Germany Empire and Current States

Germany Historic and Current States

Current States of Germany and Their Territory From Historic States

After East Germany and West Germany were reunited, these jurisdictions of the government were put in place. Generally, when researching genealogical records, it is important to discern what government entity would have jurisdiction over the records of that locality at the time the record was made. For example, if the town your ancestor came from is in Baden-Württemberg today, the records in 1890 might be found in a library catalog under just Baden. If you learn that your ancestor lived in Baden in 1890, and you want to write to the local church to enquire about records, use Baden-Württemberg in the address.

Baden-Württemberg

From these historic areas now
in Baden-Württemberg,
click below on the related article
for the region.

Former States Now
in Baden-Württemberg

Modern Baden-Württemberg

Bavaria

From these historic
areas now in Bavaria,
click below on the related
article for the region.

Bavaria 19th Century and Beyond

Modern Administrative Regions of Bavaria

Comparison of Brandenburg in 1871 and Modern Brandenburg

At the end of World War II, a large section of 1871 Brandenburg, the Neumark, was ceded to Poland. As the Neumark lay east of the Oder-Neisse line which formed the new border between Allied-controlled Germany and Poland, the region was put under Polish administration. Germans remaining in the region were expelled and their land and possessions confiscated. A small part of the German population, mostly technicians for the water supply companies, were retained and used for compulsory labour; they were allowed to emigrate to Germany in the 1950s. According to the Centre Against Expulsions, 40,000 Neumarkers were killed in action as soldiers, 395,000 fled to West or East Germany by 1950, and 208,000 died, disappeared, or were murdered during the course of flight or expulsion by Polish and Soviet troops.
"Neumark"

Brandenburg Prior to Partition (Click on the map to see a larger version.)	Modern Brandenburg (Click on the map, and then click on link "Original version" to see a larger version.)
Kreise of the Neumark in 1873 1. For the 1871 Meyers Gazettee and the Family History Library Catalog, these counties will be listed as part of Brandenburg. 2. When dealing with modern locations, archives, and parish correspondence, they will be part of Poland.

Hessen

Hessen Refers to Several Different Localities

When your ancestors reported their homeland as Hessen, it could have meant Hessen and Hessen-Nassau is the maps above. It also could refer to one of these territories. Basically, these are areas that went by other names prior to the unification of Germany in 1871. Then they were merged into Hessen and Hessen Nassau.

These areas combined to make up Hessen-Nassau in 1871.
_________________________________________

Hessen-Kassel (a.k.a. Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, 1567-1803; Electorate of Hessen or Electoral Hessen, 1803-1866; Hessen-Nassau, 1866-1945; Province of Kurhessen, 1945-46)

Hessen-Homburg, 1668-1806

(a.k.a. part of Hesse-Darmstadt, 1806-1815)

Free City of Wetzlar

Hessen-Kassel 1871 Kreis

Biedenkopf
City of Hanau
City of Kassel
City of Marburg
Eschwege
Fritzlar
Gelnhausen
Hanau
Hersfeld
Höchst

Homberg
Kassel Kreis
Marburg
Melsungen
Rotenburg
Schlüchtern
Wiesbaden
Witzenhausen
Ziegenhain

Homburg 1871 Kreis
Oberlahnkreis, now Limburg-Weilburg
Meisenheim (kreis), Rheinland, now Rheinland-Palatinate

Wetzlar 1871 Kreis
Wetzlar, exclave of Rhein Province

This area became Hessen in 1971.
___________________________________________ Hessen-Darmstadt

(a.k.a. Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt; Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (1816-1867); Hessen, 1867-1919; People's State of Hesse, 1919-1945; Greater Hesse (Groß-Hessen), 1945-1946)

It consisted of three areas: Rhenish-Hessen or Rhein-Hessen, Oberhessen, and Starkenberg.

Rhein-Hessen
1871 Kreis
Worms
Bingen
Alzey
Mainz
City of Worms
City of Mainz

Oberhessen
1871 Kreis
Giessen
Volgelsbergkreis
Wetteraukreis

Starkenburg
1871 Kreis
Bensheim
Darmstadt
Dieburg
Erbach
Hepperheim
Gross-Gerau
Offenbach

Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen)

From these historic
areas now in Lower
Saxony, click below
on the related article
for the region.

Former States Now in Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen)

Modern Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen)

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

From these historic areas
now in Mecklen-Vorpommern
click below on
the related article
for the region.

Former States Now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)

Modern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen)

From these historic areas
now in Nordrhein-Westfalen
click below on
the related article
for the region.

Former States Now in Nordrhein-Westfalen

Modern Nordrhein-Westfalen

Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz)

From these historic areas now in Rhineland-Palatinate
(Rheinland-Pfalz), click below on
the related article for the region.

parts of Bavaria (the Rhenish Palatinate)
parts of Hessen-Darmstadt
the southern parts of the Prussian Rhine Province
Rhineland
parts of the Prussian Province of Nassau
the District of Birkenfeld, formerly part of Oldenburg

Former States Now in
Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz)

Modern Rhineland-Palatinate
(Rheinland-Pfalz)

Saarland

From these historic areas
now in Saarland, click below
on the related article
for the region,
(created after World War I.)

the Saar-Pfalz (kreis or county) was from Bavaria
all the other counties were from Prussia

Modern Saarland and Former Areas Now in Saarland

Saar-Pfalz-(kreis or county) Was Bavarian

All Other Counties Were Prussian

Saxony

The Kingdom of Saxony became modern Saxony (Sachsen).
Click here for Wiki articles.

Kingdom of Saxony
German Empire, 1871

Modern State of Saxony
Former Kingdom of Saxony

"Old Saxony"' is the original homeland of the Saxons in the northwest corner of modern Germany and corresponds approximately to the modern German states of: