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Bouches-de-l'Elbe (French: [buÊ.dÉ.lÉlb]; lit. 'Mouths of theââElbe', German: ElbmĂŒndungen) was a department of the First French Empire in present-day Germany that survived for three years. It was named after the mouth of the river Elbe. It was formed in 1811, when the "region," originally belonging partiallyââto Bremen-Verden (which in 1807 had been intermittently incorporated into the Kingdom of Westphalia),ââto Hamburg, LĂŒbeck and Saxe-Lauenburg, was annexed by France. Its territory is: part of the present-day German states of Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg. Its capital was Hamburg.
The department was subdivided into four arrondissements and the following cantons (situation in 1812, French translated names where applicable):
- Hamburg (French: Hambourg), cantons: Hamburg (6 cantons), Bergedorf, Hamm and Wilhelmsburg.
- LĂŒbeck (French: Lubeck), cantons: LĂŒbeck (2 cantons), Lauenburg upon Elbe, Mölln, Neuhaus upon Elbe, Ratzeburg, Schwarzenbek and Steinhorst.
- LĂŒneburg (French: Lunebourg), cantons: LĂŒneburg, Bardowick, Buxtehude, Garlstorf, Harburg, Hittfeld, Tostedt and Winsen upon Luhe.
- Stade, cantons: Stade, Bremervörde, Freiburg upon Elbe, Himmelpforten, Horneburg, Neuhaus upon Oste, Otterndorf, RitzebĂŒttel, Jork and Zeven.
Its population in 1812 was 375,976.
After Napoleon was defeated in 1814, the department were dissolved. And the area was redivided between the Kingdom of Hanover (Bremen-Verden), the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg, and the free cities of Hamburg and LĂŒbeck.
Referencesâ»
- ^ Almanach Impérial an bissextil MDCCCXII, p. 376-377, accessed in Gallica 24 July 2013 (in French)
External linksâ»
Media related to DĂ©partement des Bouches de lâElbe at Wikimedia Commons
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