Last reviewed on October 4, 2026.
Former German state on the Baltic coast?
The most common answer is Pomerania (German Pommern, 9 letters), a Prussian province on the Baltic until 1945. Its western part, Vorpommern, is now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern; the rest belongs to Poland. Other historic German territories on the Baltic include Prussia (East and West Prussia), Mecklenburg, Holstein, the Free City of Lübeck and the Free City of Danzig.
Why So Many German States Have Disappeared
Germany was a patchwork of kingdoms, duchies, principalities and free cities for most of its history. The German Empire of 1871 still had 25 member states. Most of them disappeared in four waves: Prussian annexations in 1866, mergers after 1918, the Nazi era and the Allied reorganisation after 1945 — when Prussia itself was abolished. The 16 states of today are mostly post-war creations; see the list of current German states.
Major Former States and Where They Are Today
| Former state | Ended | Territory today |
|---|---|---|
| Kingdom of Hanover | 1866 (annexed by Prussia) | Lower Saxony |
| Electorate of Hesse (Hesse-Kassel), Duchy of Nassau, Free City of Frankfurt | 1866 (annexed by Prussia) | Hesse, part of Rhineland-Palatinate |
| Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein | 1864–67 (to Prussia) | Schleswig-Holstein; northern Schleswig went to Denmark in 1920 |
| Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Saxe-Gotha, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Altenburg, Reuss, Schwarzburg states | 1920 (merged) | Thuringia |
| Free State of Coburg | 1920 (joined Bavaria) | Bavaria |
| Waldeck | 1929 (joined Prussia) | Hesse |
| Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz | 1934 (merged into Mecklenburg) | Mecklenburg-Vorpommern |
| Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck | 1937 (to Prussia) | Schleswig-Holstein |
| Pomerania (Prussian province) | 1945 | Western part in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern; most of it in Poland |
| East Prussia | 1945 | Poland and Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast); small part in Lithuania |
| Free State of Prussia | 1947 (formally abolished by the Allies) | Most of today's states contain former Prussian territory, from Schleswig-Holstein to the Saar and Hohenzollern |
| Oldenburg, Brunswick, Schaumburg-Lippe, State of Hanover | 1946 (merged) | Lower Saxony |
| Anhalt | 1945–47 (merged) | Saxony-Anhalt |
| Lippe | 1947 (joined NRW) | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Württemberg-Baden, Baden, Württemberg-Hohenzollern | 1952 (merged) | Baden-Württemberg |
| Mecklenburg, Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia (GDR) | 1952 (replaced by districts) | Re-created in 1990 — see East German states |
Prussia: The Biggest State That No Longer Exists
Prussia grew from the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia (the later East Prussia), which the Hohenzollern dynasty united in 1618. It became a kingdom in 1701, led the unification of Germany in 1871 and covered about two-thirds of the German Empire. After 1918 it continued as the Free State of Prussia. In 1945 its eastern provinces — East Prussia, most of Pomerania and Silesia — were placed under Polish and Soviet administration, and on 25 February 1947 the Allied Control Council formally abolished Prussia. Its heartland lives on in Brandenburg and Berlin.
Pomerania and the Baltic Coast
Pomerania ("land by the sea") stretched along the Baltic from the Recknitz river near Rostock to beyond Stolp (Słupsk), with Stettin (Szczecin) as its capital. It was ruled by its own dukes until 1637, then divided between Sweden and Brandenburg-Prussia; Prussia held the whole province from 1815. After 1945 the land east of the Oder — and Stettin itself — became Polish, and the German population was expelled. The western remnant, Vorpommern with Stralsund, Greifswald and the islands of Rügen and Usedom, is the second half of today's Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Baden and Württemberg
Both were kingdoms or grand duchies until 1918 and republics in the Weimar era. After 1945 the French and American zone border cut across them, creating three states: Württemberg-Baden (US zone, capital Stuttgart), Baden (French zone, capital Freiburg) and Württemberg-Hohenzollern (French zone, capital Tübingen). After a referendum in December 1951 they merged into Baden-Württemberg on 25 April 1952. The historic names survive in the state's two wine regions and in a lively regional rivalry.
Sources
- Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) — history of the German states
- Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg — formation of Baden-Württemberg
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the former German state on the Baltic coast?
Usually Pomerania (Pommern). East Prussia, Mecklenburg, Holstein and the Free Cities of Lübeck and Danzig were also on the Baltic.
When was Prussia abolished?
Formally on 25 February 1947, by Allied Control Council Law No. 46. In practice it had lost its eastern provinces in 1945.
Is Pomerania part of Germany today?
Only its western part, Vorpommern, which forms part of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Most of historic Pomerania has been part of Poland since 1945.