Hesse-Nassau was created as a consequence of the
Austro-Prussian War of 1866 by combining the previously independent
Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel), the
Duchy of Nassau, the
Free City of Frankfurt, areas gained from the
Kingdom of Bavaria, and areas gained from the
Grand Duchy of Hesse (including part of the former Landgraviate of
Hesse-Homburg from Hesse-Darmstadt). These regions were combined to form the province Hesse-Nassau in 1868 with its capital in
Kassel and redivided into two administrative regions:
Kassel and
Wiesbaden. The largest part of the province surrounded the province of
Upper Hesse in the Grand Duchy of Hesse (
People's State of Hesse from 1918). On 1 April 1929, the
Free State of Waldeck became a part of Hesse-Nassau after a popular vote, becoming part of the Kassel administrative region. In 1935, the
Nazi government
de facto abolished all states, so the provinces held little meaning. Nevertheless, effective 1 July 1944, Hesse-Nassau was split into the provinces of
Kurhessen (capital in Kassel) and
Nassau (capital in
Wiesbaden). On 19 September 1945, after the end of
World War II, these two provinces were re-merged and combined with most of the neighbouring
People's State of Hesse to form
Greater Hesse, which became the modern state of
Hesse in 1946. Parts of Nassau were also moved into the
Rhineland-Palatinate. ====