The Kingdom of Hanover () was established in October 1814 by the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

, with the restoration of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

to his Hanoverian territories after the

Napoleonic era The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and history of Europe, Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly (French Revoluti ...

. It succeeded the former

Electorate of Hanover The Electorate of Hanover ( or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an Prince-elector, electorate of the Holy Roman Empire located in northwestern Germany that arose from the Principality of Calenberg. Although formally known as the Electorate of Brun ...

, and joined 38 other sovereign states in the

German Confederation The German Confederation ( ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved ...

in June 1815. The kingdom was ruled by the

House of Hanover The House of Hanover ( ) is a European royal house with roots tracing back to the 17th century. Its members, known as Hanoverians, ruled Hanover, Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Empire at various times during the 17th to 20th centurie ...

, a cadet branch of the

House of Welf The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconian family from the Meuse-Mo ...

, in personal union with Great Britain between 1714 and 1837. Since its monarch resided in London, a

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

, usually a younger member of the

British royal family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

, handled the administration of the Kingdom of Hanover. The personal union with the United Kingdom ended in 1837 upon the accession of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

because semi-Salic law prevented females from inheriting the Hanoverian throne while a dynastic male was still alive. Her uncle Ernest Augustus thus became the ruler of Hanover. His only son succeeded him to the throne as

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

. As he backed the losing side in the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...

, his kingdom was conquered by

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

in 1866 and ceased to exist as an independent kingdom, becoming the Prussian

Province of Hanover The Province of Hanover () was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1866 to 1946. During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position, alo ...

. In January 1871, along with the rest of Prussia, Hanover became part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

upon the

unification of Germany The unification of Germany (, ) was a process of building the first nation-state for Germans with federalism, federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without Habsburgs' multi-ethnic Austria or its German-speaking part). I ...

. Briefly revived as the

State of Hanover The State of Hanover () was a short-lived state within the British Zone of Allied-occupied Germany. It existed for 92 days in the course of the dissolution of the Free State of Prussia after World War II until the foundation of Lower Saxony in ...

in 1946, the state was later merged with some smaller states to form the current state of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

History

The territory of Hanover had earlier been a principality within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

before being elevated into an

electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district ...

in 1708, when Hanover was formed by union of the dynastic divisions of the

Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg The Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg (), commonly known as the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg or Brunswick-Lüneburg, was an imperial principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the territory of present day Lower Saxony. In 1235, Otto I, Duke of ...

, excepting the

Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel The Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel () was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, whose history was characterised by numerous divisions and reunifications. It had an area of 3,828 square kilometres in the mid 17th century. Va ...

. After his accession in 1714, George Louis of the House of Hanover ascended the throne of Great Britain as

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George of Beltan (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgoruk ...

, and Hanover was joined in a

personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...

with Great Britain. In 1803, Hanover was conquered by the French and Prussian armies in the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. The

Treaties of Tilsit The Treaties of Tilsit (), also collectively known as the Peace of Tilsit (; ), were two peace treaties signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland, at the end of the War o ...

in 1807 joined it to territories from Prussia and created the

Kingdom of Westphalia The Kingdom of Westphalia was a client state of First French Empire, France in present-day Germany that existed from 1807 to 1813. While formally independent, it was ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte. It was named after Westphalia, ...

, ruled by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's youngest brother,

Jérôme Bonaparte Jérôme Bonaparte (born Girolamo Buonaparte; 15 November 1784 – 24 June 1860) was the youngest brother of Napoleon, Napoleon I and reigned as Jerome Napoleon I (formally Hieronymus Napoleon in German), Kingdom of Westphalia, King of Westphal ...

. French control lasted until October 1813, when the territory was overrun by Russian

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

. The

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813 at Leipzig, Saxony. The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia, led by Tsar Alexander I, Karl von Schwarzenberg, and G ...

, shortly thereafter, spelled the definitive end of the Napoleonic

client states A client state in the context of international relations is a state that is economically, politically, and militarily subordinated to a more powerful controlling state. Alternative terms for a ''client state'' are satellite state, associated state ...

, and the electorate was restored to the House of Hanover. The terms of the

in 1814 not only restored Hanover but also elevated it to an independent kingdom with its Prince-Elector,

of the United Kingdom, as

King of Hanover The King of Hanover () was the official title of the head of state and Hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the Kingdom of Hanover, beginning with the proclamation of List of British monarchs, King George III of the United Kingdom, as "King o ...

. The new kingdom was also greatly expanded and became the fourth-largest state in the German Confederation (behind Prussia,

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

) and the second-largest in northern Germany. George III never visited the kingdom during his 60-year reign. Having succumbed to

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

prior to the elevation of Hanover, it is unlikely that he ever understood that he had gained an additional kingship, and he took no role in its governance. Functional administration of Hanover was usually handled by a viceroy, which during the later years of George III's reign and the reigns of Kings

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

and

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

from 1816 to 1837, was Adolph Frederick, George III's youngest surviving son. When

succeeded to the British throne in 1837, the 123-year personal union of Great Britain and Hanover ended. Unlike in Britain, semi-

Salic law The Salic law ( or ; ), also called the was the ancient Frankish Civil law (legal system), civil law code compiled around AD 500 by Clovis I, Clovis, the first Frankish King. The name may refer to the Salii, or "Salian Franks", but this is deba ...

operated in Hanover, prohibiting the accession to the throne by a female if any male of the dynasty had survived. Ernest Augustus, now the eldest surviving son of George III, succeeded to the throne as King of Hanover. Adolph Frederick, the younger brother and long-time Viceroy, returned to Britain. Ernest Augustus had a personally-strained relationship with his niece Queen Victoria, and they frequently squabbled over family affairs. Domestically, his reign began with a

constitutional crisis In political science, a constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the constitution, political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve. There are several variat ...

as he tried to suspend parliament and nullify the written constitution of 1819. He also presided over the country during the turbulent

Revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

. His son,

, assumed the throne in 1851. In 1866, during the

, Hanover attempted to maintain a neutral position, along with some other member states of the

. Hanover's vote in favor of the mobilisation of Confederation troops against Prussia on 14 June 1866 prompted Prussia to declare war. The outcome of the war led to the dissolution of Hanover as an independent kingdom, which was

annexed Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to ...

by the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

and became the Prussian

. In 1871, along with the rest of Prussia, it became part of the

. After George V fled Hanover in 1866, he raised forces loyal to him in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, called the Guelphic Legion. It was eventually disbanded in 1870. Nevertheless, George refused to accept the Prussian takeover of his realm and claimed he was still the legitimate king of Hanover. His only son,

Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover, 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale (; 21 September 1845 – 14 November 1923), was the eldest child and only son of George V of Hanover and his wife, Marie of Saxe-Altenburg. Ernest Augustus was dep ...

, inherited the claim upon George's death in 1878. Ernest Augustus was also first in line to the throne of the

Duchy of Brunswick The Duchy of Brunswick () was a historical German state that ceased to exist in 1918. Its capital city, capital was the city of Braunschweig, Brunswick (). It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel ...

, whose rulers had been a junior branch of the House of Hanover. In 1884, that branch became extinct with the death of

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, a distant cousin of Ernest Augustus. Since Ernest Augustus refused to renounce his claim to annexed Hanover, the Bundesrat of the German Empire ruled that he would disturb the peace of the empire if he ascended the throne of Brunswick. As a result, Brunswick was ruled by a regency until 1913, when his son, also named Ernest Augustus, married the German Emperor's daughter, Princess Viktoria Luise and swore allegiance to the German Empire. The Duke then renounced his claim to Brunswick in favour of his son, and the Bundesrat allowed the younger Ernest Augustus to take possession of Brunswick as a kind of

dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...

compensation for Hanover. The

German-Hanoverian Party The German-Hanoverian Party (, DHP), also known as the Guelph Party (), was an agrarian, federalist political party in the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. It represented the interests of Hanoverian separatists and regionalists that sought ...

, which at times supported

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

from the

Reich ( ; ) is a German word whose meaning is analogous to the English word " realm". The terms and are respectively used in German in reference to empires and kingdoms. In English usage, the term " Reich" often refers to Nazi Germany, also ca ...

, demanded a separate status for the province in the Reichstag. The party existed until banned by the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

government.

Revival and modern history

With Prussia on the verge of official dissolution (1947), Hanoverian politicians in 1946 took advantage of the opportunity and advocated that the (CCG/BE) revive Hanoverian statehood, reconstituting the Prussian Province of Hanover as the

. The state saw itself in the tradition of the kingdom. Its prime minister, Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf, played a central role when the state of

was founded just a few months later by merging Hanover with several smaller states, with the city of Hanover as its capital. The former territory of Hanover makes up 85 percent of Lower Saxony and is the origin of its coat of arms.

Reorganisation of religious bodies

The

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church was the state church of the Kingdom of Hanover with the King being (Supreme Governor of the Lutheran Church). Regional consistories supervised church and clergy. These were in

Aurich Aurich (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Auerk'', West Frisian: ''Auwerk'', ) is a town in the East Frisian region of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Aurich and is the second largest City in East Frisia, both in popula ...

, a simultaneously Lutheran and

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

consistory dominated by Lutherans (for

East Frisia East Frisia () or East Friesland (; ; ; ) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisia (peninsula), East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia and to the ...

) and the Lutheran consistories in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

(for the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg proper), in

Ilfeld Ilfeld is a village and a former municipality in the district of Nordhausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated at the south foot of the Harz, at the entrance to the Bährethal, north from Nordhausen by the railway to Wernigerode. Since 1 ...

(for the , a Hanoverian

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

in the Eastern

Harz The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' der ...

mountains), in

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

(for the former

Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück The Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück () was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1225 until 1803. It should not be confused with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Osnabrück, Diocese of Osnabrück (), which was lar ...

), in

Otterndorf Otterndorf (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Oterndörp'') is a town on the coast of the North Sea in the federal state of Lower Saxony, Germany, and is part of the collective municipality () of Land Hadeln. The town, located in the administrative distric ...

(existed 1535–1885 for the

Land of Hadeln Land Hadeln is a historic landscape and former administrative district in Northern Germany with its seat in Otterndorf on the Niederelbe, Lower Elbe, the lower reaches of the River Elbe, in the Elbe-Weser Triangle between the estuaries of the E ...

) as well as in

Stade Stade (; ), officially the Hanseatic City of Stade (, ) is a city in Lower Saxony in northern Germany. First mentioned in records in 934, it is the seat of the Stade (district), district () which bears its name. It is located roughly to the wes ...

(existed 1650–1903, until 1885 for the former

Bremen-Verden Bremen-Verden, formally the Duchies of Bremen and Verden (; ), were two territories and immediate fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire, which emerged and gained imperial immediacy in 1180. By their original constitution they were prince-bishoprics of th ...

proper without Hadeln, then including the complete Stade region). A general superintendent chaired each consistory. In 1848, the Lutheran parishes were democratised by the introduction of presbyteries (, singular ; literally: ''church boards''), elected by all major male parishioners and chairing each congregation in co-operation with the

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

, being before the sole chairman. This introduction of presbyteries was somewhat revolutionary in the rather hierarchically structured Lutheran church. In 1864, Carl Lichtenberg, Hanoverian minister of education, cultural and religious affairs (1862–65), persuaded the ''Ständeversammlung'' (lit. ''Estates Assembly'', the Hanoverian parliament) to pass a new law as to the constitution of the Lutheran church. The constitution provided a state

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

(parishioners' parliament, ). But its first session only materialised in 1869 when, after the 1866

Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...

annexation of the Kingdom of Hanover, the Hanoverian Lutherans desired a representative body separate from Prussian rule, though it was restricted to Lutheran matters only. After the Prussian conquest in 1866, on 19 September 1866, the day before the official Prussian annexation took place and with the last , King George V of Hanover, in exile, the Kingdom's six consistories joined to form today's still-existing church body, the Lutheran State Church of Hanover. An all-Hanoverian consistory, the (state consistory), was formed with representatives from the regional consistories. While the

congregations in formerly-Prussian East Frisia had a common roof organisation with the Lutherans there ("Coetus") and the

Reformed Church Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...

in the former

County of Bentheim The County of Bentheim (, Low German ''Benthem'') was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the south-west corner of today's Lower Saxony, Germany. The county's borders corresponded largely to those of the modern administrative district ...

, then being the state church, had fully established church bodies for Bentheim only (, ), the Calvinist congregations elsewhere in Hanover were in a somewhat sorry state. Though some Calvinist congregations of

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

origin were organised in the ''Lower Saxon Confederation'' (). The Lutheran church being the state church of Hanover also supervised the Calvinist

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

parishes outside East Frisia and Bentheim. In 1848 the new Hanoverian law also provided for presbyteries in these Calvinist parishes, which exactly fit the presbyterian structure of Calvinism.

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

s formed an overall minority in Hanover, but regionally majorities in the former prince-bishoprics. By the annexations in 1803 and 1814 Hanover had become a state of three Christian denominations. In 1824, Hanover and the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

thus agreed to integrate diaspora parishes which were located in prevailingly Protestant areas, until then supervised by the Roman Catholic Vicariate Apostolic of the Nordic Missions, into the existing dioceses of the former prince-bishoprics, whose diocesan territories were thus extended into the diaspora areas.

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

lived all over Hanover in

. Until 1806, they were not allowed to reside in some areas. By the Westphalian and French annexations in 1807 and 1810, all-male inhabitants in later restituted Hanover became Westphalian or French citizens of equal rights. On 17 March 1808,

Napoléon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

restricted the rights of Jews in the French-annexed territory by his so-called . The Jewish congregations became subject to French regional Jewish consistories or the , respectively. In 1813, when Hanover resumed independence and sovereignty, its government deprived the Jews their legal equality. Arguing it was the French or Westphalian state and not Hanover, which had emancipated the Jews, the government took the decisions of the German Confederation on the rights of the Jews, in

Johann Smidt Johann Smidt (November 5, 1773 – May 7, 1857) was an important Bremen politician, theologian, and founder of Bremerhaven. Biography Smidt was a son of the Reformed preacher Johann Smidt sen., pastor at St. Stephen Church in Bremen. Smidt j ...

's manipulated formulation, as the legal grounds. In 1842, Hanover finally granted equal rights to Jews and promoted to build up Jewish congregations, where this did not already happen earlier, and a superstructure of four regional land-rabbinates. These were the

Emden Emden () is an Independent city (Germany), independent town and seaport in Lower Saxony in the north-west of Germany and lies on the River Ems (river), Ems, close to the Germany–Netherlands border, Netherlands border. It is the main town in t ...

Land-Rabbinate (Aurich and Osnabrück regions), the (

and Lüneburg regions), the Hildesheim Land-Rabbinate (Hildesheim region and ), and the ( Stade region). In many diaspora areas Jews regarded this a progress and a burden alike, because of the implied financial burden for

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

s and religion teacher,

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

s or

schools A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of ...

. The local authorities now requested that the Jewish congregations establish synagogues and Jewish education for the pupils. The land-rabbins, chairing the land-rabbinates, simultaneously fulfilled religious and state functions, like supervising Jewish elementary schools and the teaching of Jewish religion in all schools. The Kingdom of Hanover was thus one of the few states within the German Confederation, where rabbins held a similar semi-state authoritative position as to Jews as did, e.g., Lutheran clergy towards Lutherans.

Kings

In 1813, George III was restored to his Hanoverian territories, and in October 1814, they were constituted as the independent Kingdom of Hanover at the Congress of Vienna. The

with the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

ended in 1837 on the accession of Queen Victoria because the succession laws in Hanover, based on semi-Salic law, prevented a female inheriting the title if there was a surviving male heir. In the United Kingdom, a male took precedence only over his own sisters.

Territory and administrative subdivisions

The

instituted a territorial adjustment between Hanover and Prussia to form more contiguous borders. Hanover increased its area substantially, gaining the Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim,

, the

, the Lower County of Lingen and the northern part of the

Prince-Bishopric of Münster The Prince-Bishopric of Münster (, or ) was a large ecclesiastical principality in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the northern part of today's North Rhine-Westphalia and western Lower Saxony. From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, ...

. Hanover also annexed territories that had previously been ruled in personal union by its Elector, such as the Duchies of

and the

. It lost those parts of

Saxe-Lauenburg The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (, ), was a ''reichsfrei'' duchy that existed from 1296 to 1803 and again from 1814 to 1876 in the extreme southeast region of what is now Schleswig-Holstein. Its territorial centre was in the modern district of Herz ...

to the northeast of the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

, which was assigned in personal union to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, except the

Amt Neuhaus Amt Neuhaus is a municipality in the District of Lüneburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. ''Amt'' means "municipal office" in German. The original "municipal office of ''Neuhaus''" existed since at least the 17th century until 1885, consecutively as p ...

. Further small

s in the east were lost. Hanover comprised a number of territories, which had been

Imperial Estate An Imperial Estate (; , plural: ') was an entity or an individual of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire), Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise signi ...

s within the

. Their respective governments, now called provincial governments, were organised according to partially very old traditions, including different levels of estate participation in rule. In 1823, the kingdom was reorganised into ''high-bailiwicks'' (, singular: ), each led by a ''high-bailiff'' () according to unitary standards, doing away with the inherited provincial peculiarities. The high-bailiwicks were subdivided into bailiwicks (, singular ), presided by a bailiff (''

Amtmann __NOTOC__ The ''Amtmann'' or ''Ammann'' (in Switzerland) was an official in German-speaking countries of Europe and in some of the Nordic countries from the time of the Middle Ages whose office was akin to that of a bailiff A bailiff is a ...

'', plural '' Amtleute''). The high-bailiwicks, named after their capitals, were the following: *

, comprising former East Frisia *

, comprising about the former

Principality of Calenberg The Principality of Calenberg was a dynastic division of the House of Welf, Welf Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg established in 1432. Calenberg was ruled by the House of Hanover (from the Principality of Lüneburg) from 1635 onwards; the princes re ...

in the

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; or ; ) is a city in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim (district), Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of t ...

, comprising the former Brunswick-Lüneburg Principality of Grubenhagen and the former Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim *

Lüneburg Lüneburg, officially the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg and also known in English as Lunenburg, is a town in the German Bundesland (Germany), state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of another Hanseatic League, Hanseatic city, Hambur ...

, comprising the former Brunswick-Lüneburg

Principality of Lüneburg The Principality of Lüneburg (later also referred to as Celle) was a territorial division of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg within the Holy Roman Empire, immediately subordinate to the emperor. It existed from 1269 until 1705 and its territory ...

and the remainder of Saxe-Lauenburg areas *

, comprising the former County of Bentheim, the former Lower County of Lingen, and the former

, comprising the former Duchies of Bremen-Verden The Hanoverian subdivisions into high-bailiwicks and bailiwicks remained unchanged until 1 April 1885, when they were replaced by Prussian-style provinces () and districts ('' Kreise'').

Image gallery

File:Leineschloss Leine.jpg, The

Leine Palace The Leine Palace (), situated on the Leine in Hanover, Germany, is a former residence of the Hanoverian dukes, electors and kings. It is now the seat of the parliament () of Lower Saxony. The first building on the site was a Franciscan friar ...

File:Unbekannt, Maison de Plaisir d'Herrenhausen, c1708..jpg, Herrenhausen Castle and Gardens File:Das Schloss in Celle.jpg,

Celle Castle Celle Castle () or, less commonly, Celle Palace, in the German town of Celle in Lower Saxony, was one of the residences of the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg. This quadrangular building is the largest castle in the southern Lüneburg Heath reg ...

File:Panoramaaufnahme Schloss Marienburg cropped.jpg, Marienburg Castle, present seat of the Princes of Hanover File:Ernest Augustus I of Hanover.PNG, '' Portrait of Ernest Augustus'' by

George Dawe George Dawe (6 February 1781 – 15 October 1829) was an English portraitist who painted 329 portraits of Russian generals active during Napoleon's invasion of Russia for the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace. He relocated to Saint P ...

Army

The Kingdom of Hanover maintained an army after the Napoleonic Wars. In 1832, King William IV of Hanover and the United Kingdom issued his troops with

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

uniforms, but they differed slightly from their original British versions. When the personal union with the United Kingdom ended in 1837 and Ernst August ascended to the crown of Hanover, he replaced their uniforms with Prussian Army-style ones, which included the

pickelhaube The (; , ; from , and , , a general word for "headgear"), also , is a spiked leather or metal helmet that was worn in the 19th and 20th centuries by Prussian and German soldiers of all ranks, as well as firefighters and police. Although it ...

spiked helmet for his Guard Corps. By 1866 they wore a more Austrian style of uniform, with only the guard corps keeping the Prussian one. During the

, the

Hanoverian Army The Hanoverian Army (German: ''Hannoversche Armee'') was the standing army of the Electorate of Hanover from the seventeenth century onwards. From 1692 to 1803 it acted in defence of the electorate. Following the Hanoverian Succession of 1714, thi ...

fought and defeated the Prussians during its march south towards Austria, at the Battle of Langensalza. However, it was later surrounded and forced to surrender to Prussia.König, Lutz (1999)
Kingdom of Hanover - German Civil War 1866
. Retrieved 3 April 2017.

Standard, ensign and coat of arms

After the personal union with the United Kingdom ended in 1837 with the accession of Queen Victoria, Hanover kept the British royal arms and

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object ...

, only introducing a new Crown, after the British model. The centre of this coat of arms and royal standard included the original arms of Hanover, which consisted of the two lions of the Brunswick, the rampant lion with hearts of

and the horse of Hanover, surmounted by the

Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire The Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire (), a hoop crown (Bügelkrone) with a characteristic octagonal shape, was the coronation crown of the Holy Roman Emperor, probably from the late 10th century until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Emp ...

for the Holy Roman office of Archbannerbearer/ Archtreasurer. As Hanover no longer was ruled by the British monarchs, the arms of Hanover was simultaneously removed from the British coat of arms and royal standard, so it was no longer identical with that of the Kingdom of Hanover. File:Royal Standard of the United Kingdom (1816–1837).svg, Royal standard of Hanover, 1816–1837 File:Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Hanover.svg, Coat of arms of Hanover, 1837 File:Civil Ensign of Hannover (1801-1866).svg, Civil ensign of Hanover File:Flag of Hanover (1692).svg, Royal standard of Hanover after 1837

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanover, Kingdom of 1814 establishments in Europe 1866 disestablishments in Europe States and territories established in 1814 Former monarchies of Europe Germany–United Kingdom relations

States and territories disestablished in 1866