Province of Saxony

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Sachsen Saxony Province of Prussia ←   ←   ←   ← 1816 – 1944 1945 →   → Flag Coat of arms Saxony (red}, within the Kingdom of Prussia (blue), within the German Empire Capital Magdeburg 52°8′N, 11°37′E History  - Established 1816  - Redivided 1 July 1944  - Partly reformed early 1945  - Disestablished 1945 Area  - 1939 25,529 km² (9,857 sq mi) Population  - 1816 est. 1,197,053   - 1905 est. 2,978,679   - 1939 est. 3,662,546       Density 143.5 /km²  (371.6 /sq mi) Political Subdivisions Magdeburg Merseburg Erfurt

The Province of Saxony (German: Provinz Sachsen) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1945. Its capital was Magdeburg.

Contents 1 History 2 Subdivisions 2.1 Regierungsbezirk Magdeburg 2.2 Regierungsbezirk Merseburg 2.3 Regierungsbezirk Erfurt 3 External links

[edit] History

The province was created in 1816 out of the following territories:

• the former Duchy of Magdeburg and Principality of Halberstadt, which had previously been part of the Kingdom of Westphalia from 1807-1813;
• the former Margraviate of Brandenburg situated west of the Elbe River, such as the Altmark
• territory gained from the Kingdom of Saxony after the Battle of Leipzig in 1813: the towns and surrounding territories of Wittenberg, Merseburg, Naumburg, Mansfeld, Querfurt, and Henneberg;
• and territory given to Prussia after the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss: lands around Erfurt and the Eichsfeld (formerly belonging to the Archbishopric of Mainz) and the former Imperial Cities of Mühlhausen and Nordhausen.

The Province of Saxony was one of the richest regions of Prussia with highly developed agriculture and industry. In 1932 the province was enlarged with the addition of the regions around Ilfeld and Elbingerode, which had previously been part of the Province of Hanover.

On 1 July 1944, the Province of Saxony was divided along the lines of its three administrative regions. The Erfurt Regierungsbezirk was merged with the Herrschaft Schmalkalden district of the Province of Hesse-Nassau to become the Reichsstatthalter of the new state of Thuringia. The Magdeburg Regierungsbezirk merged with the former state of Anhalt to become the Gau of Magdeburg and the Merseburg Regierungsbezirk became the Gau of Halle-Merseburg, but the Gaue of Magdeburg and Halle-Merseburg were merged to reform the Province of Saxony in 1945.

Before the end of 1945, the reduced Province of Saxony was merged with some exclaves of the former state of Brunswick to form the new state of Saxony-Anhalt. Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt were abolished in 1952, but were recreated after the reunification of Germany in 1990 with some slight border changes as modern states of Germany.

[edit] Subdivisions

Prior to 1944, the province of Saxony was divided into three Regierungsbezirke. In 1945, only the provinces of Magdeburg and Halle-Merseburg were re-merged.

[edit] Regierungsbezirk Magdeburg

Urban districts (Stadtkreise)

1. Aschersleben (1901-1950)
2. Burg bei Magdeburg (1924-1950)
3. Halberstadt (1817-1825 and 1891-1950)
4. Magdeburg
5. Quedlinburg (1911-1950)
6. Stendal (1909-1950)

Rural districts (Landkreise)

1. Calbe a./S.
2. Gardelegen
3. Haldensleben
4. Jerichow I
5. Jerichow II
6. Oschersleben (Bode)
7. Osterburg
8. Quedlinburg
9. Salzwedel
10. Stendal
11. Wanzleben
12. Wernigerode
13. Wolmirstedt

[edit] Regierungsbezirk Merseburg

Urban districts (Stadtkreise)

1. Eisleben (1908-1950)
2. Halle a. d. Saale
3. Merseburg (1921-1950)
4. Naumburg a. d. Saale (1914-1950)
5. Weißenfels (1899-1950)
6. Wittenberg (Lutherstadt)
7. Zeitz (1901-1950)

Rural districts (Landkreise)

1. Bitterfeld
2. Delitzsch
3. Eckartsberga
4. Liebenwerda
5. Mansfelder Gebirgskreis
6. Mansfelder Seekreis
7. Merseburg
8. Querfurt
9. Saalkreis
10. Sangerhausen
11. Schweinitz
12. Torgau
13. Weißenfels
14. Wittenberg
15. Zeitz

[edit] Regierungsbezirk Erfurt

Urban districts (Stadtkreise)

1. Erfurt (1816-1818 and 1872-present)
2. Mühlhausen (1892-1950)
3. Nordhausen (1882-1950)

Rural districts (Landkreise)

1. Hohenstein county
2. Heiligenstadt
3. Langensalza
4. Mühlhausen
5. Schleusingen
6. Weißensee
7. Worbis
8. Ziegenrück

[edit] External links

• Further information (in German)
• Population breakdown of Saxony province, 1910 (in German)

v • d • e Territories and Provinces of Prussia (1525–1947) Before 1701 Duchy of Prussia · Margraviate of Brandenburg Farther Pomerania · Cleves (1614) · Mark · Ravensberg Minden (1648) · Halberstadt · Magdeburg Colonies of Brandenburg-Prussia: Groß Friedrichsburg · Arguin · Crab Island · Tertholen After 1701 Neuchâtel · Minden-Ravensberg · Western Pomerania · East Frisia · Silesia (1740) · Glatz (1763) · Polish Prussia (1772), Netze District (1772) · South Prussia (1793) · New East Prussia, New Silesia (1795) Reorder after 1814–15 East Prussia & West Prussia (1824–78 joined to Province of Prussia) · Brandenburg · Pomerania · Grand Duchy of Posen (in 1848 transformed to Province of Posen) · Saxony · Silesia · Westphalia · Rhine Province (1822, Lower Rhine & Jülich-Cleves-Berg) · Hohenzollern (1850) · Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, Hesse-Nassau (1866–68) Territorial reforms after 1918 Lower Silesia, Upper Silesia (1919) · Greater Berlin (1920) · Posen-West Prussia (1922) Halle-Merseburg, Magdeburg, Kurhessen, Nassau (1944)