Provinces of Prussia

Following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the various German states gained nominal sovereignty.

However, the reunification process that culminated in the creation of the German Empire in 1871, produced a country that was constituted of several principalities and dominated by one of them, the Kingdom of Prussia after it had ultimately defeated its Austrian rival.

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.

Following the Franco-Prussian War and the incorporation of the southern states of Bavaria, Baden and Württemberg into the confederation, the German Empire was proclaimed in 1871.

Prussia and its provinces formally continued to exist, but the state Landtag and provincial parliaments were abolished and governance was placed under the direct control of a Reichsstatthalter (Reich Governor).

In addition, the Law on the Abolition of the Reichsrat of 14 February 1934 removed the right of the state and its provinces to participate in the Reich legislative process.

The following is a summary of the changes in the Prussian provinces between 1919 and 1945: Prussia did not survive the defeat and the division of Germany following the end of World War II in 1945 and was formally abolished in February 1947 by Control Council Law No.