Province of Saxony

The Province of Saxony (German: Provinz Sachsen), also known as Prussian Saxony (Preußisches Sachsen), was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg.

For other places with a similar name, see Saxony (disambiguation).
Province of Saxony
Provinz Sachsen
Province of Prussia
1816–1944
Flag of Saxony, Province
Flag

Saxony (red), within the Kingdom of Prussia (yellow), within the German Empire
CapitalMagdeburg
Area
 • Coordinates52°8′N 11°37′E
 
• 1939
25,529 km2 (9,857 sq mi)
Population 
• 1816
1,197,053
• 1905
2,978,679
• 1939
3,662,546
History
History 
• Established
1816
• Disestablished
1944
Political subdivisions
Preceded by		Succeeded by
Duchy of Magdeburg
Altmark
Electorate of Mainz
Kingdom of Saxony
Province of Halle-Merseburg
Province of Magdeburg
Thuringia

It was formed by the merger of various territories ceded or returned to Prussia in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna: most of the former northern territories of the Kingdom of Saxony (the remainder of which became part of Brandenburg or Silesia), the former French Principality of Erfurt, the Duchy of Magdeburg, the Altmark, the Principality of Halberstadt, and some other districts.

The province was bounded by the Electorate of Hesse (the province of Hesse-Nassau after 1866), the Kingdom of Hanover (the province of Hanover after 1866) and the Duchy of Brunswick to the west, Hanover (again) to the north, Brandenburg to the north and east, Silesia to the south-east, and the rump kingdom of Saxony and the small Ernestine duchies to the south. Its shape was very irregular and it entirely surrounded enclaves of Brunswick and some of the Ernestine duchies. It also possessed several exclaves, and was almost entirely bisected by the Duchy of Anhalt save for a small corridor of land around Aschersleben (which itself bisected Anhalt). The river Havel ran along the north-eastern border with Brandenburg north of Plaue but did not follow the border exactly.

The majority of the population was Protestant, with a Catholic minority (about 8% as of 1905) considered part of the diocese of Paderborn. The province sent 20 members to the Reichstag and 38 delegates to the Prussian House of Representatives (Abgeordnetenhaus).

History

Early history

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

Later history
The provincial arms as part of the Free State of Prussia after 1918.

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 and given to the state of Thuringia. The Magdeburg Regierungsbezirk became the Province of Magdeburg, and the Merseburg Regierungsbezirk became the Province of Halle-Merseburg.

In 1945, the Soviet military administration combined Magdeburg and Halle-Merseburg with the State of Anhalt into the Province of Saxony-Anhalt, with Halle as its capital. The eastern part of the Blankenburg exclave of Brunswick and the Thuringian exclave of Allstedt were also added to Saxony-Anhalt. In 1947, Saxony-Anhalt became a state.

The East German states, including Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt, were abolished in 1952, but they were recreated as part of the reunification of Germany in 1990 (with some slight border changes; in particular territories around Torgau, which were part of Saxony-Anhalt between 1945 and 1952, passed to Saxony) as modern states of Germany.

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.

Regierungsbezirk Magdeburg
Main article: Magdeburg (region)
The Province of Saxony before 1918

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

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

Regierungsbezirk Erfurt

Urban districts (Stadtkreise)

  1. Erfurt (1816–18 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

See also
  • People from the Province of Saxony

References
  • Handbuch der Provinz Sachsen, Magdeburg, 1900.
  • Jacobs, Geschichte der in der preussischen Provinz Sachsen vereinigten Gebiete, Gotha, 1884.
  • Die Provinz Sachsen in Wort und Bild, Berlin, 1900 (reprint: Naumburger Verlagsanstalt 1990, ISBN 3-86156-007-0).
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