Province of Prussia

For the administrative divisions of the Kingdom of Prussia, see Provinces of Prussia.

Province of Prussia Provinz Preußen
Province of Prussia
←   ← 1829–1878 →   →
Province of Prussia (red), within the Kingdom of Prussia, within the German Empire
Capital		Königsberg
History
•	Established	1829
•	Disestablished	1878
Area
•	1871	62,528 km2 (24,142 sq mi)
Population
•	1871	3,137,545
	Density	/km2  ( /sq mi)
Political subdivisions		Danzig Gumbinnen Königsberg Marienwerder
Today part of		Lithuania Poland Russia

The Province of Prussia (German: Provinz Preußen; Lithuanian: Prūsijos Provincija; Polish: Prowincja Prusy; Kashubian: Prowincjô Prësë) was a province of Prussia from 1829 to 1878. Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1829 from the provinces of East Prussia and West Prussia, and was dissolved in 1878 when the merger was reversed.

Königsberg (present-day Kaliningrad, Russia) was the provincial capital.

History

The Province of Prussia was created on April 13, 1824, as the easternmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia. The province was formed in a merger with the pre-existing provinces of East Prussia and West Prussia joined together in a personal union, and from December 3, 1829, in a real union.

Prussia's territory roughly corresponded to the historical region of Prussia, from which the province and the kingdom derived their names, that had been divided by the Kingdom of Poland since the Second Peace of Thorn in 1466. The region was divided into Duchy of Prussia, a fief of Poland, and Royal Prussia, which was an integral part of Poland under direct rule. Ducal Prussia became part of Brandenburg-Prussia in 1618, and became the Kingdom of Prussia upon Frederick I of Prussia's coronation as king in 1701. After the coronation, the term "Province of Prussia" was used to designate East Prussia to differentiate the former duchy's territory within the larger kingdom. Royal Prussia was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772 during the First Partition of Poland, placing the entirety of the Prussia region under Prussian rule. The following year, Prussia converted the former Royal Prussia and Ducal Prussia (including Ermland) into the provinces of West Prussia and East Prussia, respectively, with minor border changes.

On April 1, 1878, the Province of Prussia was divided back into the provinces of West Prussia and East Prussia.