Brandenburg History

This article discusses the Prussian province of Brandenburg, which existed from 1815 to 1920. Much of this area is contained in the modern German state of Brandenburg. Brandenburg was the nucleus of the Kingdom of Preussen [Prussia].

History and Borders
The province of Brandenburg was created in 1815 and consisted of the historical Mark Brandenburg and the Neumark and Niederlausitz regions. The Neumark was situated East of the Oder river. The Altmark west of the Elbe river had been added to the Prussian province of Saxony.

The first capital city was Potsdam, followed by Berlin from 1827 to 1843, and Potsdam again from 1843 to 1918. FRom 1918 until 1945 the capital was Berlin-Charlottenburg.

Berlin was expanded separated from Brandenburg on 1 Oct 1920 and became an independent entity with province-like administrative rights. The new greater Berlin area included six former counties with fifty-nine civil communities and 27 rural districts.

Brandenburg province was divided into two regions: Frankfurt/ Oder and Potsdam. Regional offices in both cities were also responsible for issuing permits to emigrants. [in German titled Auswandererkartei] of 19th Century emigrants kept by these offices are available on microfiche at the Family History Library. There is a separate set for each region. Indexes to these microfiches are also available on www.ancestry.com in the Immigration Collection.

When the province of Grenzmark-Posen-Westpreussen was divided up in 1938, the counties of Schwerin(Warthe), Meseritz and parts of Bomst were annexed to Brandenburg Province. At the same time the Brandenburg counties of Friedeberg/Neumark and Arnswalde became part of Pommern [Pommerania].

The province of Brandenburg officially changed its name to "Mark Brandenburg" on 21 Mar 1939. After World War II the areas east of the Oder river became part of Poland. The areas west of the Oder river were in the German Democratic Republic until the reunification of Germany in 1990.

Wiki articles describing online collectiona are found at:


 * Germany, Prussia, Brandenburg and Posen Church Book Duplicates (FamilySearch Historcal Records)
 * Germany, Brandenburg, Heegermuhle Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Reoords)

Germany