The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, occupying territory in what is now the southern German federal state of Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom emerged during the period of territorial reorganisation that followed the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, when the Electorate of Württemberg was elevated to royal status as part of Napoleon’s restructuring of the German lands.
The Kingdom of Württemberg was the legal and political successor to the Electorate of Württemberg, which itself had been created in 1803 during the process of German mediatization (Reichsdeputationshauptschluss), when numerous ecclesiastical territories and free imperial cities were secularised and incorporated into larger territorial states. Duke Frederick II of Württemberg was raised to the dignity of Elector (Kurfürst) in 1803, substantially enlarging his territory through the annexation of former imperial cities and church lands.
In 1806, following the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire and the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine under French protection, Frederick assumed the title King Frederick I of Württemberg. The elevation formed part of Napoleon’s broader policy of strengthening allied German rulers in return for political and military support. Württemberg joined the Confederation of the Rhine and became a close ally of Napoleonic France, supplying troops for imperial campaigns and undertaking significant administrative reforms inspired by French models of governance.
During the nineteenth century, the kingdom developed into a medium-sized constitutional monarchy within the German Confederation and later the German Empire. Württemberg retained its own monarchy, constitution, and administrative institutions until the German Revolution of 1918 led to the abdication of King William II and the establishment of the Free People’s State of Württemberg (Freier Volksstaat Württemberg).
Geography
The borders of the Kingdom of Württemberg, as defined in 1813, lay between 47°34' and 49°35' north and 8°15' and 10°30' east. The greatest distance north to south was and the greatest east to west was . The border had a total length of and the total area of the state was .
The kingdom had borders with Bavaria on the east and south, with Baden in the north, west, and south. The southern part surrounded the Prussian province of Hohenzollern on most of its sides and touched on Lake Constance.
History
Frederick I Frederick III, the Duke of Württemberg (1754–1816; succeeded 1797) assumed the title of King Frederick I on 1 January 1806. He abrogated the constitution, and united Old and New Württemberg. Subsequently, he placed the property of the church under government control, and greatly extended the borders of the kingdom by the process of mediatisation.
In 1806, Frederick joined the Confederation of the Rhine and received further territory with 160,000 inhabitants. Later, by the Peace of Vienna of October 1809, about 110,000 more people came under his rule. In return for these favours, Frederick joined French Emperor Napoleon in his campaigns against Prussia, Austria, and Russia. Of the 16,000 of his subjects who marched to Moscow, only a few hundred returned. After the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813, Frederick deserted the French emperor and, by a treaty with Metternich at Fulda in November 1813, he secured the confirmation of his royal title and of his recent acquisitions of territory. Meanwhile, his troops marched into France with the allies. In 1815, the king joined the German Confederation, but the Congress of Vienna made no change to the extent of his lands. In the same year, he laid before the representatives of his people the outline of a new constitution, but they rejected it, and in the midst of the commotion that ensued, Frederick died on 30 October 1816.
William I
Frederick was succeeded by his son, William I (1781–1864; succeeded 1816), who after much discussion, granted a new constitution in September 1819. This constitution (with subsequent modifications) remained in force until 1918. The desire for greater political freedom did not entirely fade under the constitution of 1819, and after 1830, some transitory unrest occurred.
A period of quiet set in and the condition of the kingdom, and its education, agriculture, trade, and economy improved. Both in public and in private matters, William's frugality helped to repair the country's shattered finances. The inclusion of Württemberg in the German and the construction of railways fostered trade.
The revolutionary movement of 1848 did not leave Württemberg untouched, although no violence took place in the territory. William had to dismiss Johannes Schlayer (1792–1860) and his other ministers, and appoint men with more liberal ideas, proponents of a united Germany. William proclaimed a democratic constitution, but as soon as the movement had spent its force, he dismissed the liberal ministers, and in October 1849, Schlayer and his associates returned to power. In 1851, by interfering with popular electoral rights, the king and his ministers succeeded in assembling a servile diet that surrendered the privileges gained since 1848. In this way, the authorities restored the constitution of 1819 and power passed into bureaucratic hands. A concordat with the papacy proved almost the last act of William's long reign, but the diet repudiated the agreement.
Charles I
In July 1864, Charles I (1823–1891) succeeded his father William as king and almost at once had to face considerable difficulties. In the competition between Austria and Prussia for supremacy in Germany, William had consistently taken the Austrian side and the new king continued this policy. In 1866, Württemberg took up arms on behalf of Austria in the Austro-Prussian War, but three weeks after the Battle of Königgrätz (3 July 1866), the allies suffered a comprehensive defeat at the Battle of Tauberbischofsheim. The Prussians occupied northern Württemberg and negotiated a peace in August 1866. Württemberg paid an indemnity of 8,000,000 gulden, and concluded a secret offensive and defensive treaty with its conqueror. Württemberg was a party to the 1864 Geneva Convention and the St Petersburg Declaration of 1868.
The end of the struggle against Prussia allowed a renewal of democratic agitation in Württemberg, but this had achieved no tangible results when the war broke out in 1870. Although Württemberg had continued to be antagonistic to Prussia, the kingdom shared in the national enthusiasm that swept over Germany. The Army of Württemberg played a creditable part in the Battle of Wörth and in other operations of the war.
In 1871, Württemberg became a member of the new German Empire, but retained control of its own post office, telegraphs, and railways. It also had certain special privileges with regard to taxation and maintained its army autonomously within the Imperial German Army. For the next 10 years, Württemberg enthusiastically supported the new order. Many important reforms ensued, especially in the area of finance, but a proposal to unify the railway system with that of the rest of Germany failed. After reductions in taxation in 1889, changes to the constitution were considered. Charles wished to strengthen the conservative element in the chambers, but the laws of 1874, 1876, and 1879 effected only a slight amount of change.
William II When King Charles died suddenly on 6 October 1891, he was succeeded by his nephew, William II (1848–1921), who continued Charles' policies. Constitutional discussions continued and the election of 1895 returned a powerful party of democrats. William had no sons, nor did his only Protestant kinsman, Duke Nicholas (1833–1903). Consequently, power was due to pass to a Roman Catholic branch of the family, raising difficulties concerning the relations between church and state. As of 1910, the heir to the throne was Duke Albert (born 1865) of the Altshausen family. An older Catholic line, that of the Duke of Urach, was bypassed as a result of a morganatic marriage contracted in 1800. A Protestant morganatic line included Mary of Teck, who married George V of the United Kingdom.
King William abdicated on 30 November 1918, following Germany's defeat in the First World War, ending a dynasty that had lasted 837 years. The kingdom was replaced with the Free People's State of Württemberg. After World War II, Württemberg was divided between the American and French occupation zones and became part of two new states: Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern. These two states merged with South Baden in 1952 to become the modern German state of Baden-Württemberg within the Federal Republic of Germany.
Government Constitution The Kingdom of Württemberg functioned as a constitutional monarchy within the German Empire, with four votes in the Federal Council () and 17 in the Imperial Diet (). The constitution rested on a law of 1819, amended in 1868, 1874, and 1906. The king received a civil list (annual grant) equivalent to 103,227 pounds sterling in the early 20th century.
The kingdom possessed a centuries-old bicameral legislature known generally in English as the Estates of Württemberg. The upper chamber () comprised:
Adult princes of the blood Heads of noble families from the rank of count () upwards Representatives of territories () that possessed votes in the old German Imperial Diet or in the local diet Not more than six members nominated by the king Eight members of knightly rank Six ecclesiastical dignitaries One representative of the University of Tübingen One representative of the Stuttgart University of Technology Two representatives of commerce and industry Two representatives of agriculture One representative of handicrafts
The lower house () had 92 members:
The 63 representatives from the administrative divisions () Six representatives from Stuttgart, elected by proportional representation Six representatives, one from each of the six chief provincial towns Seventeen members from the two electoral divisions (), elected by proportional representation
The king appointed the president of the upper chamber; after 1874, the lower chamber elected its own chairman. Members of each house had to be over 25 years of age. Württemberg parliamentary terms lasted six years and all male citizens over 25 had the right to vote in the ballots.
The highest executive power rested in the hands of the Ministry of State (), consisting of six ministers: justice, foreign affairs (with the royal household, railways, posts and telegraphs), interior, public worship and education, war, and finance.
The kingdom also had a privy council, consisting of the ministers and some nominated councillors (), who advised the sovereign. The judges of a special supreme court of justice, called the State Tribunal () functioned as the guardians of the constitution. This court was partly elected by the chambers and partly appointed by the king. Each of the chambers had the right to impeach ministers.
The nation comprised four departments or districts (), subdivided into 64 divisions (), each under a "head man" () assisted by a local council (). Each department was headed by its own government ().