Provinces of Prussia

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The Provinces of Prussia (German: Provinzen Preußens) were the main administrative divisions of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1815 to 1947. Provinces constituted the highest level of administration in the Kingdom and its successor, the Free State of Prussia, until Nazi Germany established de facto direct rule over provincial politics in 1933. The provinces were abolished along with Prussia itself in 1947 following World War II. The provinces were established after the Congress of Vienna granted Prussia significant new territories in 1815. Initially they were ruled by an appointed governor and an estates-based parliament, but beginning in 1876, self-administration and democratic participation were broadened. During the Weimar Republic, the provincial parliaments were further democratized, and the provinces gained a voice in the Prussian parliament through the introduction of the Prussian State Council. All traces of democracy were lost under Nazi rule.

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