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German Genealogy

Preußen (Prussia)

(Königreich / Kingdom)

Preußen was a kingdom and the largest state in the Second German Empire. Other German kingdoms ruled over by kings (Könige) included Württemberg and Bayern (Bavaria).

The kingdom of Preußen flourished after it was united with other German states to form the Second German Empire in 1871. The state was not abolished until 1947. Prussia was one of 17 German states and it consisted of 12 provinces, plus the "Reichsland" Elsaß-Lorraine.

The Kingdom of Prussia included the following provinces:

• Brandenburg, 1415 (Today in Germany and Poland)

• Hannover, 1866 (Today in Germany)

• Hessen-Nassau, 1867 (Today in Germany)

• Hohenzollern, 1415 (Today in Germany)

• Ostpreußen / East Prussia, 1813 (Today in Poland and former USSR)

• Pommern, / Pomerania, 1648, 1720 (Swedish Pommern 1815) (Today some in Germany, but most in Poland)

• Posen, 1793 (Today in Poland)

• Rheinland / Rheinprovinz, 1814/1824 (Today in Germany and some in Belgium)

• Provinz Sachsen / Province of Saxony, 1816 (Today in Germany)

• Schlesien / Silesia, 1742 (Today in Poland and Czech Republic)

• Schleswig-Holstein, 1864 (Today in Germany and Denmark)

• Westfalen / Westphalia, 1815 (Today in Germany)

• Westpreußen / West Prussia, 1772, 1793 (Today in Poland)

Some basic facts about Prussia: (from Uncapher, Wendy K. and Linda M. Herrick. German Maps & Facts for Genealogy. Janesville, Wisconsin: Origins Books, 2002)

• Population: 1816 - 10,349,031; 1822 - 11,664,133; 1834 - 13,038,960; 1843 - 15,471,765; 1855 - 17,739,913; 1871 - 24,639,706

Resources

• A Brief History of Prussia. A very brief history of Prussia. Includes a link to the old maps of the West Prussian area.
   
• Definition of Prussia from Word.iq.  Shows how the definition of Prussia varies dependent on a specific time in history.
  
• East and West Prussia Gazetteer.
   
• East Prussia. Information on East Prussia. (In English)
   
• East Prussia Country Message Board
   
• FAQ Preussen (Prussia). by Adalbert Goertz. Frequently asked questions about Prussia.
  
• Das Gemeindelexicon für das Könighreich Preussen (Prussian Gazetteer). Berlin: Verlag des Königlichen Statiktischen Landesamts., 1908.
   
• Genealogy.com’s Prussian Research Page. Over 100 links for German-Prussian Research
   
• German-Prussian Genealogy Links. Dedicated to German-Prussian Heritage Everywhere. (In English)
   
• Posen-L Website. A great website for information on the Prussian province of Posen. Includes a map of Posen showing the Kreise, a table of the Kreise with links to individual Kreise pages, FAQ, surname listing, a list of researchers, town lists, jurisdictions, resources, and more.
  
• Poznan Marriage Indexing Project. Marriage indexing for the 1835-1884 period within the former Prussian province of Posen, now Poznań, Poland.
   
• Prussia
   
• Prussia GenWeb Page
   
• Prussia Home Page.  Maps, Phone Directories, Mailing Lists, Archive Addresses, Civil Registration Index Lists, and More.
   
• Prussia Online. History and research in the former Prussia. (In English and German).
   
• Prussian Civil Registration Lists 1874-1877. Civil Registrations of Births, Marriages and Deaths (Geburten, Heiraten, Tote) in East Prussia, Posen, Pommern and West Prussia began in 1874 for the those provinces. Availability of registrations is 1874-1877 with some extended to as late as 1884.
   
• Prussian Genealogy Links. Links to Prussian, Posen, Pommerian and Mennonite Research.
   
• Prussian Research. Many links for Prussian genealogical research.
   
• Prussian Territory 1640 - 1700 -1875 Map. Depicts West, East, New East and South Prussia.
   
• The Rise of Prussia. The Prussian tradition by Professor Gerhard Rempel, Western New England College.
   
• Schlesien. German Genealogy: Silesia (Schlesien).
   
• Silesia. Prussian Silesia from Catholic Encyclopedia. (In English)
   
• West Prussia. Information on West Prussia. (In English and German)
   
• The West Prussian Land Register of 1772-1773. Introduction to the West Prussian Land Register (R. Drefs and D. Pöd) in German and in Polish.
   
• Westpreussen (West Prussia) Research List Archives.
   
• When The Prussians Came to Poland. The experiences of an American woman during the German Invasion, by Laura de Gozdawa Turczynowicz.