Province of Saxony
The Province of Saxony (), also known as Prussian Saxony () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg. It was formed by the merger of various territories ceded or returned to Prussia in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna: most of the former northern territories of the Kingdom of Saxony (the remainder of which became part of Brandenburg or Silesia), the former French Principality of Erfurt, the Duchy of Magdeburg, the Altmark, the Principality of Halberstadt, and some other districts. The province was  bounded by the Electorate of Hesse (the province of Hesse-Nassau after 1866), the Kingdom of Hanover (the province of Hanover after 1866) and the Duchy of Brunswick to the west, Hanover (again) to the north, Brandenburg to the north and east, Silesia to the south-east, and the rump kingdom of Saxony and the small Ernestine duchies to the south. Its shape was very irregular and it entirely surrounded enclaves of Brunswick and some of the Ernestine duchies. It also possessed several exclaves, and was almost entirely bisected by the Duchy of Anhalt save for a small corridor of  land around Aschersleben (which itself bisected Anhalt). The river Havel ran along the north-eastern border with Brandenburg north of Plaue but did not follow the border exactly. The majority of the population was Protestant, with a Catholic minority (about 8% as of 1905) considered part of the diocese of Paderborn. The province sent 20 members to the Reichstag and 38 delegates to the Prussian House of Representatives (). History. Early history. The province was created in 1816 out of the following territories: Later history. The Province of Saxony was one of the richest regions of Prussia, with highly developed agriculture  and industry. In 1932, the province was enlarged with the addition of the regions around Ilfeld and Elbingerode, which had previously been part of the Province of Hanover. On 1 July 1944, the Province of Saxony was divided along the lines of its three administrative regions. The Erfurt was merged with the Schmalkalden district of the Province of Hesse-Nassau and given to the state of Thuringia. The Magdeburg became the Province of Magdeburg, and the Merseburg became the Province of Halle-Merseburg. In 1945, the Soviet military administration combined Magdeburg and Halle-Merseburg with the State of Anhalt into  the Province of Saxony-Anhalt, with Halle as its capital. The eastern part of the Blankenburg exclave of Brunswick and the Thuringian exclave of Allstedt were also added to Saxony-Anhalt. In 1947, Saxony-Anhalt became a state. The East German states, including Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt, were abolished in 1952, but they were recreated as part of the reunification of Germany in 1990 (with some slight border changes; in particular territories around Torgau, which were part of Saxony-Anhalt between 1945 and 1952, passed to Saxony) as modern states of Germany. Subdivisions. Prior to 1944, the province of Saxony  was divided into three "". In 1945, only the provinces of Magdeburg and Halle-Merseburg were re-merged. Urban districts () Rural districts () Urban districts () Rural districts () Urban districts () Rural districts ()