Province of Westphalia

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Westfalen Westphalia Province of Prussia ↓ 1815–1946 → Flag Coat of arms Anthem Westfalenlied Westphalia (red), within the Kingdom of Prussia, within the German Empire Capital Münster 51°58′N 7°38′E / 51.967°N 7.633°E / 51.967; 7.633Coordinates: 51°58′N 7°38′E / 51.967°N 7.633°E / 51.967; 7.633 History  - Established 1815  - Disestablished 1946 Area  - 1817 20,215 km2 (7,805 sq mi) Population  - 1925 4,784,000  Political subdivisions Arnsberg Minden Münster Preceded by Succeeded by Minden Mark (county) Ravensberg (County) Tecklenburg Bishopric of Münster Bishopric of Paderborn County of Limburg Duchy of Westphalia Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein Nassau-Siegen North Rhine-Westphalia

The Province of Westphalia (German: Provinz Westfalen) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946.

History

Napoleon Bonaparte founded the Kingdom of Westphalia, which was a client state of the First French Empire from 1807 to 1813. This state shared only the name with the historical region, containing mostly Hessian and Eastphalian regions and only a relatively small part of the region of Westphalia.

Although Prussia had long owned territory in Westphalia, King Frederick William III had preferred to incorporate the Kingdom of Saxony first. It was not until the Congress of Vienna in 1815 that the Province of Westphalia came into being. The province was formed from several territories:

• regions in Westphalia under Prussian rule since before 1800 (the Principality of Minden and the counties of Mark, Ravensberg and Tecklenburg)
• the Bishopric of Münster and Bishopric of Paderborn, acquired by Prussia in 1802–03
• the small county of Limburg, acquired in 1808
• the Duchy of Westphalia, placed under Prussian rule after the Congress of Vienna. The northernmost portions of the duchy, including the town of Osnabrück, became parts of the states of Hanover and Oldenburg.
• the Sayn-Wittgensteiner principalities of Hohenstein and Berleburg, along with the principality of Nassau-Siegen (in 1817)

In 1816, the district of Essen was transferred to the Rhine Province.

Economy

1907

18 % agriculture

59 % industry

11 % trade

After World War II

After the end of World War II, the province was merged with the northern half of the Rhine Province to form the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1946, with the addition of the former state of Lippe in 1947.

Maps

Map of the Province of Westphalia (1905)

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