Lippe was a department 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 E ...

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 ...

. It was named after the river

Lippe Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. The ...

. It was formed in 1811, when

Principality of Salm The Principality of Salm was a short-lived client state of Napoleonic France located in Westphalia. History Salm was created in 1802 as a state of the Holy Roman Empire in order to compensate the princes of Salm-Kyrburg and Salm-Salm, who ha ...

and a part of the

Grand Duchy of Berg The Grand Duchy of Berg (german: Großherzogtum Berg), also known as the Grand Duchy of Berg and Cleves, was a territorial grand duchy established in 1806 by Emperor Napoleon after his victory at the Battle of Austerlitz (1805) on territories be ...

was annexed by France. Its territory is now part of the German lands 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 ...

and

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

. Its capital was

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...

. The department was subdivided into the following

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

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):Almanach Impérial an bissextil MDCCCXII
p. 419-420, accessed in Gallica 25 July 2013 *

, cantons:

Dülmen Dülmen () is a town in the district of Coesfeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Dülmen is situated in the south part of the Münsterland area, between the Lippe river to the south, the Baumberge hills to the north and the Ems ri ...

Haltern Haltern am See (''Haltern at the lake'', before December 2001 only Haltern) is a town and a municipality in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the Lippe and the Wesel–Datteln Canal, approx. nor ...

Nottuln Nottuln (; Low German: ''Notteln'') is a municipality in the district of Coesfeld in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Nottuln is situated in the Baumberge, approx. 20 km west of Münster. Neighbouring municipalities ...

and Sankt Mauritz. *

Neuenhaus Neuenhaus is a town in the district of Grafschaft Bentheim in Lower Saxony, and is the seat of a like-named collective municipality Neuenhaus. Neuenhaus lies on the rivers Dinkel and Vechte near the border with the Netherlands and is roughly 1 ...

, cantons:

Bad Bentheim Bad Bentheim (; nds-nl, Beantem) is a town in the southwestern part of Lower Saxony, Germany, in the district of Grafschaft Bentheim on the borders of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Netherlands roughly 15 km south of Nordhorn and 20 km ...

, Heede,

Nordhorn Nordhorn ( Northern Low Saxon: ''Nothoorn'' (or ''Notthoarn'', ''Netthoarn'' and ''Noordhoorn'')) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the district seat of Grafschaft Bentheim in Lower Saxony's southwesternmost corner near the border with the ...

and Wesuwe. * Rees, cantons: Bocholt, Borken, Emmerich, Rees, Ringenberg and

Stadtlohn The city of Stadtlohn ( nds, Stadlaun), which has 20,746 inhabitants (Dec. 2020),
Stadt Stadtlohn, accessed ...

. * Steinfurt, cantons:

Ahaus Ahaus (; Westphalian: ''Ausen'') is a town in the district of Borken in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near the border with the Netherlands, lying some 20 km south-east of Enschede and 15 km south from Gr ...

Billerbeck Billerbeck ( Westphalian: ''Billerbiëk'') is a municipality in the district of Coesfeld in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. Geography Neighbor towns/cities Billerbeck has boundaries to Rosendahl, Laer, Altenberge, Havixbeck, Nottuln and Coes ...

, Coesfeld,

Ochtrup Ochtrup () is a town in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 km west of Rheine and 20 km east of Enschede. History An early mention of the town was „Ohtepe“ (the easter ...

, Rheine and Steinfurt. Its population in 1812 was 339,355. In the months before the Lippe department was formed, the arrondissements of Rees and Münster were part of Yssel-Supérieur, the arrondissement of Steinfurt was part of

Bouches-de-l'Yssel Bouches-de-l'Yssel (; "Mouths of the IJssel"; ) was a department of the First French Empire in the present-day Netherlands. It was formed in 1810, when the Kingdom of Holland was annexed by France. Its territory corresponded with the present-day Du ...

and the arrondissement of Neuenhaus was part of

Ems-Occidental Ems-Occidental (, "Western Ems; , ) was a department of the First French Empire in the present-day Netherlands and Germany. It was formed in 1810, when the Kingdom of Holland was annexed by France. Its territory corresponded more or less with the ...

. 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 was divided 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 Ha ...

and

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 ...

References

{{Authority control Former departments of France in Germany 1811 establishments in the First French Empire