List of towns and cities in Germany by historical population

The list of the largest German cities provides an overview of the most populous cities that were located in contemporary German territory at the time of the individual statistics.

Industrialization in the 19th century, especially since the and the foundation of the German Empire in 1871, brought with it increased urbanization in Germany, leading to a largely urbanized society.

The following tables show historical population figures of German cities according to the respective area status. Also listed is the superordinate administrative unit (state, country, kingdom, province, district) to which the city belonged in the corresponding year. The following historical and current German state entities were taken into account:

Holy Roman Empire (962–1806) German Confederation (1815–1866) German Reich (1871–1949) German Democratic Republic (1949–1990) Federal Republic of Germany (1949–present)

Current information can be found in the list of cities in Germany by population.

Antiquity

Ancient Rome developed from 200 B.C. and spread from Italy to northern Italy, northern Africa (Tunisia) and central Europe in the following period. The heyday of the ancient Romans can be seen in the 1st to 3rd century A.D., many ancient ruins date from this period.

Roman cities in Germany were mainly built along the Rhine and Danube:

Augsburg Bonn Koblenz Cologne Mainz Neuss Nida Passau Regensburg Straubing Trier, already in the 3rd and 4th century the largest city north of the Alps with an estimated 80,000 inhabitants Xanten

Middle Ages to modern times With the migration of peoples in the 5th century, the ancient cities on the territory of present-day Germany were largely decayed. Only Augsburg, Regensburg, Trier and Cologne have been preserved as cities. The number of cities in Central Europe remained very small until about 1100 with a few hundred. By far the largest number of new cities was created in the following 250 years, when numerous cities were founded from 1120 onwards, mostly by an act of foundation and town planning. Around the beginning of the modern era, at the beginning of the 16th century, the free and imperial cities as well as the residence cities were the most important cities (among others, today mainly Dutch, French and Belgian cities):

Cologne and Prague with over 40,000 inhabitants, Augsburg, Lübeck, Magdeburg and Nuremberg with about 20,000 to 30,000 inhabitants, Aachen, Basel, Braunschweig, Bremen, Breslau, Erfurt, Geneva, Hamburg, Lüneburg, Metz, Trier, Ulm and Vienna, with about 10,000–20,000 inhabitants.

1500 The population figures are estimates. RankCityPopulationState1Prague70,000Bohemia2Cologne45,000Cologne3Nuremberg38,000Nuremberg4Augsburg30,000Augsburg5Lübeck25,000LübeckBreslau25,000Silesia7Regensburg22,000Regensburg8Vienna20,000AustriaStrasbourg20,000Strasbourg

1700

The population figures are estimates. RankCityPopulationState1Vienna114,000Austria2Hamburg70,000Hamburg3Antwerp66,000Brabant4Brussels65,000Brabant5Ghent52,000Flanders6Liège45,000Liège7Breslau40,000Silesia8Cologne39,000ColognePrague39,000Bohemia10Bruges36,000Flanders11Nuremberg35,000Nuremberg12Berlin30,000Brandenburg13Frankfurt am Main28,000Frankfurt am Main14Bremen27,000Bremen15Augsburg26,000Augsburg16Munich24,000Bavaria17Lübeck23,000Lübeck18Dresden22,000Saxony19Mainz20,000MainzRegensburg20,000Regensburg

1750 The population figures are estimates. Rank City Population State1Vienna175,000Austria2Berlin113,000Prussia3Hamburg75,000Hamburg4Prague59,000Bohemia5Brussels57,000Austrian NetherlandsLiège57,000Lüttich7Breslau55,000Prussia8Dresden52,000Saxony9Antwerp43,000Austrian NetherlandsCologne43,000Cologne11Gent39,000Austrian Netherlands12Leipzig35,000Saxony13Frankfurt am Main32,000Frankfurt am MainMunich32,000BavariaAugsburg32,000Augsburg16Bruges30,000Austrian NetherlandsNuremberg30,000Nuremberg18Bremen28,000Bremen19Braunschweig25,000Braunschweig-Lüneburg20Mainz24,000Mainz

1800 The population figures are estimates. Rank City Population State1Vienna231,000Austria2Berlin172,000Prussia3Hamburg130,000Hamburg4Prague75,000Bohemia5Dresden61,000Saxony6Königsberg60,000Prussia7Breslau54,000Prussia8Cologne41,000Cologne9Danzig40,000PrussiaMunich40,000Bavaria11Bremen36,000Bremen12Frankfurt am Main35,000Frankfurt am Main13Augsburg32,000AugsburgLeipzig32,000Saxony15Braunschweig31,000Braunschweig-LüneburgGraz31,000Austria17Nuremberg25,000Nuremberg18Aachen24,000AachenLübeck24,000Lübeck20Altona23,000Holstein

1849

The population and area status refer to the census of 3 December 1849.

Rank City Population State 1 Vienna 426,415 Austria 2 Berlin 423,902 Prussia 3 Hamburg 157,450 Hamburg 4 Prague 124,181 Austria 5 Breslau 110,702 Prussia 6 Munich 96,396 Bavaria 7 Cologne 94,789 Prussia 8 Dresden 94,092 Saxony 9 Königsberg 75,240 Prussia 10 Graz 65,788 Austria 11 Triest 63,931 Austria 12 Danzig 63,910 Prussia 13 Leipzig 62,374 Saxony 14 Frankfurt am Main 59,316 Frankfurt am Main 15 Magdeburg 56,181 Prussia 16 Bremen 53,478 Bremen 17 Nuremberg 50,828 Bavaria 18 Aachen 50,533 Prussia 19 Brno 49,460 Austria 20 Stuttgart 47,837 Württemberg

1880

The population and area status refer to the census of 1 December 1880. Rank City Population State1Berlin1,122,330Prussia2Hamburg289,859Hamburg3Breslau272,912Prussia4Munich230,023Bavaria5Dresden220,818Saxony6Leipzig149,081Saxony7Cologne144,772Prussia8Königsberg140,909Prussia9Frankfurt am Main136,819Prussia10Hanover122,843Prussia11Stuttgart117,303Württemberg12Bremen112,453Bremen13Danzig108,551Prussia14Strasbourg104,471Elsaß-Lothringen15Nuremberg99,519Bavaria16Magdeburg97,539Prussia17Barmen95,941Prussia18Düsseldorf95,458Prussia19Chemnitz95,123Saxony20Elberfeld93,538Prussia

1910

The population and area status refer to the census of 1 December 1910. Rank City Population State1Berlin2,071,257Prussia2Hamburg931,035Hamburg3Munich596,467Bavaria4Leipzig589,850Saxony5Dresden548,308Saxony6Cologne516,527Prussia7Breslau512,105Prussia8Frankfurt am Main414,576Prussia9Düsseldorf358,728Prussia10Nuremberg333,142Bavaria11Charlottenburg305,978Prussia12Hanover302,375Prussia13Essen294,653Prussia14Chemnitz287,807Saxony15Stuttgart286,218Württemberg16Magdeburg279,629Prussia17Bremen247,437Bremen18Königsberg245,994Prussia19Rixdorf237,289Prussia20Stettin236,113Prussia

1919

The population and area status refer to the census of 8 October 1919. Rank City Population State1Berlin1,902,509Prussia2Hamburg985,779Hamburg3Cologne633,904Prussia4Munich630,711Bavaria5Leipzig604,380Saxony6Dresden529,326Saxony7Breslau528,260Prussia8Essen439,257Prussia9Frankfurt am Main433,002Prussia10Düsseldorf407,338Prussia11Nuremberg352,675Bavaria12Charlottenburg322,766Prussia13Hanover310,431Prussia14Stuttgart309,197Württemberg15Chemnitz303,775Saxony16Dortmund295,026Prussia17Magdeburg285.856Prussia18Neukölln262,127Prussia19Königsberg260,895Prussia20Bremen257,923Bremen

1939

The population and area status refer to the census of 17 May 1939. Rank City Population State1Greater Berlin4,338,756Prussia2Vienna1,929,976Ostmark3Hamburg1,711,877Hamburg4Munich829,318Bavaria5Cologne772,221Prussia6Leipzig707,365Saxony7Essen666,743Prussia8Dresden630,216Saxony9Breslau629,565Prussia10Frankfurt am Main553,464Prussia11Dortmund542,261Prussia12Düsseldorf541,410Prussia13Hanover470,950Prussia14Stuttgart458,429Württemberg15Duisburg434,646Prussia16Nuremberg423,383Bavaria17Wuppertal401,672Prussia18Stettin383,000Prussia19Königsberg372,164Prussia20Bremen354,109Bremen

1946

The population and area status refer to the census of 29 October 1946. Rank City Population State1Berlin3,187,470Berlin2Hamburg1,403,300Hamburg3Munich751,967Bavaria4Leipzig607,655Saxony5Essen524,728North Rhine-Westphalia6Cologne491,380North Rhine-Westphalia7Dresden467,966Saxony8Dortmund436,491North Rhine-Westphalia9Frankfurt am Main424,065Hesse10Düsseldorf420,909North Rhine-Westphalia11Stuttgart413,528Württemberg-Baden12Bremen385,266Bremen13Duisburg356,408North Rhine-Westphalia14Hanover354,955Hanover15Wuppertal325,846North Rhine-Westphalia16Nuremberg312,338Bavaria17Gelsenkirchen265,793North Rhine-Westphalia18Chemnitz250,188Saxony19Bochum246,477North Rhine-Westphalia20Magdeburg236,326Saxony-Anhalt

1975 The population figures for the year 1975 are estimates. Rank City Population State/District1Berlin13,083,011Berlin2Hamburg1,717,383Hamburg3Munich1,314,865Bavaria4Cologne1,013,771North Rhine-Westphalia5Essen677,568North Rhine-Westphalia6Düsseldorf664,336North Rhine-Westphalia7Frankfurt am Main636,157Hesse8Dortmund630,609North Rhine-Westphalia9Stuttgart600,421Baden-Württemberg10Duisburg591,635North Rhine-Westphalia11Bremen572,969Bremen12Leipzig566,630Leipzig13Hannover552,955Lower Saxony14Dresden509,331Dresden15Nuremberg499,060Bavaria16Bochum414,842North Rhine-Westphalia17Wuppertal405,369North Rhine-Westphalia18Gelsenkirchen322,584North Rhine-Westphalia19Bielefeld316,058North Rhine-Westphalia20Mannheim314,086Baden-Württemberg 1: East Berlin (1,098,174) and West Berlin (1,984,837)

2000

The population figures for the year 2000 are estimates. Rank City Population State1Berlin3,382,169Berlin2Hamburg1,715,392Hamburg3Munich1,210,223Bavaria4Cologne962,884North Rhine-Westphalia5Frankfurt am Main646,550Hesse6Essen595.243North Rhine-Westphalia7Dortmund588,994North Rhine-Westphalia8Stuttgart583,874Baden-Württemberg9Düsseldorf569,364North Rhine-Westphalia10Bremen539,403Bremen11Hanover515,001Lower Saxony12Duisburg514,915North Rhine-Westphalia13Leipzig493,208Saxony14Nuremberg488,400Bavaria15Dresden477,807Saxony16Bochum391,147North Rhine-Westphalia17Wuppertal366,434North Rhine-Westphalia18Bielefeld321,758North Rhine-Westphalia19Mannheim306,729Baden-Württemberg20Bonn302,247North Rhine-Westphalia

2015

The population figures for the year 2015 are estimates. Rank City Population State1Berlin3,520,031Berlin2Hamburg1,787,408Hamburg3Munich1,450,381Bavaria4Cologne1,060,582North Rhine-Westphalia5Frankfurt am Main732,688Hesse6Stuttgart623,738Baden-Württemberg7Düsseldorf612,178North Rhine-Westphalia8Dortmund586,181North Rhine-Westphalia9Essen582,624North Rhine-Westphalia10Leipzig560,472Saxony11Bremen557,464Bremen12Dresden543,825Saxony13Hanover532,163Lower Saxony14Nuremberg509,975Bavaria15Duisburg491,231North Rhine-Westphalia16Bochum364,742North Rhine-Westphalia17Wuppertal350,046North Rhine-Westphalia18Bielefeld333,090North Rhine-Westphalia19Bonn318,809North Rhine-Westphalia20Münster310,039North Rhine-Westphalia

2020 The population figures for the year 2020 are estimates. Rank City Population State1Berlin3,664,088Berlin2Hamburg1,852,478Hamburg3Munich1,488,202Bavaria4Cologne1,083,498North Rhine-Westphalia5Frankfurt am Main764,104Hesse6Stuttgart630,305Baden-Württemberg7Düsseldorf620,523North Rhine-Westphalia8Leipzig597,493Saxony9Dortmund587,696North Rhine-Westphalia10Essen582,415North Rhine-Westphalia11Bremen566,573Bremen12Dresden556,227Saxony13Hanover534,049Lower Saxony14Nuremberg515,543Bavaria15Duisburg495,885North Rhine-Westphalia16Bochum364,454North Rhine-Westphalia17Wuppertal355,004North Rhine-Westphalia18Bielefeld333,509North Rhine-Westphalia19Bonn330,579North Rhine-Westphalia20Münster316,403North Rhine-Westphalia

2022 The population figures for the year 2022 are estimates. Rank City Population State1Berlin3,755,251Berlin2Hamburg1,892,122Hamburg3Munich1,512,491Bavaria4Cologne1,084,831North Rhine-Westphalia5Frankfurt am Main773,068Hesse6Stuttgart632,865Baden-Württemberg7Düsseldorf629,047North Rhine-Westphalia8Leipzig616,093Saxony9Dortmund593,317North Rhine-Westphalia10Essen584,58011Bremen569,396Bremen12Dresden563,311Saxony13Hanover545,045Lower Saxony14Nuremberg523,026Bavaria15Duisburg502,211North Rhine-Westphalia16Bochum365,74217Wuppertal358,87618Bielefeld338,33219Bonn336,46520Münster320,946

References

Eberhard Isenmann: Die deutsche Stadt im Spätmittelalter, 1250–1500: Stadtgestalt, Recht, Stadtregiment, Kirche, Gesellschaft, Wirtschaft. Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 1988, .