Year | Event | Discussion | |
---|---|---|---|
500BC | People of Celtic Origin | The people of what is now Nordrhein - Westfalen were Celtic. They smelted ore and forged swords. | |
200BC | German Tribes | The Celtic people were displaced by German Tribes who carried on with the craft and skills of ironworking. The Cimbri and Teuton tribes began a migration southward from their northern homeland, now Denmark and Sweden, probably because of the encroachment on their land by the sea. They fought their way against the Romans into France and, in 102BC, a Roman army led by Marius defeated them an pushed them across the Rhine River. The Teutons consisted of the Alamanni, Cherusci, Saxons, Frisians, Jutes, Goths, Vandals, Ostrogoths, Visgoths, Angles and Franks amoung others. | |
49BC | Roman Occupation | The Rhineland is occupied by the troups of Julius Caesar. Intensive sellement and cultural change begins. | |
ABT 0 | Vetra I | Vetra I, the first military fortress was established on the Fürstenberg as a base for the conquest of Germany east of the Rhine. | |
9 | The Battle of
Teutoburger Wald |
The Germanic Cherusci tribe led by Arminius (Hermann) wiped out three Roman legions. | |
69 | Vetera II | During the revolt of the Batavians Vetera I was destroyed. The new fortress, Vetera II was established at a new site. A legion was stationed there until at least 270. | |
98 | Germania | Tacitus publishes Germania, the first historical work describing the Germanic Tribes. | |
ABT 100 | COLONIA ULPIA
TRAIANA |
The Vetera II civilian settelment was elevated to a colony (Xanten) Also COLONIA CLAUDIA ARA AGRIPPINESIUM (Köln) was established. | |
ABT 200 | Saxons Invade | Saxons pushed their way into the area between the Rhein and Wesser rivers. They came from the Cimbrian penninsula. Other tribes joined them either voluntarily or by compuslion. They formed a large confederation which became known as Saxons. They were divided into three main groups: Wespphalians (Westfalen), Angrians (Engern) and Eastphalians (Ostfalen). | |
700 | Westphalians Settle | The Westphalians who had settled in the area of the Ems and Hunte rivers, spread south almost as far as Cologne. | |
768 | Charlemagne, King | Becomes king of the Franks. | |
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| | |
772 | Saxon Wars | The Franks considered the Saxon tribes to be devil worshipers and fierce. There were murders and thefts. Therefore, the Franks waged war against the Saxons. The Westphalians resisted the Frank advance and the region retained its identity in spite of the rise of the more powerful aggregated Saxon stem duchy. |
| | 800 | Charlemagne | Crowned by Pope Leo III. |
|
32 |
804 | Saxon Wars End | The subjecton to Carolingian rule brought about the partition of the land into Counties (Grafschaften). |
1077 | Henry IV Submits | In the struggle between emperor and church King Henry IV is obliged to go to Canossa and submit to Pope Gregory VII. | |
1079 | Siegen First Mentioned | It was mentioned in a record along with some other surrounding communities. | |
ABT 1100 | Westphalia | The distinction between Westphalians and Angrians fell into disuse and all Saxony west of the Wesser River became known as Westphalia. | |
1180 | Dutchy of Westphalia | The archbishops of Cologne received Westphalia as a duchy, confined mainly to the area just north of Cologne. Numerous other political entities were formed around it: Bishoprics of Münster, Paderborn, Osnabrück, and Minden; countships of Waldeck, Schaumburg, Lippe, Ravensberg and Mark (with Limburg); the imperial city of Dortmund; and the Abby of Essen. | |
1190 | Frederick I Dies | Emperor Frederick I Barbarosa dies in Asia Minor on the Third Crusade. | |
1224 | Siegen the Town | Siegen officially embodied as a town. | |
1226 | Teutonic Order | The Teutoic Order of Knights establishes itself in Prussia. | |
1273 | Habsburg Rule | The election of Rudolph I, first Habsburg emperor. | |
1348 | First German University | Founded by Charles IV in Prague. | |
1356 | Golden Bull | Charles IV promulgates the Golden Bull, whereby seven electors will choose the emperor. | |
1456 | Bible | The Gutenberg Bible is printed. | |
1512 | Kreis Westfalen | the Lower Rhine-Westphalian circle (Kreis) was formed. | |
1517 | Lutheranism Sprouts | Martin Luther posts his 95 theses on the door of castle church in Wittenburg. | |
1521 | Luther Outlawed | His writings are banned by the Edict of Worms. He takes refuge in the Wartburg Castle, where he translates the New Testament . | |
1555 | Peace of Augsburg | Sanctions the co-existance of Roman Catholicism and Protestantism in the German Empire. The following year Charles V abdicates. | |
ABT1600 | Hohenzollern Influence | In the early part of the 17th century Hohenzollern rulers of Brandenburg - Prussia begin gaining territories in Westphalia. | |
1613 | Houses of Stuart and Lorraine United | Fredrick of the Palatinate married Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of James I of England. | |
1618 | Thirty Years War Begins | Fredrick of the Palatinate accepts the crown of Bohemia, offered to him by that countries rebellious nobles. He seems to have had "Rosecrucian" influence incurring the wrath of the Holy Roman Empire. Ferdinand II (1619 - 1637) strengthened by the Catholic Reformation fought against Protestant forces in the Empire. | |
1648 | Thirty Years War Ends | Over 300,000 had been killed in battle. Millions died of malnutrition and disease. Wandering troups robbed, burned and looted. | |
1677 | William Penn Visits | He visited the Palatinate and encouraged the people to go to Pennsylvania where there was religous freedom. | |
1701 | Kingdom of Prussia | The Electoral prince of Brandenburg proclaims his realm the Kingdom of Prussia. | |
1756 | Seven Years War Begins | Prussia is under Fredrick the Great. | |
1763 | Seven Years War Ends | Prussia emerges as a major European power. | |
1700's | German Settlements in Virginia | In the late 1700's Germans had settled on the land which is Lovettsville, VA and built a German Reformed Church. | |
1775 | American Revolution
Begins |
German settlers arrived from Pennsylvania between 1745 and 1760. A group of Loudoun residents met in Leesburg in 1774 which adoped the "Loudoun Resolves" and protested the Stamp Act. A number of Loudoun residents fought in the war. | |
1783 | American Revolution
Ends |
||
1803 | Acquisitions of Westphalia | Hohenzollerns acquire Paderborn and most of Münster; Hesse - Darmstadt acquires Cologne's part of Westphalia; Hanover acquires Onsabrück; Oldenburg acquires the remainder of Münster. | |
1806 | War of 1812 Begins | Napolean excludes British goods from "fortress Europe". American ships are
caught in the middle as the British respond with a blockade. The British seize
1000 US ships and the French about 500.
Napleon assigns most of traditional Westphalia to the Grand Duchy of Berg. |
|
1815 | War of 1812 Ends | The Congress of Vienna restored most of old Westphalia to Prussia which then
established a province of Westphalia with its capital at Münster. Lippe and
Waldeck remained under soverign princes. The west-bank (Rhine) posessions were
joined with Prussia's east-bank possesions to form Rheinprovinz (Rhine Province)
in 1824
The Battle of New Orleans: Jackson's forces defeat the British. 700 British were killed, 1400 wounded. US losses were 8 killed, 13 wounded. |
|
1820 | Streets of Lovettvile | The street plans were laid out by Daniel Lovett after whom it was named. It was also called Thrushers Store and New Town. | |
1824 | Rheinprovinz | A new Palatinate was constituted for Bavaria. Northwest of this were some exclaves of other German states and northwest of these, the whole left (west) bank as far as Kleve, together with Jülich and Aachen in the west and Trier and Saarlouis in the south, became Prussian and were united with Prussia's other possessions on the right bank to form Rheinprovinz. | |
1861 | American Civil War
Begins |
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1865 | American Civil War
Ends |
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1866 | Seven Weeks War | With Austria, removed from leadership in the Germanic states. The North German Confederation was established; all German lands north of the Main River. It is at this point that we have German lands rather than Germanic provinces, states, duchies, etc. | |
1871 | German Empire | Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismark orchestrated the unification of the Northern German Confederation with the southern Germanic states to develop the German Empire. What was Prussia accounted for two thirds of the Empire's size and population. German identity to a large part became Prussian identity. | |
1914 | World War I Begins | ||
1918 | World War I Ends | The German Empire was forced to give up the Danzig Corridor (western part of Prussia) to Poland. | |
1939 | World War II Begins | Berlin becomes Hitler's Nazi headquarters which was consiquently blitzed by the Allies. | |
1945 | World War II Ends | ||
1946 | Nordrhein- Westfalen is Created | The British government combines the former Prussian Provences of Westfalen and Rheinprovinz into a new protectorite on August 23. The principality of Lippe-Detmold was added six months later. | |
1947 | The End of Prussia | The Allied Control Council officially proclaimed the dissolution of Prussia. | |
1949 | Northrhein-Westfalen becomes a State | Nordrhein-Westfalen is now a member state of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). | |
1991 | Germany united | Nordrhein-Westfalen now a State (Land) of Germany. |