1.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
2.
Chancellor of Germany
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The Chancellor of Germany is the head of government of Germany. The official title in German is Bundeskanzler, sometimes shortened to Kanzler, the term, dating from the early Middle Ages, is derived from the Latin term cancellarius. In German politics, the Chancellor is equivalent to that of a minister in many other countries. German has two equivalent translations of prime minister, Premierminister and Ministerpräsident, while Premierminister usually refers to heads of governments of foreign countries, Ministerpräsident may also refer to the heads of government of most German states. The current Chancellor is Angela Merkel, who is serving her term in office. She is the first female chancellor, thus being known in German as Bundeskanzlerin, the role of the Chancellor has varied greatly throughout Germanys modern history. Today, the Chancellor is the effective leader. The office of Chancellor has a history, stemming back to the Holy Roman Empire. The title was, at times, used in several states of German-speaking Europe, the modern office of Chancellor was established with the North German Confederation, of which Otto von Bismarck became Chancellor in 1867. After the Unification of Germany in 1871, the became known in German as Reichskanzler. With Germanys constitution of 1949, the title Bundeskanzler was revived in German, during the various eras, the role of the Chancellor has varied. From 1871 to 1918, the Chancellor was only responsible to the Emperor, with the founding of the republic and the constitutional reform in 1918, the Parliament was granted the right to dismiss the Reichskanzler. According to the Weimar Constitution of 1919, the Chancellor was appointed by the President and responsible to Parliament, when the Nazis came to power on 30 January 1933, the Weimar Constitution was de facto set aside. After the death of President Hindenburg in 1934, Adolf Hitler, the 1949 constitution gave the Chancellor much greater powers than during the Weimar Republic, while strongly diminishing the role of the President. Since 1867,33 individuals have served as heads of government of Germany or its predecessor, due to his administrative tasks, the head of the clerics at the chapel of an Imperial palace during the Carolingian Empire was called Chancellor. The chapels college acted as the Emperors chancery issuing deeds and capitularies and these three Prince-Archbishops were also Prince-electors of the Empire electing the King of the Romans. Already in medieval times, the German Chancellor had political power like Archbishop Willigis or Rainald von Dassel under Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. In 1559, Emperor Ferdinand I established the agency of an Imperial chancellery at the Vienna Hofburg Palace, upon the 1620 Battle of White Mountain, Emperor Ferdinand II created the office of an Austrian Court Chancellor in charge of the internal and foreign affairs of the Habsburg Monarchy
3.
King of Bavaria
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King of Bavaria was a title held by the hereditary Wittelsbach rulers of Bavaria in the state known as the Kingdom of Bavaria from 1805 until 1918, when the kingdom was abolished. It was the kingdom, almost a thousand years after the short-lived Carolingian kingdom of Bavaria. Under the terms of the Treaty of Pressburg concluded 26 December 1805 between Napoleonic France and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, several principalities allied to Napoleon were elevated to kingdoms. One of the staunchest of these had been the prince-elector of Bavaria, Maximilian IV Joseph and he was a member of the Wittelsbach branch Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Zweibrücken. Maximilians successors resisted German nationalism, and Bavaria became the protector of smaller states whose leaders felt threatened by Prussia or Austria in the German Confederation, religious ties linked the state more to Austria until their defeat in the Austro-Prussian War. King Ludwig II signed an alliance with Prussia on 22 August 1866, with the treaty of 23 November 1870 Bavaria was integrated into the new German Empire, but permitted a relatively large degree of self-determination. The Kings of Bavaria maintained their titles, and maintained separate diplomatic, when the German Empire was abolished in November 1918 after the end of World War I, the last king of Bavaria, Ludwig III, was deposed. See List of rulers of Bavaria for these, franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Herzog von Bayern, styled His Royal Highness The Duke of Bavaria, is head of the Wittelsbach family, the former ruling family of the Kingdom of Bavaria. Rulers of Bavaria History of Bavaria Queen of Bavaria
4.
Ludwig II of Bavaria
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Ludwig II was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or der Märchenkönig and he also held the titles of Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, Duke of Franconia, and Duke in Swabia. He succeeded to the throne aged 18, two years later Bavaria and Austria fought a war against Prussia, which they lost. However, in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 Bavaria sided with Prussia against France and he commissioned the construction of two lavish palaces and the Neuschwanstein Castle, and was a devoted patron of the composer Richard Wagner. Ludwig spent all his royal revenues on these projects, borrowed extensively and this extravagance was used against him to declare him insane, an accusation which has since come under scrutiny. Today, his architectural and artistic legacy includes many of Bavarias most important tourist attractions, born in Nymphenburg Palace, he was the elder son of Maximilian II of Bavaria of the House of Wittelsbach, and his wife Princess Marie of Prussia. His younger brother, born three years later, was named Otto, like many young heirs in an age when kings governed most of Europe, Ludwig was continually reminded of his royal status. King Maximilian wanted to both of his sons in the burdens of royal duty from an early age. Ludwig was both extremely indulged and severely controlled by his tutors and subjected to a regimen of study. There are some who point to these stresses of growing up in a family as the causes for much of his odd behavior as an adult. Ludwig was not close to either of his parents, King Maximilians advisers had suggested that on his daily walks he might like, at times, to be accompanied by his future successor. The King replied, But what am I to say to him, after all, my son takes no interest in what other people tell him. Later, Ludwig would refer to his mother as my predecessors consort and he was far closer to his grandfather, the deposed and notorious King Ludwig I, who came from a family of eccentrics. Ludwigs childhood years did have happy moments and he lived for much of the time at Castle Hohenschwangau, a fantasy castle his father had built near the Alpsee near Füssen. It was decorated in the Gothic Revival style with frescoes depicting heroic German sagas. The family also visited Lake Starnberg, as an adolescent, Ludwig became close friends with his aide de camp, Prince Paul, a member of Bavarias wealthy Thurn und Taxis family. The two young men together, read poetry aloud, and staged scenes from the Romantic operas of Richard Wagner. The friendship ended when Paul became engaged in 1866, during his youth Ludwig also initiated a lifelong friendship with his cousin, Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria, later Empress of Austria
5.
Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse
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Louis IV, was the Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, reigning from 13 June 1877 until his death. Through his own and his childrens marriages he was connected to the British Royal Family, to the Imperial House of Russia and to other reigning dynasties of Europe. On 1 July 1862, Louis married Princess Alice, the child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. On the day of the wedding, the Queen issued a warrant granting her new son-in-law the style of Royal Highness in the United Kingdom. The Queen also subsequently made Prince Louis a knight of the Order of the Garter, becoming parents in less than a year following their marriage, the young royal couple found themselves strapped financially to maintain the lifestyle expected of their rank. In March 1877, Louis became heir presumptive to the Hessian throne when his father died and, from then on, he reigned and raised his five surviving children alone. In the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian War, Louis led the Hessian contingent of the armies of the North German Confederation, on 13 June 1877, he succeeded his uncle as Grand Duke of Hesse, taking the name Ludwig IV. His second wife received the title Countess von Romrod, but the couple, facing objections from the Grand Dukes in-laws, separated within a week and the marriage was annulled within three months. Grand Duke Ludwig IV died on 13 March 1892 of a stroke in the New Palace in Darmstadt and was succeeded by his son and his remains are buried at Rosenhöhe, the mausoleum for the Grand Ducal House outside of Darmstadt. On his accession as Grand Duke on 13 June 1877 he also styled as His Royal Highness in Hesse. United Kingdom, Knight of the Order of the Garter
6.
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
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Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day Thuringia, Germany with its capital at Rudolstadt. Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of Schwarzburg dynasty lands, in 1583 Count Günther XLI of Schwarzburg, the eldest son of Günther XL the Rich and ruler over the united Schwarzburg lands, had died without issue. He was succeeded by his brothers, whereby Albert VII received the territory around Rudolstadt. Alberts descendants ruled as sovereign counts of the Holy Roman Empire and it withstood the mediatisation and after the Empires dissolution joined the Confederation of the Rhine in 1807 and the German Confederation in 1815. On 23 November 1918, during the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the former principality became a Free State in 1919, that was merged into the new state of Thuringia in the next year. In 1905 Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt had an area of 940 km2 and a population of 97,000, on the death of the childless Prince Günther Victor in 1925, he was succeeded by Prince Sizzo, who was the son of Prince Friedrich Günther from his second, morganatic marriage. Prince Sizzo was recognised as a member of the House of Schwarzburg in 1896. He was succeeded in 1926 by his son, Prince Friedrich Günther
7.
Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont
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The County of Waldeck was a state of the Holy Roman Empire and its successors from the late 12th century until 1929. In 1349 the county gained Imperial immediacy and in 1712 was raised to the rank of Principality and it comprised territories in present-day Hesse and Lower Saxony. Waldeck was a county within the Holy Roman Empire from about 1200 and its counts included Adolf II of Waldeck from 1270 to 1276. In 1655, its seat and the residence of its rulers shifted from the castle and small town of Waldeck, overlooking the Eder river and first mentioned in 1120. In 1625, the county of Pyrmont became part of the county through inheritance. In January 1712, the count of Waldeck and Pyrmont was elevated to prince by Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor. For a brief period,1805 to 1812, Pyrmont was a principality as a result of inheritance and partition after the death of the previous prince. The independence of the principality was confirmed in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, from 1868 onward, the principality was administered by Prussia, but retained its legislative sovereignty. In 1871, the principality became a constituent state of the new German Empire, in 1905, Waldeck and Pyrmont had an area of 1121 km2 and a population of 59,000. The princely house of Waldeck and Pyrmont is closely related to the family of the Netherlands. The last ruling prince, Frederick, was the brother of Queen consort Emma of the Netherlands
8.
Duchy of Brunswick
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The Duchy of Brunswick was a historical German state. Its capital was the city of Brunswick and it was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. In the course of the 19th-century history of Germany, the duchy was part of the German Confederation and it was disestablished after the end of World War I, its territory incorporated into the Weimar Republic as the Free State of Brunswick. The title Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg was held, from 1235 on and these holdings did not have all of the formal characteristics of a modern unitary state, being neither compact nor indivisible. The unifying element of all territories was that they were ruled by male-line descendants of Duke Otto I. After several early divisions, Brunswick-Lüneburg re-unified under Duke Magnus II, following his death, his three sons jointly ruled the Duchy. After the murder of their brother Frederick I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, brothers Bernard and Henry redivided the land, received the southern half of Brunswick-Lüneburg as Prince of Wolfenbüttel while his brother John became Prince of Lüneburg. Wolfenbüttel fell to his brother Albert II, Otto the Mild 1318–1344, son of Albert II, was Prince of Wolfenbüttel and Prince of Göttingen. After his death his son Ernest became Prince of Göttingen 1344–1367, Magnus the Pious became Prince of Wolfenbüttel 1344–1369. Magnus son Magnus II with the Necklace, Prince of Wolfenbüttel 1369–1373, the War of the Lüneburg Succession continued until 1388. Frederick 1373–1400, son of Magnus II, conquered Lüneburg in 1388, succeeded by his brothers, Henry the Mild, 1400–1408 Bernard, 1409–1428. Returned control of Wolfenbüttel to his nephew, Henrys son, was deprived by his brother, Henry the Peaceful 1432–1473, moved the residence to Wolfenbüttel. William regained control of Wolfenbüttel after his brothers death, and left the Principality to his two sons, Frederick III 1482–1484, imprisoned and deprived of power by his younger brother, William IV 1484–1491. Took control of all of Wolfenbüttel, then ceded Wolfenbüttel to his sons, co-rulers, sons of William IV, Eric I 1491–1494. Divided the territory in 1494, taking Calenberg, sole ruler in Wolfenbüttel from 1494. Acquired Calenberg in 1584 on the death of his cousin Eric II, last of the male descendants of Albert the Tall. On Frederick Ulrichs death, his complex of territories passed to a line of distant cousins ruling in Lüneburg, Wolfenbüttel was eventually awarded to Augustus, son of Henry of Dannenberg. Augustus 1635–1666 Augustuss sons succeeded him, sometimes ruling together, Rudolph Augustus 1666–1704 Anthony Ulrich 1685–1702, deposed 1702–1704 for allying with France in the War of the Spanish Succession
9.
Saxe-Altenburg
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Saxe-Altenburg was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in present-day Thuringia. It was one of the smallest of the German states with an area of 1323 square kilometers, the territory of the duchy consisted of two non-contiguous territories separated by land belonging to the Principality of Reuss. Its economy was based on agriculture, forestry, and small industry, the state had a constitutional monarchical form of government with a parliament composed of thirty members chosen by male taxpayers over 25 years of age. The duchy had its origins in the medieval Burgraviate of Altenburg in the Imperial Pleissnerland, upon a partition treaty of 1485, Altenburg fell to Ernst, Elector of Saxony, the progenitor of the Ernestine Wettins. After the Division of Erfurt in 1572 among Duke Johann Wilhelm of Saxony and his nephews, when Johann Wilhelms son and successor Friedrich Wilhelm I died in 1602, the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar passed to his younger brother Johann II. In 1603 Frederick Williams eldest son Johann Philipp received the newly created Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg as compensation and this family ruled the duchy until the end of the monarchies in the course of the German Revolution of 1918–19. The succeeding Free State of Saxe-Altenburg was incorporated into the new state of Thuringia in 1920, Saxe-Altenburg had an area of 1,323 km² and a population of 207,000. The Saxe-Altenburg line became extinct following the death of Prince George Moritz in 1991, the leadership of the house passed to Michael, head of the genealogically more senior house of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Its representation was merged with the one of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Ernestine duchies Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Saxe-Altenburg. Media related to Saxe-Altenburg at Wikimedia Commons Herzogtum Sachsen-Altenburg
10.
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
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Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, was an Ernestine duchy ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present-day states of Bavaria and Thuringia in Germany. It lasted from 1826 to 1918, in the early part of the 20th century, before the First World War, it was the family of the sovereigns of the United Kingdom, Belgium, Portugal, Bulgaria, and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. In 1910, the Portuguese king was deposed, and the same thing occurred in Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in 1918, as of 2016, branches of the family still reign in Belgium, the United Kingdom, and the other Commonwealth realms. The former Tsar of Bulgaria, Simeon II, kept his surname while serving as the Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 2001 to 2005, after the extinction of the Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg line, the Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen exchanged his Duchy for that of Saxe-Altenburg. By then, the Principality of Lichtenberg, on the Nahe River, had already been a part of the Duchy of Coburg for ten years. Ernest III, the sovereign of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, had received it in 1816 from the Congress of Vienna for providing assistance to the Allies in their war against France. But, because of the distance from Coburg and of the unrest caused by the Hambach Festival. The newly created Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was initially a double duchy, ruled by Ernest III as Duke Ernest I in a personal union, the opportunity to unify the two duchies in 1826 was missed. After the Staatsgrundgesetz of 1852, the duchies were bound in a political and real union and they were then a quasi-federal unitary state. It also joined the German Zollverein in 1834, the North German Confederation in 1866 and his elder son and successor, Ernest II, ruled until his own death in 1893. Because he had died childless, the throne of the two duchies would have passed to his late brother Prince Alberts male descendants. But Prince Albert was the husband of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and his eldest son, Edward, besides, he was prohibited by the Constitutions of both duchies from inheriting the throne if there were other eligible male heirs. But he had renounced his claim in favour of his next brother, Prince Alfred. So Alfred became the next Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, reigning as Duke Carl Eduard, Charles Edward, because of his age, began under the Regency of Prince Ernst von Hohenlohe-Langenburg until he came of age in 1905. The new Duke also continued to use his British title, the Duke of Albany, but, because he chose to side with the Germans against the British in the First World War, he was stripped of his British titles in 1919. After the November Revolution ended the monarchy in 1918, the two became two different and independent states, the Free State of Coburg and the Republic of Gotha. But their leaders believed that their new countries were not economically feasible so they began to search for possible mergers, eventually, a referendum was held on 30 November 1919 and the decision was made. On 1 May 1920 the Free State of Gotha merged with the new State of Thuringia, in the German Empire, the Duchy had only one vote in the Bundestag and two votes in the Reichstag
11.
Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
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Ernest II was the sovereign duke of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, reigning from 1844 to his death. Ernest was born in Coburg as the eldest child of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, fourteen months later, his younger brother Prince Albert was born, who became consort of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Ernests father became Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1826 through an exchange of territories, in 1842, Ernest married Princess Alexandrine of Baden in what was to be a childless marriage. Soon after, he succeeded as duke upon the death of his father on 29 January 1844, after King Otto of Greece was deposed in 1862, the British government put Ernests name forward as a possible successor. Negotiations fell through however for reasons, not in the least of which was that he would not give up his beloved duchies in favor of the Greek throne. A supporter of a unified Germany, Ernest watched the political movements with great interest. His support of the conservatives came at a price however, according to historian Charlotte Zeepvat, Ernest became increasingly lost in a whirl of private amusements which earned only contempt from outside. Ernests position was often linked to his brother Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, the two boys were raised as though twins, and became closer upon the separation and divorce of their parents, as well as the eventual death of their mother. Ernest, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, was born at Ehrenburg Palace in Coburg on 21 June 1818 and he was the elder son of Ernest III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and his first wife Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. He was soon joined by a brother, Prince Albert, who would become the husband of Queen Victoria. Though Duke Ernest fathered numerous children in various affairs, the two boys would have no other legitimate siblings. In 1826, their father succeeded as Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha through an exchange of territories after the death of the uncle, Frederick IV. There are various accounts of Ernests childhood, when he was fourteen months old, a servant commented that Ernest runs around like a weasel. He is teething and as cross as a badger from impatience. He is not pretty now, except his beautiful black eyes, in May 1820, his mother described Ernest as very big for his age, as well as intelligent. His big black eyes are full of spirit and vivacity, Ernest and his brother often lived with their grandmother the Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld until her death in 1831. He and Albert were brought up and educated together as if they were twins, though Albert was fourteen months younger, he surpassed Ernest intellectually. According to their tutor, they went hand-in-hand in all things, engaging in the same pursuits, sharing the same joys and the same sorrows, they were bound to each other by no common feelings of mutual love
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