The
Prussian
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 e ...
Ministry of the Navy (Marineministerium) (1861 to 1871) grew out of that established by the
Frankfurt National Assembly
The Frankfurt Parliament (german: Frankfurter Nationalversammlung, literally ''Frankfurt National Assembly'') was the first freely elected parliament for all German states, including the German-populated areas of Austria-Hungary, elected on 1 Ma ...
(1848-1849) for its ‘Imperial Fleet'
Reichsflotte
The ''Reichsflotte'' (, ''Imperial Fleet'') was the first navy for all of Germany, established by the revolutionary German Empire to provide a naval force in the First Schleswig War against Denmark. The decision was made on 14 June 1848 by the F ...
. From 1866 it served additionally as the Navy Department of the
North German Confederation
The North German Confederation (german: Norddeutscher Bund) was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated st ...
.
In June, 1848 the
Frankfurt National Assembly
The Frankfurt Parliament (german: Frankfurter Nationalversammlung, literally ''Frankfurt National Assembly'') was the first freely elected parliament for all German states, including the German-populated areas of Austria-Hungary, elected on 1 Ma ...
created the first Navy Department with businessman
Arnold Duckwitz
Arnold Duckwitz (27 January 1802 in Bremen Germany – 19 March 1881 in Bremen) was a German statesman and merchant who served as Minister of Trade and of the Navy in the provisional government of the Frankfurt Assembly of 1848–49, and ...
as Minister for Navy Affairs (Minister für Marineangelegenheiten). After the closure of the Frankfurt National Assembly in May 1849, Austrian Lieutenant Fieldmarshal
August von Jochmus became Navy Minister of the revived
German Confederation
The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) 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, w ...
. With the end of the
Provisional Central Power (Provisorische Zentralgewalt) of the Frankfurt National Assembly in December 1849, the first Naval Department dissolved and authority in naval matters again came under the sovereignty of individual members of the German Confederation. A Royal Naval Division (Königliche Marine-Abteilung ) was established in Berlin, as a department of the
Prussian Minister of War
The Prussian War Ministry was gradually established between 1808 and 1809 as part of a series of reforms initiated by the Military Reorganization Commission created after the disastrous Treaties of Tilsit. The War Ministry was to help bring the ...
, with Lieutenant Colonel von Wangenheim Bogun as head in the years 1848-1853. He administered the
Prussian Navy
The Prussian Navy (German: ''Preußische Marine''), officially the Royal Prussian Navy (German: ''Königlich Preußische Marine''), was the naval force of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1701 to 1867.
The Prussian Navy was created in 1701 from the f ...
under the Naval High Command (''Oberkommando der Marine''{{citation needed, date=May 2011). Then, on 14 November 1853 by a Prussian royal cabinet order (König Kabinettsordre) the Naval Division was combined into an Admiralty Council (Admiralität), which would provide united command and administrative authority. From 1859 to 1860 Admiral
Jan Schröder was chief of the Prussian Navy administration (Marineverwaltung).
In 1861 the Prussian government created a new Navy Department (Marineministerium). After
Wilhelm I
William I or Wilhelm I (german: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and German Emperor from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the f ...
became King of Prussia the Admiralty of the Prussian Navy was on 16 April 1861 dissolved by cabinet order. The Naval High Command under Prince
Adalbert of Prussia
Adalbert is a German given name which means "noble bright" or "noble shining", derived from the words ''adal'' (meaning noble) and ''berht'' (shining or bright). Alternative spellings include Adelbart, Adelbert and Adalberto. Derivative names inclu ...
became independently and directly subordinate to the king. After the retirement of Admiral Jan Schröde the administration of the navy was under the new Navy Department (Marineministerium), which was under Prussian War Minister
Albrecht von Roon
Albrecht Theodor Emil Graf von Roon (; 30 April 180323 February 1879) was a Prussian soldier and statesman. As Minister of War from 1859 to 1873, Roon, along with Otto von Bismarck and Helmuth von Moltke, was a dominating figure in Prussia's ...
until 1873. The Admiralty Council (Admiralitätsrat) was to co-ordinate naval affairs of the Navy Department and the Naval High Command, but could only make proposals.
The Navy Department was responsible for the
Danzig (today Gdansk) shipyard, the depots in
Geestemünde
Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany.
It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...
(today
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany.
It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...
),
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
and
Stralsund
Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, Neub ...
, the admiralty commissary (Admiralitätskommissariat) in
Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to:
Places
*Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica
*Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany
**Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony
*Olde ...
and the base at
Jade Bight
The Jade Bight (or ''Jade Bay''; german: Jadebusen) is a bight or bay on the North Sea coast of Germany. It was formerly known simply as ''Jade'' or ''Jahde''. Because of the very low input of freshwater, it is classified as a bay rather than an ...
(today
Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...
). The Naval High Command was responsible for the fleet. This dual organization did not work well. There was much unfruitful work and friction between the two organizations.
A possibility for change arose with the outbreak the
Franco-Prussian War in 1870 when Prince Adalbert was transferred to army field command. By cabinet order the tasks of the Naval High Command were on 29 June 1870 transferred to the Navy Department. Next, departments for technical and general administrative affairs was formed. The existing division of powers was abolished and a central authority created. The departmental friction disappeared almost completely.
Due to the great increase in the duties of the Prussian War Minister, Wilhelm I on 30 November 1871 moved the Navy Department from the War Ministry to a newly created admiralty, which in a few months would become the
German Imperial Admiralty
The German Imperial Admiralty (german: Kaiserliche Admiralität) was an imperial naval authority in the German Empire. By order of Kaiser Wilhelm I the Northern German Federal Navy Department of the North German Confederation (1866–71), whi ...
.
Prussian Navy