The Province of Hesse-Nassau () was a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

from 1868 to 1918, then a province of the Free State of Prussia until 1944. Hesse-Nassau was created as a consequence of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 by combining the previously independent Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel), the Duchy of Nassau, the Free City of Frankfurt, areas gained from the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German ...

, and areas gained from the Grand Duchy of Hesse (including part of the former Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg from Hesse-Darmstadt). These regions were combined to form the province Hesse-Nassau in 1868 with its capital in Kassel and redivided into two administrative regions: Kassel and

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

. The largest part of the province surrounded the province of Upper Hesse in the Grand Duchy of Hesse ( People's State of Hesse from 1918). On 1 April 1929, the Free State of Waldeck became a part of Hesse-Nassau after a popular vote, becoming part of the Kassel administrative region. In 1935, the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

government ''de facto'' abolished all states, so the provinces held little meaning. Nevertheless, effective 1 July 1944, Hesse-Nassau was split into the provinces of Kurhessen (capital in Kassel) and

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

(capital in

). In 1945, after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, these two provinces were re-merged and combined with most of the neighbouring People's State of Hesse to form Greater Hesse, which became the modern state of

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are ...

in 1946. Parts of Nassau were also moved into the Rhineland-Palatinate.

Oberpräsidents

The Oberpräsident (or "High Commissioner") was the chief administrator of a Prussian province, appointed by the King on the advice of the Prussian

Minister for the Interior Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

. The Oberpräsident administered the province with the assistance of a Prussian government-appointed provincial council.

Insignia

The flag of Hesse-Nassau is identical to that of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The Dutch royal house originates from the Duchy of Nassau. The coat of arms is split into three parts, each part showing the coats of arms for the three entities that formed Hesse-Nassau: * a crowned, silver/red-striped lion on a blue background (Electorate of Hesse) * a crowned, golden lion on a blue field strewn with

billets A billet is a living-quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, a billet was a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier. Soldiers are generally billeted in barracks or garrisons when not on combat duty, alt ...

(Duchy of Nassau) * a silver eagle with golden talons on a red background (Free City of Frankfurt) Hessen Nassau 1905

{{Authority control Former states and territories of Rhineland-Palatinate Former states and territories of Hesse 1868 establishments in Prussia 1944 disestablishments in Germany