States of the German Confederation

The states of the German Confederation were member states of the German Confederation, from 20 June 1815 until 24 August 1866.

On the whole, its territory nearly coincided with that remaining in the Holy Roman Empire at the outbreak of the French Revolution, with the notable exception of Belgium. Except for Austria, Prussia, Holstein, and the western left bank of the Rhine (which France had annexed, with tiny Katzenelnbogen), the other member states (or their precursors) had been within Napoleon's Confederation of the Rhine.

• The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (still a constitutive state of Germany)
• The Free City of Frankfurt upon Main
• The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (still a constitutive state of Germany)
• The Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck

The four free cities were republics by constitution, while all the others were monarchies, some constitutional and some absolutist.

The Duchy of Schleswig was never a member state. But Schleswig was traditionally connected to the duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg, which were member states. In 1848-51 (during the First Schleswig War), it was treated by the German states and the short-lived German Empire as a kind of member. In 1864, the Danish king transferred the three duchies to Austria and Prussia (after the Second Schleswig War).