The Royal Prussian and Grand-Ducal Hessian State Railways (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: ''Königlich Preußische und Großherzoglich Hessischen Staatseisenbahnen'' or ''K.P.u.G.H.St.E.'') was a state-owned network of independent railway divisions in the German states of Prussia and

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

in the early 20th century. It was not, as sometimes maintained, a single state railway company. On 1 April 1897, the management of the

Royal Prussian State Railways The term Prussian state railways (German: ''Preußische Staatseisenbahnen'') encompasses those railway organisations that were owned or managed by the State of Prussia. The words "state railways" are not capitalized because Prussia did not have a ...

(''Königlich Preußische Staatseisenbahnen'') took over the operations of the

railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

within the

Grand Duchy of Hesse The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (german: link=no, Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein) was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Grand Duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 ...

under the initial name "Prussian-Hessian Railway Operation and Financial Association" (''Preußisch-Hessische Eisenbahnbetriebs- und Finanzgemeinschaft''). Ownership, sovereign rights, and profits remained with the

state of Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

in accordance with a state treaty of 23 June 1896. The headquarters of the railway division (''Eisenbahndirektion'') was at

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

. Hesse could also influence the selection of staff for managerial posts, but engineering and operating procedures followed Prussian regulations alone. All staff wore the Prussian uniform, although the Hessians were allowed to wear a Hessian insignia in addition. The reason for this agreement was firstly the geographical situation of the state of

— divided into two regions and tightly interlocked with areas of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

— and secondly the aim of both states to nationalize the last big private railway company, the

Hessian Ludwig Railway The Hessian Ludwig Railway (German: ''Hessische Ludwigsbahn'') or HLB with its network of 697 kilometres of railway was one of the largest privately owned railway companies in Germany. Early history The Hessian Ludwig Railway was a product of ...

(''Hessische Ludwigsbahn''). With 486,318 employees in 1907, Prussian-Hessian Railways was the largest company in the German Empire. The Prussian-Hessian Railway Company was renamed following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

to the Prussian State Railway, but was absorbed in 1920 with other German state railways (''

Länderbahnen The ''Länderbahnen'' (singular: ''Länderbahn'') were the various state railways of the German Confederation and the German Empire in the period from about 1840 to 1920, when they were merged into the Deutsche Reichsbahn after the First World War ...

'') into the

Deutsche Reichsbahn The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'', also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the German national railway system created after the end of World War I from the regiona ...

Literature

* M. Biermer: ''Die preußisch-hessische Eisenbahngemeinschaft'' = Sammlung nationalökonomischer Aufsätze und Vorträge in zwangloser Reihenfolge 2, Heft 8. Gießen, 1911. * Großherzogliches Ministerium der Finanzen (publ.): ''Die hessischen Eisenbahnen in der Preußisch-Hessischen Eisenbahn-Betriebs- und Finanz-Gemeinschaft vom 1. April 1897 bis zum 31. März 1907'' (Denkschrift) = Parlamentsdrucksache No. 732 for the 23rd Landtag 1905–1908 of the Grand Duchy of Hesse, Second Chamber. Darmstadt, 1908. * Hager, Bernhard (2008). ''"Aufsaugung durch Preußen" oder "Wohltat für Hessen"? Die preußisch-hessische Eisenbahngemeinschaft von 1896/97.'' In

Andreas Hedwig Andreas Hedwig (born in 1959) is a German archivist and since 2014 the head of the Hessian State Archive. Life Born in Leverkusen, Hedwig completed a and completed this in 1986 with a second Staatsexamen. He then received his doctorate in 1989. ...

(ed.): ''"Auf eisernen Schienen, so schnell wie der Blitz". Regionale und überregionale Aspekte der Eisenbahngeschichte'' (''Schriften des hessischen Staatsarchivs Marburg.'' Vol. 19). Hessian State Archives, Marburg, , . {{Authority control Grand Duchy of Hesse Transport in Hesse Defunct railway companies of Germany

See also

Literature