Decorations of the States of the German Empire

Jump to a Clickable Map of the Thuringian States

Special Interest Topics 

The Empire was a federal state, although Prussia's dominant role was evident almost everywhere, and especially in the Imperial German Army. All of the states that became part of the Empire had to enter into military conventions with Prussia which effectively subordinated their armed forces to the Prussian Army. Some, like Bavaria, retained a fair amount of autonomy, but others, especially the smaller states, were completely integrated into the Prussian fold. Most of these conventions dated to 1867.

Regarding the states themselves, Germany before unification had been a hodgepodge of small states, at one time numbering around 300. Most of these states were members of the Holy Roman Empire. Over the years, many of these states ceased to exist, while others were created through divisions among ruling families. By the time of the Napoleonic Wars, the number had been reduced considerably, but was still around 100.

Napoleon caused the Holy Roman Empire to be secularized in 1803, and many states, including the holdings of various prince-bishops, were abolished (although some new states were added). Napoleon then formed the Confederation of the Rhine (Rheinbund) in 1806 and caused the Holy Roman Empire to be abolished. The Confederation of the Rhine would last until Napoleon's defeats in 1813.

The Treaty of Paris in 1814 recognized the surviving German states as independents. The Congress of Vienna in 1815 formed a new confederation of these states, known as the German Confederation (Deutscher Bund).

The German Confederation had 36 initial members, with three more joining within two years. These ranged from the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia to various small principalities and free cities. Due to their various German holdings, Denmark, Great Britain and the Netherlands were also members. Over the course of its existence, several members fell out or ceased to exist.

When the North German Confederation was formed in 1867, it had 21 members - two kingdoms (Prussia and Saxony), four grand duchies (Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Oldenburg and Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach), five duchies (Anhalt, Braunschweig (Brunswick), Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Saxe-Meiningen), seven principalities (Lippe, Schaumburg-Lippe, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, the Reuss Elder Line, the Reuss Younger Line and Waldeck-Pyrmont) and three Free and Hanseatic Cities (Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck). The former Kingdom of Hannover, the Electorate of Hesse, the Duchy of Nassau, the Free City of Frankfurt and the Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg were annexed by Prussia. Four other states which were on the losing side of the Seven Weeks' War - the Kingdoms of Bavaria and Württemberg and the Grand Duchies of Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt - did not become members of the North German Confederation, but would join the German Empire in 1871.

The links above (and below, via the maps) are to the states which formed the German Empire. The two Reuss principalities are linked together, as they awarded a common house order and from 1913 to 1918 were effectively ruled by the same prince. Similarly, the two Schwarzburg principalities had a common house order and from 1909 to 1918 were under the same prince. Hohenzollern is included because although its princes lost their sovereign status in 1849, they retained the privilege of awarding decorations through the Imperial era.