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Grand Duchy of Frankfurt | |
|---|---|
| 1810–1813 | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
.svg) The Grand Duchy of Frankfurt (green) in 1812 | |
| Status | Client state of theFrench Empire |
| Capital | Aschaffenburg |
| Government | Absolute monarchy |
| Grand Duke | |
• 1810–1813 | Karl von Dalberg |
• 1813 | Eugène de Beauharnais |
| Historical era | Napoleonic Wars |
• Established | 16 February 1810 |
• Disestablished | December 1813 |
| Area | |
• Total | 5,160 km2 (1,990 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• | 302,000 |
TheGrand Duchy of Frankfurt was a Germansatellite state of Napoleonic creation. It came into existence in 1810 through the combination of the former territories of theArchbishopric of Mainz along with theFree City of Frankfurt itself.
Frankfurt lost its status as afree imperial city in 1806 with the dissolution of theHoly Roman Empire. The city was granted to the former archbishop of Mainz,Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg, and became thePrincipality of Frankfurt. When Dalberg was forced by Napoleon to relinquish hisPrincipality of Regensburg to theKingdom of Bavaria in 1810, his remaining territories ofAschaffenburg,Wetzlar,Fulda,Hanau, and Frankfurt were combined into the new Grand Duchy of Frankfurt.[1]
Although the grand duchy was named after Frankfurt, the city was administered by French commissioners while Dalberg resided in the city ofAschaffenburg. According to the constitution of the grand duchy, upon Dalberg's death, the state would be inherited byNapoleon's stepson,Eugène de Beauharnais.
Dalberg abdicated in favour of Eugène on 26 October 1813, following Napoleon's defeat at theBattle of Leipzig. The grand duchy ceased to exist after December 1813, when the city was occupied by allied troops. While Frankfurt itself once again became a free city, most of the territory of the grand duchy was ultimately annexed by the Kingdom of Bavaria.
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