The Principality of Salm was a short-lived client state of

Napoleonic France 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 ...

located in

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

History

Salm was created in 1802 as a state of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

in order to compensate the princes of

Salm-Kyrburg Salm-Kyrburg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire located in present-day Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, one of the various partitions of Salm. It was twice created: the first time as a Wild- and Rhinegraviate (partitioned from Upper Salm), and s ...

and

Salm-Salm The Principality of Salm-Salm (german: Fürstentum Salm-Salm; french: Principauté de Salm-Salm) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. It was located in the present-day French departments of Bas-Rhin and Vosges; it was one of a number of partitions ...

, who had lost their states to France in 1793–1795. The territory of the new principality was formally assigned by the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803. The new territory was not near most of the old territories of the princes, but instead extended the

County of Anholt The Lordship of Anholt was a small state of the Holy Roman Empire. It was an imperial estate and a member of the Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle. Geography The state consisted only of the City of Anholt in the present-day District of Borken ...

, which had been a minor possession of the prince of Salm-Salm. Most of the area was taken from the dissolved

Bishopric of Münster In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

. The Principality of Salm was ruled jointly by the princes of Salm-Kyrburg and Salm-Salm,

Frederick IV, Prince of Salm-Kyrburg Frederick IV, Prince of Salm-Kyrburg (Frederik Ernst Otto Philip Anton Furnibert; Paris, 14 December 1789 – Brussels, 14 August 1859) was the prince of Salm-Kyrburg, Ahaus and Bocholt from 1794 to 1813. He was the son and successor of Frederick ...

, and Constantine, Prince of Salm-Salm; each line had equal sovereign rights, but neither had a separate territory. Salm became independent and joined the

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine, also known as Napoleonic Germany, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austria an ...

in 1806. It was annexed by France in 1811. Its territory was given to

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 ...

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 B ...

in 1815; it became the westernmost part of the Prussian Province of Westphalia. In 1871, The German Empire used a flag identical to Salm's tricolour flag.

Geography

The capital of Salm was Bocholt. Salm had an area of about 1,760 km² and a population of 59,086. It covered approximately the same area as the present-day District of Borken.

External links

Principality of Salm
at flaggenlexikon.de (in German and in English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Salm Former countries in Europe Former principalities Principalities of the Holy Roman Empire States of the Confederation of the Rhine 1802 establishments in Europe 1811 disestablishments in Europe States and territories established in 1802 Real unions Former states and territories of North Rhine-Westphalia