Mönchengladbach and Dortmund become Prussian Badge

Mönchengladbach and Dortmund become Prussian

Mönchengladbach and Dortmund become Prussian
Apr 5 1815
Map of the Prussian provinces in what is now North Rhine-Westphalia, 1818(Photo: Public Domain)

The Congress of Vienna awards new territories in the Rhineland to Prussia

Convened in 1814/15 to establish the post-war European order after the defeat of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna decided to compensate Prussia for the loss of many of its eastern lands by giving it new territories in the west, predominantly along the Rhine and Ruhr rivers. This not only shifted the centre of Prussian political gravity westwards, but the large deposits of raw materials in the new territories later established it as a leading industrial power.

Prussia’s main competitor for the leadership of Germany, the Habsburg Empire, was also awarded new territory, but mostly in non-German-speaking areas. This signalled the likelihood that Austria could be squeezed out of any future German political settlement and set the German nation on the path to a “small German” solution to the “German question”. These changes played out in 1871: a united Germany under Prussian leadership that excluded Austria.

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The whole year at a glance

Carl Zeiss opens a workshop
Nov 17
Artikel erst ab morgen verfügbar
The Magnificent Seven!
Nov 18 1837
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The “Cologne Confederation” of the Hanseatic League
Nov 19 1367
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Nov 20
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Nov 21
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Nov 22
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Nov 23
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Nov 24
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Nov 25
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Nov 26
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Nov 27
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Nov 28
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Nov 29
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Nov 30
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Dec 1
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Dec 2
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Dec 3
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Dec 4
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Dec 5
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Dec 6
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Dec 8
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Dec 9
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Dec 11
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Dec 12
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Dec 13
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Dec 14
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Dec 15
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Dec 16
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Dec 17
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Dec 18
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Dec 19
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Dec 22
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Dec 23
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Dec 24
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Dec 25
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Dec 26
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Dec 27
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Dec 28
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Dec 29
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Dec 30
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Kölner Silvesternacht
Dec 31 2015
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2000 Jahre
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