German History Timeline & FactsThe Celts and Ancient History Bronze and Iron Age - The ancient culture of the Celts had settled in many European countries including Austria, Britain, France, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Western Germany, Northern Spain, Turkey and Hungary Click the following link for details of the ancient Celts History Timeline & Facts Concise German Facts, History & Timeline As a Nation State, the united country of Germany did not exist until 1871 and prior to this was made up of individual territories 800 - 900's - The reign of Charlemagne and his descendents 870 - Formation of the duchies of Franconia, Saxony, Bavaria and Lorraine 919 - 1024 The Saxon dynasty rule Germany 1024-1255 - The Salian dynasty 1096 - The first Crusade 1138 -1254 - The Hohenstaufen dynasty 1273 - Rudolf of Hapsburg crowned king of Germany 1348-1352 - The Plague ("black death") 1499 - Switzerland broke away from the empire 1517 - Luther initiated the Reformation 1546-1547 - Emperor Charles V defeats the Protestant princes and allies 1555 - The Peace of Augsburg (the princes henceforth determine the religion of their territories) 1618 - 1648 The Thirty Years War ending with the Peace of Westphalia 1701 - Frederick crowned the first king of Prussia 1740 - 1748 The War of Austrian Succession 1806 - The Confederation of the Rhine was established by Napoleon 1806 - Prussia declared war on France and was defeated by Napoleon 1813 - The Prussians helped defeat Napoleon at Leipzig 1814-1815 - The Congress of Vienna established the German Confederation of 39 independent German states 1815 - Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo 1862 - Otto von Bismarck was appointed the prime minister of Prussia 1870 - Franco-Prussian War 1871 January - Germany captures Paris 1871 18 January - Wilhelm I was crowned the first Kaiser of the German Empire uniting the German states into one country 1914 28 June - Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina provoking WW1 August 1914 - Germany declared war on Russia and France. The United Kingdom declared war on Germany 9 November 1918 Germany was declared a republic 11 November 1918 - The Treaty of Versailles ended World War I and the Rhineland was placed under Allied occupation for 15 years 19 January 1919 - A national assembly meets in Weimar to write a new German The Constitution - called the Weimar Republic 1923 - The National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazis) attempt an unsuccessful armed rebellion led by Adolf Hitler 1933 - Hindenburg appointed Hitler as the chancellor and Nazi Germany begin persecuting Jews 1934 - Hitler declares himself der Fuhrer his Nazi German government is called the Third Reich 10 April 1938 - Germany annexes Austria 16 March 1939 - Germany occupies Czechoslovakia 1 September 1939 - Germany invades Poland which starts World War II 1940 - Germany captures Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Luxembourg. The Allies including Russia, UK and USA retaliate 30 April 1945 Hitler commits suicide August 1945 The United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 7 May 1945 - Germany surrenders June 1945 - Germany divided into four zones of military occupation (United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union) May 1949 - The Allies approve a constitution for western Germany (Federal Republic of Germany) and East Germany adopts a Communist-prepared constitution October 1949 - The German Democratic Republic was formed (East Germany) 5 May 1955 - West Germany obtains independence August 1961 - The Berlin Wall was built 9 November 1989 - The Berlin Wall was demolished and Communist East Germans were able to travel to the West 3 October 1990 - East and West Germany was reunited. Click the following link for details of the ancient Celts History Timeline & Facts German History Time line |