威斯特法伦王国

国徽

王国的国徽反映了各被合并的领土。左上角展示了象征威斯特法伦的银色马；右上角的三只黑森狮子象征迪茨、尼达与卡岑奈伦博根三县；左下角展示象征着新规划，并未正式命名、马德堡附近一带的地区；而右下角则象征布伦瑞克、迪普霍尔茨、吕讷堡和罗德堡四城。

在盾的四周是威斯特法伦的王冠和代表法国的大鹰。上方是代表拿破仑的一颗星。交叉的权杖是拿破仑纹章的特征。

其他连结

• 威斯特法伦王国
• 2008年黑森国家展览

The Kingdom of Westphalia was a client state of France in present-day Germany that existed from 1807 to 1813. While formally independent, it was ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte. It was named after Westphalia, but this was a misnomer since the kingdom had little territory in common with that area. The region mostly covered territory formerly known as Eastphalia.

Napoleon imposed the first written modern constitution in Germany, a French-style central administration, and agricultural reform. The kingdom liberated the serfs and gave everyone equal rights and the right to a jury trial. In 1808 the kingdom passed Germany's first laws granting Jews equal rights, thereby providing a model for reform in the other German states. Westphalia seemed to be progressive in immediately enacting and enforcing the new reforms.

The country was relatively poor but Napoleon demanded heavy taxes and payments and conscripted soldiers. Few of the men who marched into Russia with Napoleon in 1812 returned. The kingdom was bankrupt by 1812. When Napoleon was retreating in the face of Allied advances in 1813, the kingdom was overrun by the Allies and (in 1815) most of its territories became Prussian. Most of the reforms, however, remained in place.

Formation

The Kingdom of Westphalia was created by Napoleon in 1807 by merging territories ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia in the Peace of Tilsit (including the Altmark, the part of the Duchy of Magdeburg west of the Elbe river, Paderborn, Hildesheim), the territories of Hanover, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, and the Electorate of Hesse.……

Territory

On its creation, the Kingdom of Westphalia comprised the following territories:

The Electorate of Hesse-Cassel, with Schaumburg, excluding Hanau, Schmalkalden and Catzenellnbogen;

The principalities of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Hildesheim, Halberstadt, Quedlinbourg, Osnabrück, Paderborn and Minden;

The counties of Mansfeld, Stolberg, Ravensberg, Rietberg and Hohnstein;

The cities of Halle, Goslar, Mühlhausen and Nordhausen;

Jews

Following the French example, Jewish congregations in the Kingdom of Westphalia were reorganised under a central administrative body, and a Royal Westphalian Consistory of the Israelites was established to supervise Jewish religious life. The Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel court financier and reformer Israel Jacobson was appointed president of the consistory, assisted by a governing board. Jacobson sought to promote religious reform among Jewish communities in the kingdom.……

Downfall

A significant burden on the kingdom was the requirement to supply troops and financial support for the Napoleonic Wars. A Westphalian contingent took part in the Russian campaign of 1812. King Jérôme initially had a key role as the commander of the right wing for the invasion, but was reprimanded by Napoleon for his poor performance at the Battle of Smolensk, so he abandoned his command and returned to Westphalia.……

Coat of arms

The arms reflect the incorporated territories. The first quarter shows the silver horse of Westphalia; the second the lion of Hesse over the counties of Dietz, Nidda, Ziegenhain and Katzenelnbogen; the third was newly designed for non-specified territories around Magdeburg; and the fourth combined Brunswick, Diepholz, Lüneburg and Lauterburg.Around the shield are the Order of the Crown of Westphalia and the French Grand Aigle of the Légion d'honneur.……

Flag

In 1808, court architect Peter Joseph Krahe produced a design for a flag to be flown at the ducal palace in Braunschweig that depicts a white–blue field with royal emblems, offering contemporary evidence that Westphalia used white and blue as state colours—at least for official building display. The draft describes the flag as being identical to the royal flag, but without the imperial eagle.