Rhine Confederation

• Confederation of the Rhine
• 1806–1813
• monarchial, by a Prince Primas led confederation of German States allied with France
• French: Confédération du Rhin

Contents

• The Confederation of the Rhine

• The alleged Flag of the Rhine Confederation

• Meaning/Origin of the Flag

• Member states of the Rhine Confederation

• Map

The Confederation of the Rhine"

The Rhine Confederation was foundet on the 12th of July in 1806 by the wish of Napoléon I. Concerned were initially 16 German states. Those leave the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation on the 1st of August in 1806, and recognized the French predominance, and joined a kind of alliance with France. For its wars had the 16 states to put troops and became compensated for that with expansions of area and an enhancement of the nobility title of the monarch. After the foundation of the Rhine Confederation the German emperor Franz II. of Habsburg layed down the German emperor's crown on the 6th of August in 1806. Therewith expired the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation. After the defeat of Prussia in the battle near Jena and Auerstedt on the 14th of October in 1806 was evident that Napoleón was not to stop and all middle and north German states joined the Rhine Confederation just as the Electorate of Saxony and the Episcopate of Wuerzburg. Finally the Rhine Confederation consisted in 36 states and was leaded by the prince primate Karl Theodor of Dalberg, the last elector (archbishop) of Mainz and arch-chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire. Only Austria, Prussia, the Electorate of Hessen and Brunswick did not join the Rhine Confederation. The Rhine Confederation dissolved itself more and more in the course of the liberation wars and ends finaly after the Battle of Nations near Leipzig (16th till 18th of October in 1813).

Source, by: Volker Preuß

Flag

1806–1813,
The alleged Flag of the Rhine Confederation

Meaning/Origin of the Flag

It is not known exactly whether the Rhine League had its own common flag at all. The source for the green-white-blue flag, which can be found everywhere, cannot be determined. The Treaty of Confederation, the Rhine Confederation Act, does not comment on any common symbolism.

On 29th of March in 2023, it was spread in a Youtube video that the alleged flag of the Confederation of the Rhine was shown here was first and published on these pages as the flag of the Confederation of the Rhine. This is not true. The fact is, that the Confederation of the Rhine most probably did not have a flag. This green-white-blue flag was taken over in a way that is no longer comprehensible from a now unknown source on these pages, but was always described as the "alleged flag of the Confederation of the Rhine" due to the improbability of the existence of a flag of the Confederation of the Rhine. The facts speak against this flag. 1st Error: Presentation of the flag on these pages without reference to the source, 2nd error: Adoption as unverified fact.

Source: Volker Preuß

Member states of the Rhine Confederation

Founding members (on 12th of July in 1806):

• Kingdom of Bavaria

• Kingdom of Wuerttemberg

• Electorate of Baden

• Grand Duchy of Berg

• Duchy of Arenberg-Meppen

• Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt

• Principality of Aschaffenburg

• Principality of Regensburg

• Principality of Nassau-Usingen

• Principality of Nassau-Weilburg

• Principality of Hohenzollern-Hechingen

• Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen

• Principality of Salm-Salm

• Principality of Salm-Kyrburg

• Principality of Isenburg-Birstein

• Principality of Liechtenstein

• Principality von der Leyen


Membership on 26th of September in 1806:

• Grand Duchy of Wuerzburg


Membership on 11th of December in 1806:

• Kingdom of Saxony


Membership on 15th of December in 1806:

• Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach

• Duchy of Saxony-Gotha-Altenburg

• Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen

• Duchy of Saxony-Hildburghausen

• Duchy of Saxony-Coburg-Saalfeld


Membership on 18th of April in 1807:

• Duchy of Anhalt-Dessau

• Duchy of Anhalt-Bernburg

• Duchy of Anhalt-Koethen

• Principality of Lippe-Detmold

• Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe

• Principality of Reuss Senior Line

• Principality of Reuss-Schleiz

• Principality of Reuss-Lobenstein

• Principality of Reuss-Ebersdorf

• Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

• Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen

• Principality of Waldeck


Membership on 7th of December in 1807:

• Kingdom of Westphalia


Membership on 10th of February in 1808:

• Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz


Membership on 22nd of March in 1808:

• Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin


Membership on 14th of October in 1808:

• Duchy of Oldenburg


Membership on 19th of February in 1810:

• Grand Duchy of Frankfurt


Exits from the Rhine Confederation:

• 30th of Aug. 1806 Principality of Nassau-Usingen (merged in Nassau)
• 30th of Aug. 1806 Principality of Nassau-Weilburg (merged in Nassau)
• 16th of Feb. 1810 Principality of Aschaffenburg, (annexed to Grand Duchy of Frankfurt)
• 22nd of May 1810 Principality of Regensburg, (annexed to Bavaria)
• 13th of Dec. 1810 Principality of Salm-Salm (annexed by France)
• 13th of Dec. 1810 Principality of Salm-Kyrburg (annexed by France)
• 13th of Dec. 1810 Duchy of Oldenburg (annexed by France)
• 11th of Feb. 1811 Duchy of Arenberg-Meppen (annexed by France)

Source, by: Wikipedia (D)

Map

Source: Hand-Atlas für die Geschichte des Mittelalters und die neueren Zeit von Spruner and Menke