Grand Duchy of Frankfurt

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Grand Duchy of Frankfurt
Großherzogtum Frankfurt (German)
Grand-duché de Francfort (French)
1810–1813
Flag
Wappen Grossherzogtum Frankfurt.svg
Coat of arms
Grand Duchy of Frankfurt (1812).svg
The Grand Duchy of Frankfurt (green) in 1812
Status Client state of the French Empire
Capital Aschaffenburg
GovernmentAbsolute monarchy
Grand Duke  
 1810–1813
Karl von Dalberg
 1813
Eugène de Beauharnais
Historical era Napoleonic Wars
 Established
16 February 1810
 Disestablished
December 1813
Area
 Total
5,160 km2 (1,990 sq mi)
Population
 
302,000
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Flag of the Free City of Frankfurt.svg Free City of Frankfurt
Banner of the Electorate of Mainz.svg Principality of Aschaffenburg
Wappen Nassau-Fulda.svg Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda
Wappen Hessen-Hanau.svg Hesse-Hanau
DEU Wetzlar Flag.svg Wetzlar
Free City of Frankfurt Flag of the Free City of Frankfurt.svg
Kingdom of Bavaria Flag of Bavaria (striped).svg
Grand Duchy of Hesse Flagge Grossherzogtum Hessen ohne Wappen.svg
Electorate of Hesse Flag of Hesse.svg
Kingdom of Prussia Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Flagge Grossherzogtum Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1813-1897).svg

The Grand Duchy of Frankfurt was a German satellite state of Napoleonic creation. It came into existence in 1810 through the combination of the former territories of the Archbishopric of Mainz along with the Free City of Frankfurt itself.

History

Karl Theodor von Dalberg as Grand Duke of Frankfurt Karl Theodor von Dalberg, Grand-Duc de Francfort 1810.jpg
Karl Theodor von Dalberg as Grand Duke of Frankfurt
Battle of the Frankfurt Bridge between Austrian/Bavarian and French troops, 1813 Frankfurt Alte Brucke 1813.jpg
Battle of the Frankfurt Bridge between Austrian/Bavarian and French troops, 1813

Frankfurt lost its status as a free imperial city in 1806 with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire. The city was granted to the former archbishop of Mainz, Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg, and became the Principality of Frankfurt. When Dalberg was forced by Napoleon to relinquish his Principality of Regensburg to the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1810, his remaining territories of Aschaffenburg, Wetzlar, Fulda, Hanau, and Frankfurt were combined into the new Grand Duchy of Frankfurt. [1]

Although the grand duchy was named after Frankfurt, the city was administered by French commissioners while Dalberg resided in the city of Aschaffenburg. According to the constitution of the grand duchy, upon Dalberg's death, the state would be inherited by Napoleon's stepson, Eugène de Beauharnais.

Dalberg abdicated in favour of Eugène on 26 October 1813, following Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Leipzig. The grand duchy ceased to exist after December 1813, when the city was occupied by allied troops. While Frankfurt itself once again became a free city, most of the territory of the grand duchy was ultimately annexed by the Kingdom of Bavaria.

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References

  1. Schmitt, Hans (1983). "Germany without Prussia: A Closer Look at the Confederation of the Rhine". German Studies Review. 6 (1): 15. doi:10.2307/1429433. JSTOR   1429433.

50°7′N8°41′E / 50.117°N 8.683°E / 50.117; 8.683