Province of Saxony - Definition and Overview

The Province of Saxony (German Provinz Sachsen) was a Prussian province between the Napoleonic Wars of 1815 and 1947. Its capital was Magdeburg. It is usually referred to with its full name in order to distinguish it from the Kingdom of Saxony.

It was created in 1816 out of the following terrorities belonging to Prussia: territories formerly belonging to the Archbishopric of Mainz (Erfurt and the Eichsfeld), territories gained from the Kingdom of Saxony, the former Free City of Mühlhausen, the former Free City of Nordhausen, the Duchy of Magdeburg, and those parts of the Margraviate of Brandenburg situated west of the Elbe.

It is one of the predecessors of the now existing German State of Saxony-Anhalt, together with the much smaller former state of Anhalt and some exclaves of Brunswick. Some parts of the Province of Saxony now belong to the Free State of Thuringia.

The Province of Saxony was one of the richest regions of Prussia with highly developed agriculture and industry. It had an area of 25,255 km² and a population of 3.0 million (1905), 3.6 million (1939).

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This article is part of the Prussia portion of the Wikipedia Project "Historical States" which is structured upon the administrative organization of the Prussian government as it existed just before unification in 1871.

• Kingdom of Prussia (between 1815 and 1871, part of the German Confederation; between 1871 and 1920, inside the German Empire)
  • Provinces <== YOU ARE HERE
    • Admin. districts ("Regierungsbezirke") - usually two or three per province
      • Counties ("Kreise") - around 30 - 40 per province
        • Civil registration districts ("Standesämter"), similar to a township - usually 5 - 10 per Kreis.