Territories and Citizenship
In Baltic German settlement patterns, the Baltic area consisted of the following territories:
- Estland (Latin: Estonia; Estonian: Eestimaa), roughly the northern half of present-day Estonia; major towns: Reval (Tallinn), Narva (Narva), Wesenberg (Rakvere), Weissenstein (Paide), Hapsal (Haapsalu).
- Livland (Latin: Livonia; Estonian: Liivimaa; Latvian: Vidzeme), roughly the southern half of present-day Estonia and the northern and eastern part of today's Latvia (Vidzeme); major towns: Riga, Wenden (Cēsis), Wolmar (Valmiera), Walk (Valga and Valka), Dorpat (Tartu), Pernau (Pärnu), Fellin (Viljandi).
- Kurland (Latin: Curonia; also English: Courland; Latvian: Kurzeme), roughly the western half of present-day Latvia (Kurzeme and Zemgale); major towns: Mitau (Jelgava), Windau (Ventspils), Libau (Liepāja).
- Ösel (the island of Saaremaa) belonging to present-day Estonia; major town: Arensburg (Kuressaare).
Incorrectly, ethnic Germans from East Prussia are sometimes considered Baltic German for reasons of cultural, linguistic, and historical affinities. However, the Germans of East Prussia held Prussian, and after 1871, German citizenship because the territory they lived in was part of Prussia. From 1871 onwards, East Prussia became part of the newly formed unified German state, also known as the German Reich.
However, the Baltic Germans held citizenship of the Russian Empire until 1918 and Estonian or Latvian citizenship 1918–1939.
Read more about this topic: Baltic Germans
Famous quotes containing the words territories and/or citizenship:
“For my part, I feel that with regard to Nature I live a sort of border life, on the confines of a world into which I make occasional and transient forays only, and my patriotism and allegiance to the state into whose territories I seem to retreat are those of a moss-trooper.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Bohemia is nothing more than the little country in which you do not live. If you try to obtain citizenship in it, at once the court and retinue pack the royal archives and treasure and move away beyond the hills.”
—O. Henry [William Sydney Porter] (1862–1910)