Bouches-de-l'Elbe (; "Mouths of the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) 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 Repu ...

", ) was a

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of the

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eu ...

in present-day

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

that survived for three years. It was named after the mouth of the river

. It was formed in 1811, when the region, originally belonging partially to Bremen-Verden (which in 1807 had been intermittently incorporated into the Kingdom of Westphalia), to Hamburg, Lübeck and Saxe-Lauenburg, was annexed by France. Its territory is part of the present-day German states of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

and Hamburg. Its capital was Hamburg. The department was subdivided into four

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements' ...

s and the following

cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...

(situation in 1812, French translated names where applicable):Almanach Impérial an bissextil MDCCCXII
p. 376-377, accessed in Gallica 24 July 2013 *

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

(french: Hambourg), cantons:

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Bergedorf,

Hamm Hamm (, Latin: ''Hammona'') is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of 2016 its population was 179,397. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway. Hamm railwa ...

and Wilhelmsburg. * Lübeck (french: Lubeck, link=no), cantons: Lübeck (2 cantons), Lauenburg upon Elbe, Mölln, Neuhaus upon Elbe,

Ratzeburg Ratzeburg (; Low German: ''Ratzborg'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is surrounded by four lakes—the resulting isthmuses between the lakes form the access lanes to the town. Ratzeburg is the capital of the district Herzogtum Lau ...

, Schwarzenbek and Steinhorst. * Lüneburg (french: Lunebourg, link=no), cantons: Lüneburg,

Bardowick Bardowick (''Bewick'' in Low Saxon) is a municipality in the district of Lüneburg in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is three miles north of Lüneburg on the navigable river Ilmenau. Bardowick is also the seat of the ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective muni ...

, Buxtehude,

Garlstorf Garlstorf is a municipality in the district of Harburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, ...

, Harburg, Hittfeld, Tostedt and Winsen upon Luhe. *

Stade Stade (), officially the Hanseatic City of Stade (german: Hansestadt Stade, nds, Hansestadt Stood) is a city in Lower Saxony in northern Germany. First mentioned in records in 934, it is the seat of the district () which bears its name. It is l ...

, cantons:

Bremervörde Bremervörde () is a town in the north of the district (''Landkreis'') of Rotenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the Oste river near the centre of the "triangle" formed by the rivers Weser and Elbe, roughly equidistant from the cit ...

, Freiburg upon Elbe, Himmelpforten,

Horneburg Horneburg is a municipality southwest of Hamburg (Germany) in the district of Stade in Lower Saxony. Horneburg is also the seat of the ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Horneburg. History Horneburg belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric ...

, Neuhaus upon Oste, Otterndorf, Ritzebüttel,

Jork Jork is a small town on the left bank of the Elbe, near Hamburg (Germany). Jork belongs to the district of Stade, in Lower Saxony. The town is the capital of the Altes Land, one of the biggest fruit growing areas in Europe, and Jork is home to a ...

and Zeven. Its population in 1812 was 375,976. After

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

was defeated in 1814, the department were dissolved and the area was redivided between the

Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Han ...

(Bremen-Verden), the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg, and the free cities of Hamburg and Lübeck.

References

External links

History of Hamburg Former departments of France in Germany 1811 establishments in the First French Empire 19th century in Hamburg History of Lübeck States and territories disestablished in 1811 States and territories disestablished in 1814 {{Hamburg-stub