page_title: Provinces of Prussia
section_title: German Confederation
hierarchical_section_title: Provinces of Prussia / History / German Confederation
context_page_description: The Provinces of Prussia were the main administrative divisions of Prussia from 1815 to 1946. Prussia's province system was introduced in the Stein-Hardenberg Reforms in 1815, and were mostly organized from duchies and historical regions. Provinces were divided into several Regierungsbezirke, sub-divided into Kreise, and then into Gemeinden at the lowest-level. Provinces constituted the highest level of administration in the Kingdom of Prussia and Free State of Prussia until 1933, when Nazi Germany established de facto direct rule over provincial politics, and were formally abolished in 1946 following World War II. The Prussian provinces became the basis for many federal states of Germany, and the states of Brandenburg, Lower Saxony, and Schleswig-Holstein are direct successors of provinces.
context_section_description: The German Confederation was established at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and the Kingdom of Prussia was a member until the dissolution in 1866 following the Austro-Prussian War.
  The Prussian state was initially subdivided into ten provinces. The Prussian government appointed the heads of each province known as Oberpräsident (i.e. High Commissioner). The Oberpräsident represented the Prussian government in the province, and was busy with implementing and supervising central prerogatives of the Prussian government. The provinces of Prussia were further subdivided into government districts (Regierungsbezirke), subject to the High Commissioner. As to self-rule each province also had a provincial diet (Provinziallandtag in German), the members of which were elected in indirect election by county councillors and city councillors of the constituent rural counties and independent cities.
  Western Provinces:
   Jülich-Cleves-Berg (Cologne), until 1822; regions: Cleves [till 1821], Cologne and Düsseldorf
   Lower Rhine (Koblenz), Grand Duchy, until 1822; regions: Aachen, Coblentz and Trier
   Saxony (Magdeburg); regions: Erfurt, Magdeburg and Merseburg
   Westphalia (Münster); regions: Arnsberg, Minden and Münster
  In 1822 the Rhine Province was created from the merger of the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg provinces.
   Rhine Province (Koblenz); regions: Aachen, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Coblentz and Trier
  Eastern Provinces (East Elbia):
   Brandenburg (Potsdam, Berlin [1827-1843]); regions: Berlin [till 1821], Frankfurt and Potsdam
   East Prussia (Königsberg in Prussia); regions: Gumbinnen and Königsberg
   Pomerania (Stettin); regions: Köslin, Stettin and Stralsund
   Posen (Posen), Grand Duchy of Posen until 1848; regions: Bromberg and Posen
   Silesia (Breslau); regions: Breslau, Liegnitz, Oppeln and Reichenbach [till 1820]
   West Prussia (Danzig); regions: Danzig and Marienwerder
  In 1829 the Province of Prussia was created by the merger of East Prussia and West Prussia, lasting until 1878 when they were again separated. Congruent with the Kingdom of Prussia proper (i.e. former Ducal and Royal Prussia), its territory, like the province of Posen, was not part of the German Confederation.
   Province of Prussia (Königsberg in Prussia); regions: Danzig, Gumbinnen, Königsberg and Marienwerder
  In 1850 the Province of Hohenzollern in Southern Germany, was created from the annexed principalities of Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.
   Hohenzollern (Sigmaringen); region: Sigmaringen
  In 1866, following the Austro-Prussian War, Prussia annexed several German States that had been allied with Austria and, together with previously occupied Danish territory, organized them into three new provinces:
   Hanover (Hanover; constituted from the Kingdom of Hanover); regions: Aurich, Hanover, Hildesheim, Lüneburg, Osnabrück and Stade
   Hesse-Nassau (Kassel; constituted from the Free City of Frankfurt upon Main, Electorate of Hesse, Hesse-Homburg and the Duchy of Nassau); regions: Kassel and Wiesbaden
   Schleswig-Holstein (Kiel; constituted from the Duchy of Holstein and the Duchy of Schleswig); regions: Holstein (till 1868) and Schleswig; in 1876 Saxe-Lauenburg, a separate German state, was merged in.
caption: Provinces of Prussia in the German Confederation, 1818.