text translated: [...] on the wishes of Wilhelm I, on the 170th anniversary of the elevation of the House of Brandenburg to royal status on January 18, 1701, the assembled German princes and high military officials proclaimed Wilhelm I as German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Versailles Palace.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Crankshaw, Edward. <i>Bismarck</i>. New York, The Viking Press, 1981, p. 299.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Ernst Rudolf Huber: <i>Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789.</i> Vol. III: <i>Bismarck und das Reich.</i> 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [et al.] 1988, p. 747.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFPloeckl2020" class="citation journal cs1">Ploeckl, Florian (2020). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-institutional-economics/article/abs/novel-institution-the-zollverein-and-the-origins-of-the-customs-union/44D39974F7D2B3B9DE3DCD1135764EB4">"A novel institution: the <i>Zollverein</i> and the origins of the customs union"</a>. <i>Journal of Institutional Economics</i>. <b>17</b> (2): 305–319. <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS1744137420000387">10.1017/S1744137420000387</a>. <a href="/enwiki/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1744-1374">1744-1374</a>. <a href="/enwiki/wiki/S2CID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="S2CID (identifier)">S2CID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:211238300">211238300</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Institutional+Economics&rft.atitle=A+novel+institution%3A+the+Zollverein+and+the+origins+of+the+customs+union&rft.volume=17&rft.issue=2&rft.pages=305-319&rft.date=2020&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.semanticscholar.org%2FCorpusID%3A211238300%23id-name%3DS2CID&rft.issn=1744-1374&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1017%2FS1744137420000387&rft.aulast=Ploeckl&rft.aufirst=Florian&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cambridge.org%2Fcore%2Fjournals%2Fjournal-of-institutional-economics%2Farticle%2Fabs%2Fnovel-institution-the-zollverein-and-the-origins-of-the-customs-union%2F44D39974F7D2B3B9DE3DCD1135764EB4&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ANorth+German+Confederation" class="Z3988"></span></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany/The-age-of-Metternich-and-the-era-of-unification-1815-71">"Germany – The age of Metternich and the era of unification, 1815–71"</a>. Britannica.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Germany+%E2%80%93+The+age+of+Metternich+and+the+era+of+unification%2C+1815%E2%80%9371&rft.pub=Britannica&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.britannica.com%2Fplace%2FGermany%2FThe-age-of-Metternich-and-the-era-of-unification-1815-71&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ANorth+German+Confederation" class="Z3988"></span></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFPloeckl2020" class="citation journal cs1">Ploeckl, Florian (2020). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-institutional-economics/article/abs/novel-institution-the-zollverein-and-the-origins-of-the-customs-union/44D39974F7D2B3B9DE3DCD1135764EB4">"A novel institution: the <i>Zollverein</i> and the origins of the customs union"</a>. <i>Journal of Institutional Economics</i>. <b>17</b> (2): 305–319. <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS1744137420000387">10.1017/S1744137420000387</a>. <a href="/enwiki/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1744-1374">1744-1374</a>. <a href="/enwiki/wiki/S2CID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="S2CID (identifier)">S2CID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:211238300">211238300</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Institutional+Economics&rft.atitle=A+novel+institution%3A+the+Zollverein+and+the+origins+of+the+customs+union&rft.volume=17&rft.issue=2&rft.pages=305-319&rft.date=2020&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.semanticscholar.org%2FCorpusID%3A211238300%23id-name%3DS2CID&rft.issn=1744-1374&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1017%2FS1744137420000387&rft.aulast=Ploeckl&rft.aufirst=Florian&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cambridge.org%2Fcore%2Fjournals%2Fjournal-of-institutional-economics%2Farticle%2Fabs%2Fnovel-institution-the-zollverein-and-the-origins-of-the-customs-union%2F44D39974F7D2B3B9DE3DCD1135764EB4&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ANorth+German+Confederation" class="Z3988"></span></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">David E. Barclay: <i>Preußen und die Unionspolitik 1849/1850</i>. In: Gunther Mai (ed.): <i>Die Erfurter Union und das Erfurter Unionsparlament 1850</i>. 2000, pp. 53–80, here pp. 78–80.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Ernst Rudolf Huber: <i>Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789</i>. Vol. III: <i>Bismarck und das Reich</i>. 3rd edition, <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kohlhammer_Verlag" title="Kohlhammer Verlag">Kohlhammer Verlag</a>, Stuttgart et al. 1988, pp. 536/537.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Ernst Rudolf Huber: <i>Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789</i>. Vol. III: <i>Bismarck und das Reich</i>. W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [et al.] 1963, p. 570.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Michael Kotulla: <i>Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte. Vom Alten Reich bis Weimar (1495–1934)</i>. Springer, Berlin 2008, pp. 491–492.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-16">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Ernst Rudolf Huber: <i>Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789</i>. Vol. III: "Bismarck und das Reich". 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart (et al.) 1988, pp. 580–583.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-17">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Christoph Vondenhoff: <i>Hegemonie und Gleichgewicht im Bundesstaat. Preußen 1867–1933: Geschichte eines hegemonialen Gliedstaates</i>. Diss. Bonn 2000, Shaker Verlag, Aachen 2001, pp. 31–33.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-Hend314-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Hend314_18-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Henderson, William. The Zollverein. Publ Cambridge University Press, 1939; p.314</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-19">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGörtemaker1983" class="citation book cs1">Görtemaker, Manfred (1983). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=jGyEBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA244"><i>Deutschland im 19. Jahrhundert: Entwicklungslinien</i></a>. Opladen. p. 244. <a href="/enwiki/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Special:BookSources/9783663096559" title="Special:BookSources/9783663096559"><bdi>9783663096559</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Deutschland+im+19.+Jahrhundert%3A+Entwicklungslinien&rft.place=Opladen&rft.pages=244&rft.date=1983&rft.isbn=9783663096559&rft.aulast=G%C3%B6rtemaker&rft.aufirst=Manfred&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DjGyEBwAAQBAJ%26pg%3DPA244&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ANorth+German+Confederation" class="Z3988"></span><span class="cs1-maint citation-comment"><code class="cs1-code">{{<a href="/enwiki/wiki/Template:Cite_book" title="Template:Cite book">cite book</a>}}</code>: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (<a href="/enwiki/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_location_missing_publisher" title="Category:CS1 maint: location missing publisher">link</a>)</span></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-20">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Michael Kotulla: <i>Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte. Vom Alten Reich bis Weimar (1495–1934)</i>. Springer, Berlin 2008, p. 526.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-case139-140-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-case139-140_21-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCase1902" class="citation book cs1">Case, Nelson (1902). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_G2t9AAAAMAAJ"><i>European Constitutional History</i></a>. Cincinnati: Jennings & Pye. pp. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_G2t9AAAAMAAJ/page/n151">139</a>–140. <a href="/enwiki/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/608806061">608806061</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=European+Constitutional+History&rft.place=Cincinnati&rft.pages=139-140&rft.pub=Jennings+%26+Pye&rft.date=1902&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F608806061&rft.aulast=Case&rft.aufirst=Nelson&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fbub_gb_G2t9AAAAMAAJ&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ANorth+German+Confederation" class="Z3988"></span></span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-22">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/kaiserreich/innenpolitik/reichsgruendung/index.html">Die Reichsgründung 1871</a> (The Foundation of the Empire, 1871), Lebendiges virtuelles Museum Online, accessed 2008-12-22. German text translated: [...] on the wishes of Wilhelm I, on the 170th anniversary of the elevation of the House of Brandenburg to royal status on January 18, 1701, the assembled German princes and high military officials proclaimed Wilhelm I as German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Versailles Palace, and he accepted the title.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-23">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Ernst Rudolf Huber: <i>Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789.</i> Vol. III: <i>Bismarck und das Reich.</i> 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [et al.] 1988, pp. 750/751.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-24">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Crankshaw, Edward. <i>Bismarck</i>. New York, The Viking Press, 1981, p. 299.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-25"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-25">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Ernst Rudolf Huber: <i>Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789.</i> Vol. III: <i>Bismarck und das Reich.</i> 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [et al.] 1988, p. 747.</span>
</li>
</ol></div></div>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/enwiki/w/index.php?title=North_German_Confederation&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div>
<ul><li>Craig, Gordon A. <i>Germany, 1866–1945</i> (1978) pp. 11–22 <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.questia.com/library/book/germany-1866-1945-by-gordon-a-craig.jsp">online edition</a></li>
<li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFHolborn1959" class="citation book cs1">Holborn, Hajo (1959). <i>A History of Modern Germany: 1840–1945</i>. Knopf. pp. 173–232. <a href="/enwiki/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780394302782" title="Special:BookSources/9780394302782"><bdi>9780394302782</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=A+History+of+Modern+Germany%3A+1840%E2%80%931945&rft.pages=173-232&rft.pub=Knopf&rft.date=1959&rft.isbn=9780394302782&rft.aulast=Holborn&rft.aufirst=Hajo&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ANorth+German+Confederation" class="Z3988"></span></li>
<li>Hudson, Richard. "The Formation of the North German Confederation." <i><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Political_Science_Quarterly" title="Political Science Quarterly">Political Science Quarterly</a></i> (1891) 6#3 pp: 424–438. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2139487">in JSTOR</a></li>
<li>Nipperdey, Thomas. <i>Germany from Napoleon to Bismarck: 1800–1866</i> (1996), very dense coverage of every aspect of German society, economy and government</li>
<li>Pflanze, Otto. <i>Bismarck and the Development of Germany, Vol. 1: The Period of Unification, 1815–1871</i> (1971)</li>
<li>Taylor, A.J.P. <i>Bismarck: The Man and the Statesman</i> (1967) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=14683010">online edition</a></li></ul>
<div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list-with-group{text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid}.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-image,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-list{border-top:2px solid #fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title{background-color:#ccf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="States_of_the_North_German_Confederation_(1866–1871)" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="3"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236085633"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Template:States_of_the_North_German_Confederation" title="Template:States of the North German Confederation"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Template_talk:States_of_the_North_German_Confederation" title="Template talk:States of the North German Confederation"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:States_of_the_North_German_Confederation" title="Special:EditPage/Template:States of the North German Confederation"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="States_of_the_North_German_Confederation_(1866–1871)" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/States_of_the_North_German_Confederation" class="mw-redirect" title="States of the North German Confederation">States of the North German Confederation</a> (1866–1871)</div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Kingdoms</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kingdom_of_Prussia" title="Kingdom of Prussia">Prussia</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kingdom_of_Saxony" title="Kingdom of Saxony">Saxony</a></li></ul>
</div></td><td class="noviewer navbox-image" rowspan="5" style="width:1px;padding:0 0 0 2px"><div><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/File:NB_1866-1871.99.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Map of the North German Confederation"><img alt="Map of the North German Confederation" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/NB_1866-1871.99.svg/175px-NB_1866-1871.99.svg.png" decoding="async" width="175" height="162" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/NB_1866-1871.99.svg/263px-NB_1866-1871.99.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/NB_1866-1871.99.svg/350px-NB_1866-1871.99.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="971" data-file-height="899" /></a></span></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Grand_duchy" title="Grand duchy">Grand Duchies</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Hesse" title="Grand Duchy of Hesse">Hesse-Darmstadt</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Mecklenburg-Schwerin" title="Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin">Mecklenburg-Schwerin</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Mecklenburg-Strelitz" title="Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz">Mecklenburg-Strelitz</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Oldenburg" title="Grand Duchy of Oldenburg">Oldenburg</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach" title="Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach">Weimar-Eisenach</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Duchy" title="Duchy">Duchies</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Duchy_of_Anhalt" title="Duchy of Anhalt">Anhalt</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Duchy_of_Brunswick" title="Duchy of Brunswick">Brunswick</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Saxe-Altenburg" title="Saxe-Altenburg">Altenburg</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Saxe-Coburg_and_Gotha" title="Saxe-Coburg and Gotha">Coburg-Gotha</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Saxe-Lauenburg" title="Saxe-Lauenburg">Lauenburg</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Saxe-Meiningen" title="Saxe-Meiningen">Meiningen</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Principality" title="Principality">Principalities</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Principality_of_Lippe" title="Principality of Lippe">Lippe</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Principality_of_Reuss-Gera" title="Principality of Reuss-Gera">Reuss-Gera <small>(Junior Line)</small></a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Principality_of_Reuss-Greiz" title="Principality of Reuss-Greiz">Reuss-Greiz <small>(Elder Line)</small></a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Principality_of_Schaumburg-Lippe" title="Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe">Schaumburg-Lippe</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt" title="Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt">Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Schwarzburg-Sondershausen" title="Schwarzburg-Sondershausen">Schwarzburg-Sondershausen</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Principality_of_Waldeck_and_Pyrmont" title="Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont">Waldeck and Pyrmont</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/City-state" title="City-state">City-states</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Bremen_(state)" title="Bremen (state)">Bremen</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Hamburg" title="Hamburg">Hamburg</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/History_of_the_Free_and_Hanseatic_City_of_L%C3%BCbeck" title="History of the Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck">Lübeck</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>
<div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Unification_of_Germany" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236085633"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Template:Unification_of_Germany" title="Template:Unification of Germany"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Template_talk:Unification_of_Germany" title="Template talk:Unification of Germany"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Unification_of_Germany" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Unification of Germany"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Unification_of_Germany" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Unification_of_Germany" title="Unification of Germany">Unification of Germany</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">States</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Austrian_Empire" title="Austrian Empire">Austrian Empire</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(later <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Austria-Hungary" title="Austria-Hungary">Austria-Hungary</a>)</span></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kingdom_of_Bavaria" title="Kingdom of Bavaria">Kingdom of Bavaria</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kingdom_of_Hanover" title="Kingdom of Hanover">Kingdom of Hanover</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kingdom_of_Prussia" title="Kingdom of Prussia">Kingdom of Prussia</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kingdom_of_Saxony" title="Kingdom of Saxony">Kingdom of Saxony</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Kingdom_of_W%C3%BCrttemberg" title="Kingdom of Württemberg">Kingdom of Württemberg</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/States_of_the_German_Confederation" title="States of the German Confederation">States of the German Confederation</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Unions</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Confederation_of_the_Rhine" title="Confederation of the Rhine">Confederation of the Rhine</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_Confederation" title="German Confederation">German Confederation</a></li>
<li><i><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Zollverein" title="Zollverein">Zollverein</a></i></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_Empire_(1848%E2%80%931849)" title="German Empire (1848–1849)">German Empire (1848–1849)</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Erfurt_Union" title="Erfurt Union">Erfurt Union</a></li>
<li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">North German Confederation</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_Empire" title="German Empire">German Empire</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Events</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><span style="font-size:85%;">1814–1815</span> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Congress_of_Vienna" title="Congress of Vienna">Congress of Vienna</a></li>
<li><span style="font-size:85%;">1815–1848</span> <i><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Vorm%C3%A4rz" title="Vormärz">Vormärz</a></i>
<ul><li><span style="font-size:85%;">1817</span> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Wartburg_Festival" title="Wartburg Festival">Wartburg Festival</a></li>
<li><span style="font-size:85%;">1819</span> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Carlsbad_Decrees" title="Carlsbad Decrees">Carlsbad Decrees</a></li>
<li><span style="font-size:85%;">1832</span> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Hambach_Festival" title="Hambach Festival">Hambach Festival</a></li>
<li><span style="font-size:85%;">1833</span> <i><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Frankfurter_Wachensturm" title="Frankfurter Wachensturm">Frankfurter Wachensturm</a></i></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_revolutions_of_1848%E2%80%931849" title="German revolutions of 1848–1849"><span style="font-size:85%;">1848</span> Revolutions</a>
<ul><li><span style="font-size:85%;">1848–1849</span> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Frankfurt_Parliament" title="Frankfurt Parliament">Frankfurt Parliament</a></li>
<li><span style="font-size:85%;">1848</span> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Greater_Poland_uprising_(1848)" class="mw-redirect" title="Greater Poland uprising (1848)">Greater Poland uprising</a></li>
<li><span style="font-size:85%;">1850</span> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Punctation_of_Olm%C3%BCtz" title="Punctation of Olmütz">Punctation of Olmütz</a></li></ul></li>
<li><span style="font-size:85%;">1850-1851</span> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Dresden_Conference_(1851)" title="Dresden Conference (1851)">Dresden Conference</a></li>
<li><span style="font-size:85%;">1862</span> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Blood_and_Iron_(speech)" title="Blood and Iron (speech)">"Blood and Iron" speech</a></li>
<li><span style="font-size:85%;">1864</span> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Second_Schleswig_War" title="Second Schleswig War">Second Schleswig War</a></li>
<li><span style="font-size:85%;">1866</span> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Austro-Prussian_War" title="Austro-Prussian War">Austro-Prussian War</a> / <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Peace_of_Prague_(1866)" title="Peace of Prague (1866)">Peace of Prague</a></li>
<li><span style="font-size:85%;">1870–1871</span> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Franco-Prussian_War" title="Franco-Prussian War">Franco-Prussian War</a></li>
<li><span style="font-size:85%;">1871</span> <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Treaty_of_Versailles_(1871)" title="Treaty of Versailles (1871)">Treaty of Versailles</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">People</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Heinrich_Friedrich_Karl_vom_und_zum_Stein" title="Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein">Baron von Stein</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Charles_I_of_W%C3%BCrttemberg" title="Charles I of Württemberg">Charles I</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Christian_IX_of_Denmark" title="Christian IX of Denmark">Christian IX</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Eduard_von_Simson" title="Eduard von Simson">Eduard von Simson</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Francis_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor" title="Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor">Franz I</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Franz_Joseph_I_of_Austria" title="Franz Joseph I of Austria">Franz Joseph I</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Frederick_William_III_of_Prussia" title="Frederick William III of Prussia">Frederick William III</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Frederick_William_IV_of_Prussia" title="Frederick William IV of Prussia">Frederick William IV</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Friedrich_Daniel_Bassermann" title="Friedrich Daniel Bassermann">Friedrich Daniel Bassermann</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Friedrich_Ferdinand_von_Beust" title="Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust">Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Heinrich_von_Gagern" title="Heinrich von Gagern">Heinrich von Gagern</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Johann_Gottlieb_Fichte" title="Johann Gottlieb Fichte">Johann Gottlieb Fichte</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Johann_Gustav_Droysen" title="Johann Gustav Droysen">Johann Gustav Droysen</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Archduke_John_of_Austria" title="Archduke John of Austria">Archduke John</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/John,_King_of_Saxony" title="John, King of Saxony">John, King of Saxony</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Karl_August_von_Hardenberg" title="Karl August von Hardenberg">Karl August von Hardenberg</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Klemens_von_Metternich" title="Klemens von Metternich">Klemens von Metternich</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Ludwig_II_of_Bavaria" title="Ludwig II of Bavaria">Ludwig II</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Napoleon_III" title="Napoleon III">Napoleon III</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Otto_von_Bismarck" title="Otto von Bismarck">Otto von Bismarck</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Robert_Blum" title="Robert Blum">Robert Blum</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Wilhelm_von_Humboldt" title="Wilhelm von Humboldt">Wilhelm von Humboldt</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/William_I,_German_Emperor" title="William I, German Emperor">Wilhelm I</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Related</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Alsace%E2%80%93Lorraine" title="Alsace–Lorraine">Alsace–Lorraine</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Austro-Prussian_rivalry" title="Austro-Prussian rivalry">Austro-Prussian rivalry</a></li>
<li><i><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Burschenschaft" title="Burschenschaft">Burschenschaft</a></i></li>
<li><i><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Deutschlandlied" title="Deutschlandlied">Das Lied der Deutschen</a></i></li>
<li><i><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Die_Wacht_am_Rhein" title="Die Wacht am Rhein">Die Wacht am Rhein</a></i></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Flag_of_Germany" title="Flag of Germany">Flag of Germany</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(<a href="/enwiki/wiki/L%C3%BCtzow_Free_Corps" title="Lützow Free Corps">Lützow Free Corps</a>)</span></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Pan-Germanism" title="Pan-Germanism">Pan-Germanism</a> / <a href="/enwiki/wiki/Lesser_Germany" title="Lesser Germany">Lesser Germany</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_question" title="German question">German question</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/German_reunification" title="German reunification">German reunification</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Greater_Austria_proposal" title="Greater Austria proposal">Greater Austria proposal</a></li>
<li><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Schleswig%E2%80%93Holstein_question" title="Schleswig–Holstein question">Schleswig–Holstein question</a></li>
<li><i><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Sonderweg" title="Sonderweg">Sonderweg</a></i></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div><span class="nowrap"><span class="mw-image-border noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="flag" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg/16px-Flag_of_Germany.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="10" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg/24px-Flag_of_Germany.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg/32px-Flag_of_Germany.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="600" /></span></span> </span><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Portal:Germany" title="Portal:Germany">Germany portal</a></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>
<div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1038841319">.mw-parser-output .tooltip-dotted{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox authority-control" aria-labelledby="Authority_control_databases_frameless&#124;text-top&#124;10px&#124;alt=Edit_this_at_Wikidata&#124;link=https&#58;//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q150981#identifiers&#124;class=noprint&#124;Edit_this_at_Wikidata" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><div id="Authority_control_databases_frameless&#124;text-top&#124;10px&#124;alt=Edit_this_at_Wikidata&#124;link=https&#58;//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q150981#identifiers&#124;class=noprint&#124;Edit_this_at_Wikidata" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/enwiki/wiki/Help:Authority_control" title="Help:Authority control">Authority control databases</a> <span class="mw-valign-text-top noprint" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q150981#identifiers" title="Edit this at Wikidata"><img alt="Edit this at Wikidata" src="/upwiki/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png" decoding="async" width="10" height="10" class="mw-file-element" srcset="/upwiki/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/15px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 1.5x, /upwiki/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/20px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="20" data-file-height="20" /></a></span></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">International</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://isni.org/isni/0000000118848032">ISNI</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://viaf.org/viaf/131360783">VIAF</a></span></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">National</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb12205116n">France</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://data.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb12205116n">BnF data</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><span class="rt-commentedText tooltip tooltip-dotted" title="Norddeutscher Bund"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://d-nb.info/gnd/2033898-3">Germany</a></span></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://olduli.nli.org.il/F/?func=find-b&local_base=NLX10&find_code=UID&request=987007552763805171">Israel</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://id.loc.gov/authorities/n81097801">United States</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://libris.kb.se/dbqswq2x3zpqxm0">Sweden</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://id.ndl.go.jp/auth/ndlna/00577070">Japan</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://nla.gov.au/anbd.aut-an36591490">Australia</a></span></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.idref.fr/030684617">IdRef</a></span></li></ul>
</div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>
<p><span class="geo-inline-hidden noexcerpt"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1156832818">.mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct,.mw-parser-output .geo-inline-hidden{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}</style><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><a class="external text" href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=North_German_Confederation&params=52_31_N_13_24_E_type:country_source:kolossus-ptwiki"><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">52°31′N</span> <span class="longitude">13°24′E</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">52.517°N 13.400°E</span><span style="display:none"> / <span class="geo">52.517; 13.400</span></span></span></a></span></span>
</p></div>' |
