States of the German Empire

The German Empire was a federation of 25 constituent states plus the imperial territory of Alsace–Lorraine. The states were the successors of the over 300 individual political entities of numerous types and sizes that had existed under the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. They were consolidated during the Napoleonic Wars of 1803–1815 and then again through the process of German unification (1866–1871).

The Constitution of the German Empire was strongly federal. It left most matters concerning administration, justice, schools, churches, election laws and finance to the states. The Empire's upper house, the Bundesrat, consisted of members appointed by the states to represent their interests in parliament.

The Empire's federalism was maintained in its successor state, the Weimar Republic, and in today's Federal Republic of Germany.

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