How Did Each German State Get Its Name?

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 27 чер 2024
  • 🌏 Get NordVPN 2Y plan + 4 months free here ➼ nordvpn.com/knowledge It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! ✌
    ▶ In this video, I explore the fascinating etymology (name origin and meaning) of Germany's 16 states, diving into the origins of their names and the historical and linguistic influences behind them. From Berlin’s Slavic roots to Bavaria’s connection to the Celtic tribe Boii, and from the medieval mystery of Württemberg to the Roman-influenced Rhineland-Palatinate - among many more!
    ▶ TIMESTAMPS:
    00:00 Germany's States & Their Differences
    00:55 Berlin
    01:31 Bayern / Bavaria
    02:05 Niedersachsen / Lower Saxony
    02:36 Baden-Württemberg
    03:24 Rheinland-Pfalz / Rhineland-Palatinate
    04:00 Sachsen / Saxony
    05:45 Thüringen / Thuringia
    06:26 Hessen
    06:48 Nordrhein-Westfalen / North Rhine-Westphalia
    07:36 Sachsen-Anhalt / Saxony-Anhalt
    08:19 Brandenburg
    08:54 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
    10:07 Hamburg
    10:47 Schleswig-Holstein
    11:30 Saarland
    12:03 Bremen
    12:28 Summary
    ▶ A special thank you to my Patrons: Jeffrey F, Kris Rizakis, Sebastian Karlo, Señor Valasco, Yasin Chaykh, Stuart Tunstead, Chaim laser, Robinhio84, Rogaine Ablar, The Wanton Dogfish, Yeti, Elizabeth Per, Juan Rodriguez Forero, Lastmatix, Kalvin Saccal, Ahmed Alkooheji, Steve the Goat, KR, Ryan Keith, Ryan McMurry, Richard Hartzell.
    Support me on Patreon & get exclusive / ahead of time content! / generalknowledge
    ▶ Follow me on Twitter: / gkonyoutube
    ▶ Join the Discord Server: / discord
    ▶ Business Contact: gilfamc@gmail.com
    ▶ Thanks for watching, remember to subscribe to catch future videos!

КОМЕНТАРІ • 606

  • @General.Knowledge
    @General.Knowledge  Місяць тому +145

    *Guys, so sorry about the wrong thumbnail and description at first! There was a mix up because I uploaded a few videos at once for scheduling. Fixed it now!*

    • @pera1
      @pera1 Місяць тому +4

      How is bavar not from avar ( the turkic tribes who settled in bavaria)? Cow or warrior or whatever? Come onnnn

    • @eliplayz22
      @eliplayz22 Місяць тому +1

      It’s alright

    • @jdsStopMotionStudio3533
      @jdsStopMotionStudio3533 Місяць тому +4

      I thought I was having a stroke when I saw the thumbnail and the title

    • @stayfaded69
      @stayfaded69 Місяць тому +1

      We r here to help u correct it lol first 10 mins lol keep up the good work. I was confused by the title and thumbnail lol

    • @accdiabolus
      @accdiabolus Місяць тому +1

      And I always thought that Brandenburg goes back to the Margraviate of Brandenburg and thus to the city of Brandenburg.

  • @justtheilluminativ282
    @justtheilluminativ282 Місяць тому +487

    Tell me more about the great German state of West Virginia

  • @Markothedreamer
    @Markothedreamer Місяць тому +525

    The thumbnail is wrong i think

    • @L17_8
      @L17_8 Місяць тому +1

      Jesus loves you ❤️ Please repent and turn to Him and receive Salvation before it is too late. The end times written about in the Bible are already happening in the world. Jesus is the son of God and He died for our sins on the cross and God raised Him from the dead on the third day. Jesus is waiting for you with open arms but time is running out. Please repent and turn to Him before it is too late. Accept Jesus into your heart and invite Him to be Lord and Saviour of your life and confess and believe that Jesus is Lord, that He died for your sins on the cross and that God raised Him from the dead. Confess that you are a sinner in need of God's Grace and ask God to forgive you for all your sins through Jesus.
      Jesus loves you. Nothing can compare to how He loves you. When He hung on that cross, He thought of you. As they tore open His back, He thought of your prayer time with Him. As the thorns dug into His head, He thought of you spending time reading the Bible. As the spears went into His side, He imagined embracing you in heaven. Please repent and turn to Jesus now before it's too late. He longs to be with you but time is running out.

    • @berryquest7683
      @berryquest7683 Місяць тому +7

      It’s right 😂

    • @stayfaded69
      @stayfaded69 Місяць тому +14

      It's not.

    • @Donald_Trump_2024
      @Donald_Trump_2024 Місяць тому +2

      most probably

    • @Jehan-David_de_Saint_Mars
      @Jehan-David_de_Saint_Mars Місяць тому +2

      The timestamps also

  • @davidmorris8319
    @davidmorris8319 Місяць тому +150

    "With Nord VPN you can browse the internet as if you were in germany".
    Me, german: "interesting"

    • @thelvadam2884
      @thelvadam2884 Місяць тому +7

      das ist aber interessant !

    • @maximkretsch7134
      @maximkretsch7134 28 днів тому +6

      If they only knew about internet speed in Germany...

    • @thelvadam2884
      @thelvadam2884 28 днів тому

      @@maximkretsch7134 i love in the lands and have 1Gbits/s ezzz

    • @wookie2222
      @wookie2222 26 днів тому

      @@maximkretsch7134 That was also my first thought - and it's somehow fitting, how we both post our comments days after the upload.

  • @Hans-Redlef
    @Hans-Redlef Місяць тому +176

    9:44 Vorpommern doesn't mean close to Pomerania. It instead is an abbrevation for Vorderpommern which means "the Pomerania in the front". The other part east of the Oder river, in Poland, is referred to as Hinterpommern meaning "the Pomerania in the back". This refers to the fact that germans moved into the region in the middle ages from the west and Vorpommern was the part of Pomerania which was just in front of them and Hinterpommern was further away in the back.

    • @General.Knowledge
      @General.Knowledge  Місяць тому +12

      Thanks for the correction!

    • @Argacyan
      @Argacyan Місяць тому +8

      In literature it's usually translated as Hither- & Farther Pomerania into English. Some authors suggests it has nothing to do with eastwards migration, but with the political division of Pomerania into & by multiple political entities (before the Cold War annexation of much of Pomerania into Poland).

    • @Vracka
      @Vracka Місяць тому +3

      Stettin (today Szczecin) and the river Oder divided pomerania in Vorder- and Hinterpommern. This division was made just for geographical/tactical reasons as the Oder mouth and Stettin were strategically important, with the city controlling trade in the region and acting as garnison to enforce the territorial claims.
      And since that part, with all it's worth, was given to Poland in 1945 the name "Vorderpommern" as a description of the german part of pomerania would have been (historically) wrong, hence the new word "Vorpommern".

    • @Vracka
      @Vracka Місяць тому

      And I just noticed that Vorderpommern lost the letters "der" as well as the river O"der" so it actually fits pretty well.^^

    • @wolfgangpagel6989
      @wolfgangpagel6989 23 дні тому

      @@Vracka Just that Poland 1945 got also a major chunk of Vorpommern including the capital.

  • @katofffel4387
    @katofffel4387 Місяць тому +72

    7:00 north rhine doesnt refer to the region north of the rhine river, but the region around the northern part of the rhine river

    • @eizzah8323
      @eizzah8323 Місяць тому +3

      Ye in French it's called Rhénanie du Nord - Westphalie which would be called Northern Rheinland - Westphalia

    • @aphextwin5712
      @aphextwin5712 Місяць тому +6

      To add more detail, after Napoleon got kicked out, roughly speaking the areas west of the Rhine were given to Prussia, which created a “Rhine province” out of them. After WW II, the Northern part of that province fell into the British zone and the Southern half into the French zone. The British then combined their Northern half with the “province” of Westphalia into North Rhine-Westphalia.

  • @myrinsk
    @myrinsk Місяць тому +178

    looks like someone made an oopsie with the thumbnail

    • @L17_8
      @L17_8 Місяць тому +1

      Jesus loves you ❤️ Please repent and turn to Him and receive Salvation before it is too late. The end times written about in the Bible are already happening in the world. Jesus is the son of God and He died for our sins on the cross and God raised Him from the dead on the third day. Jesus is waiting for you with open arms but time is running out. Please repent and turn to Him before it is too late. Accept Jesus into your heart and invite Him to be Lord and Saviour of your life and confess and believe that Jesus is Lord, that He died for your sins on the cross and that God raised Him from the dead. Confess that you are a sinner in need of God's Grace and ask God to forgive you for all your sins through Jesus.
      Jesus loves you. Nothing can compare to how He loves you. When He hung on that cross, He thought of you. As they tore open His back, He thought of your prayer time with Him. As the thorns dug into His head, He thought of you spending time reading the Bible. As the spears went into His side, He imagined embracing you in heaven. Please repent and turn to Jesus now before it's too late. He longs to be with you but time is running out.

    • @General.Knowledge
      @General.Knowledge  Місяць тому +16

      it was me, I was the someone

    • @needfoolthings
      @needfoolthings Місяць тому +1

      It engages discussion, thus traffic, thus clout, thus revenue.
      Guess it worked.

    • @Kuzul_
      @Kuzul_ Місяць тому

      Have you evolved a proper digestive system yet?

    • @myrinsk
      @myrinsk Місяць тому

      @@Kuzul_ mayhaps

  • @Marvlouso
    @Marvlouso Місяць тому +95

    Here before the thumbnail changes

  • @TainakaRicchan
    @TainakaRicchan Місяць тому +42

    "Vor" doesnt mean "near" but "in front of", but can also mean "the front part" (vorderteil), from wich it actuall takes its name. The whoel region was/is known as "pommern" with the part west of the Oder(Which today is the border between germany and polan) known as "vorpommern" and the part east of the Oder knwon as "hinterpommern"

  • @Ernexor
    @Ernexor Місяць тому +28

    According to the history of Hamburg, the name originates from the Hammaburg which was a small village since the early 9th century. Ham or Hamme means "marsh area by the river" in old saxon and a Burg is a fortified area as mentioned correctly in die video.

    • @christ2381
      @christ2381 Місяць тому +2

      This is an older theory. Most historians prefer the one mentioned in the video.

  • @mohemida
    @mohemida Місяць тому +175

    Everybody's talking wrong thumbnail but nobody's talking about timestamps

    • @lazergaming5652
      @lazergaming5652 Місяць тому +4

      And the description.

    • @General.Knowledge
      @General.Knowledge  Місяць тому +25

      Fixed both now! Really sorry for the mistake.

    • @mohemida
      @mohemida Місяць тому +7

      @@General.Knowledge
      Just joking man it was an honest mistake and a great video nevertheless ❤️

    • @Donald_Trump_2024
      @Donald_Trump_2024 Місяць тому +1

      @@General.Knowledge ey man it happens

  • @afjo972
    @afjo972 Місяць тому +23

    0:17 the dots on top of the Ä are not decoration. Ä is not pronounced like the English A in apple

    • @jestemqiqi7647
      @jestemqiqi7647 28 днів тому +4

      Absolutely. His pronunciation is terrible. „Badem-Wudimbörk“ oder „Asargrod“ (Harzgerode)😅

    • @afjo972
      @afjo972 23 дні тому +2

      @@jestemqiqi7647It was painful

  • @NeverEverClever
    @NeverEverClever Місяць тому +25

    While Berlin - Bär connection is indeed folk etymology, the crest with the bear might stem from Albert of the House of Askanier, the first margrave of brandenburg. His nickname was "the bear". I think, the most likely explanation is that the place was called "Berlin" as "swamp" by the slavic people and the new german settlers took it to mean "little bear" and built the city there and named it that way to also honor Albert. The crest could thus stem from a "fortunate" translation error.

    • @General.Knowledge
      @General.Knowledge  Місяць тому +1

      Hadn't found that explanation! It makes a lot of sense, thanks.

  • @mauser6034
    @mauser6034 Місяць тому +52

    9:15 a random appearance of Mieszko I in German episode xD

    • @KangurPL
      @KangurPL 29 днів тому +2

      Yeah idk what happened there xd

    • @nochalnosowski
      @nochalnosowski 27 днів тому +2

      I think it's because Ibrahim ibn Jakub described Poland during reign of Mieszko I

  • @jan150
    @jan150 Місяць тому +13

    Some more lore on the name Württemberg:
    The name derieves from the noble house "Württemberg".
    Their original castle used to be on the "Württemberg/Rotenberg" today in Stuttgart. Over the time they came to rule over most of Swabia and the region and Duchy/Kingdom came to be named after them.

  • @yus62
    @yus62 Місяць тому +22

    Bavaria almost correct.
    The Boii or Boier who lived in the region actually lived or shared the land with local Germanic tribes, making them the Bajuwaren. (Baio for the boii and warioz being a old germanic word for man). And these bajuwaren are basiclly the ancestors of Austria , Bavaria and small parts of Czechia or Böhmen in German.

  • @periodm
    @periodm Місяць тому +24

    THE THUMBNAIL I'M CRYING TELL ME MORE ABOUT GERMAN DAKOTA

    • @Stant123
      @Stant123 Місяць тому +3

      Das Kota

    • @Halocon720
      @Halocon720 Місяць тому +4

      Now we know why North Dakota’s capital is called Bismarck

  • @mahuhude
    @mahuhude Місяць тому +9

    Nordrhein means „the northern parts of the Rhine land“, so land on both sides of the northern German part of the river, not specifically the area north of it.

  • @wawrzynieckorzen78
    @wawrzynieckorzen78 Місяць тому +20

    Why you used as an illustration of Ibrahim ibn Jakub - an Arabic merchant painting of prince of the Polans, Mieszko considered as first historical Polish leader? I know that Ibrahim was one of the first to describe Mieszko's realm, but they were quite different people.

    • @karolpalion2883
      @karolpalion2883 29 днів тому

      I suppose it was the first image to come up in Google search for Ibrahim ibn Yakub.

  • @weremus8639
    @weremus8639 Місяць тому +101

    As Berliner, Berlin is still a swamp...

    • @randomguy5404
      @randomguy5404 Місяць тому +8

      Ich bin ein Berliner

    • @General.Knowledge
      @General.Knowledge  Місяць тому +6

      Really? How so?

    • @bigdaddyeddy1252
      @bigdaddyeddy1252 Місяць тому

      @@General.Knowledge he used swamp as a figure of speech. German Nazis think Berlin is a (political) left green Sodom and Gomorrah.

    • @weremus8639
      @weremus8639 Місяць тому +19

      @General.Knowledge It's a common saying there, that Berlin is a green for a reason, it never really lost its swamp status. Simple German logic.

    • @sizanogreen9900
      @sizanogreen9900 Місяць тому +10

      As someone from south germany a "Berliner" will always be a pastry to me.

  • @MrWolfgangtube
    @MrWolfgangtube Місяць тому +4

    You are wrong about lots of things here. For example: Bayern comes from the Tribe of the Bajuwaren, who moved there after the roman collaps

    • @klausroxin4437
      @klausroxin4437 8 днів тому +1

      You are wrong - at least partly. While the name Bayern indeed comes from the tribe of the Bajuwaren, they got their name from the celtic Boier. The video took a shortcut immediately to the Celts and left the Bajuwaren.
      Proof (in German, didn't find a reliable English source right now): "Dabei trägt das Hinterglied germ. *warjoz/lat. -varii 'Verteidiger, Bewohner' die Hauptbedeutung, die durch das Vorderglied näher bestimmt wird. Dieses dürfte den geographischen Bezug zu einem ehemals mit den keltischen Boiern verbundenen Gebiet anzeigen." - Historisches Lexikon Bayerns, Eintrag: Bayern (Name)

  • @riazortho
    @riazortho Місяць тому +41

    Oops wrong thumbnail

    • @L17_8
      @L17_8 Місяць тому +1

      Jesus loves you ❤️ Please repent and turn to Him and receive Salvation before it is too late. The end times written about in the Bible are already happening in the world. Jesus is the son of God and He died for our sins on the cross and God raised Him from the dead on the third day. Jesus is waiting for you with open arms but time is running out. Please repent and turn to Him before it is too late. Accept Jesus into your heart and invite Him to be Lord and Saviour of your life and confess and believe that Jesus is Lord, that He died for your sins on the cross and that God raised Him from the dead. Confess that you are a sinner in need of God's Grace and ask God to forgive you for all your sins through Jesus.
      Jesus loves you. Nothing can compare to how He loves you. When He hung on that cross, He thought of you. As they tore open His back, He thought of your prayer time with Him. As the thorns dug into His head, He thought of you spending time reading the Bible. As the spears went into His side, He imagined embracing you in heaven. Please repent and turn to Jesus now before it's too late. He longs to be with you but time is running out.

    • @Roll_dude
      @Roll_dude Місяць тому

      ​@@L17_8 shut

  • @jurgen6902
    @jurgen6902 Місяць тому +3

    Hello there from Germany. I can tell you at least in modern german that the "Vor" in "Vorpommern" does not mean "near" as refered in your video. It means "in front" as the other part of pommerania is nowadays a part of Poland and this is called "Hinterpommern", where "hinter" means "in behind". So there is a frontal and a rear Pommerania, which leads then to land in front of the sea and land behind the sea.
    I also would suggest that for Saxony-Anhalt the suggestion with the "stopping point" could fit. As the Saxons were once coming from what is nowadays lower saxony and taking over the lands to the east via migration/conquest and assimlation of the former sparsely populated (by slaws) areas, this happened in 2 waves. The first was going up to the river Elbe, which would more or less fits it nowadays border. And later on across the Elbe. It is also to mention that the word "Anhalt" literally means in modern high german to stopp.

  • @Idkpleasejustletmechangeit
    @Idkpleasejustletmechangeit Місяць тому +8

    2:33 fun fact: Lower Saxony is actually the original Saxony. The Old Saxons were from that area.

    • @itsmebatman
      @itsmebatman Місяць тому

      Nah, the old Saxony has vanished after the emporer took the title of duke away from their leader. The "new" Saxony is only named like that, because some other emporer handed out the title again to another nobleman, who lived somewhere near Anhalt I would say. His domain extended over both Saxony and Saxony Anhalt and later split, because the dynasty had some line of succession issues. The lower Saxony of today has nothing to do with any of that. The area was mostly ruled by Prussia until WW2, and since Prussia was destroyed as a consequence of the war they decided to create a new state and had no better idea than to name it Niedersachsen.

    • @Idkpleasejustletmechangeit
      @Idkpleasejustletmechangeit Місяць тому +3

      @@itsmebatman I meant it purely in the way of "this is roughly the area that the word "Saxony" originally got used for".

    • @fuckinantipope5511
      @fuckinantipope5511 Місяць тому

      No, the Saxons came here during the great migration during which the anglo-saxons also migrated over to Britain, forming what would become England, the land of the anglo-saxons.
      The region of lower Saxony on the north sea coast is also frisia and has been frisian since before christian times. We frisians (I am an east frisian) have nothing to do with the saxons

    • @matthiasbauer5163
      @matthiasbauer5163 Місяць тому +2

      The tribe of the Saxons originated from the area south of present-day Hamburg and then spread out into present-day Lower Saxony and along the Elbe River into present-day Saxony-Anhalt. Therefore, both Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony can rightfully claim to be the home of the originally Saxons.
      The first German king (Henry I.) and then the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (Otto I.) both hailed from the area just north-east of the Harz mountains, i.e. from what is now Saxony-Anhalt. Both of them would have referred to themselves as Saxons.
      The present-day Free State of Saxony, however, has nothing to do with the Saxons and was originally a Slavic territory. Later it emerged under the name of Meissen (Misnia) and then as Kur-Sachsen.
      Just to add to the confusion, the royal family of Saxony, the House Wettin, originated from the small town of Wettin, which is actually located in present-day Saxony-Anhalt.

    • @nox5555
      @nox5555 Місяць тому +1

      @@matthiasbauer5163 the Saxon Tribes originated around the lower Weser and the center of their culture never moved. thats why the saxon nobility died in southern lower saxony while the last free Saxons died in north-western northrhine westphalia

  • @vincentschult1725
    @vincentschult1725 Місяць тому +1

    Nice video! I actually researched this as well a while back in order to create state flags based on the etymology of the states.

    • @klausroxin4437
      @klausroxin4437 8 днів тому +1

      I would love to see a video of these flags.

  • @davidmende3409
    @davidmende3409 27 днів тому +3

    The "Ham" in Hamburg actually derives from the type of """"castle"""" that was build there as well.
    It was called a "Hammer Burg" which is basically just an earthen wall / earth covered wall of logs upon logs that provided safety for the people there.
    Depending on how your german is
    ua-cam.com/video/Q-SvC6vS0VQ/v-deo.html
    This a video of the archeology museum of Hamburg that shows what remains have been found and how we can be so sure that is what happpend. SUUUPer fascinating! Can recommend

    • @kimmohuovilainen9311
      @kimmohuovilainen9311 9 днів тому

      I thought first Hamburg would be related to Swedish hamn, harbor. Nordic countries are full of harbor forts. In Finland we have a coastal city Hamina. Etymology is complicated and certainly interested!

  • @escmadeira
    @escmadeira Місяць тому +1

    Great video

  • @Sekire1
    @Sekire1 Місяць тому

    great video, thanks :)

  • @monik911hsm
    @monik911hsm Місяць тому +41

    Hi, the thumbnail is about U.S. states, not Germany ^^

  • @TheOhioNews
    @TheOhioNews Місяць тому +6

    Solid video! I am from the US but have very heavy German ancestry, especially from Bavaria. So I really found this interesting 😊

    • @bjornd9375
      @bjornd9375 Місяць тому +2

      you should check if your ancestors are really from bavaria or palatine, because they were connected in one state from 1777-1945, interrupted by a french period. old papers might be about ancient bavaria

  • @chrisk5651
    @chrisk5651 Місяць тому +9

    There is a statement that you have posted typed out in the video that is about “Free States“ in Germany, it says: from the 19th century, when Imperial Germany became a republic. - well Germany never became a republic till the 20th century after World War I and then again after WWII.

    • @roerd
      @roerd Місяць тому +4

      It also misses the explanation why most states abandoned the term: it's because the term used in the German constitution to describe the states changed. The Weimar constitution used the term "Staaten", where the current Grundgesetz uses the term "Länder".

    • @Vracka
      @Vracka Місяць тому +1

      To be fair germany just became germany within the 19th century. Before that time the holy roman empire wasn't much more than a ton of kingdoms, duchys, citystates and what ever with no collective identification as germans, several languages, everyone had his own system and they probably foght more wars with each other than with the rest of europe.
      And if you consider that even the german reich in 1850 had a Bundestag and some sort of elections and electoral rights for men above 25, but was indeed neither democratic nor a republic it gets even more confusing. How could a foreign content creator possibly see through this when even most germans couldn't explain what happend in the time after charlemange/Karl dem Großen 800 AD and Bismark in 1870 AD. That's 1000 years of historical bullshit bingo in which you may actually find the hanseatic city-states some if which have been republics.

    • @dabbasw31
      @dabbasw31 Місяць тому +2

      @@Vracka Stop shit-talking the poor HRE. 🙂It was a weird construct. But during most of its centuries before the modern era it was a working entity keeping its territories more or less together. And it lasted for around 1000 years - which is not something you can say about every German reich...

    • @chrisk5651
      @chrisk5651 Місяць тому +3

      @@Vracka I am not German myself, in regards to your statement about how is a foreign content creator supposed to know, so I don’t know your nationality. I know that it’s very complex and complicated but I was correcting something that he typed out and posted in the video not just something that a non-native speaker said off the cuff. I feel that it would be better to be too vague than to be incorrect. I don’t think that anyone should expect him to know all the minutiae surrounding everything but maybe he shouldn’t dive too deeply into the minutiae.

  • @jensschroder8214
    @jensschroder8214 Місяць тому +6

    Westphalia was already a province under the Prussians.
    North Rhine is an invention of the Allies (UK & FR), who divided the Rhineland.

  • @maxdepasquale2351
    @maxdepasquale2351 Місяць тому

    Thanks. I've learnt something new today.

  • @JesusOrDestruction
    @JesusOrDestruction Місяць тому +16

    Thumbnail: how these states split up
    Video: how each German state got its name

  • @_MKM_7721
    @_MKM_7721 Місяць тому +1

    Cool video as always! You can do Poland next, also has 16 provinces.

  • @Donderu
    @Donderu Місяць тому +3

    4:25 fun fact, in modern Swedish, sax means “scissors”

    • @lucone2937
      @lucone2937 11 днів тому

      A Finnish word for scissors are "sakset" and it is always in a plural form. An ancient Germanic tribe Saxons are "saksit" in Finnish, and a German is "saksalainen".
      Collectively all ancient Germanic tribes are called in Finnish as "germaanit" including "visigootit", "ostrogootit", "vandaalit", "frankit", "alemannit", "langobardit", "anglit", "juutit", etc. Even the Roman Empire couldn't stop them in the end.

  • @markusd.3426
    @markusd.3426 29 днів тому +1

    As a German I have no larger complaints with the explanations but the order You presented them in, feels kinda wild to me.
    North to South, big to small, the other way round, but at least "regular" Saxony before the other Saxonies!
    "Ordnung muss sein!" as we Germans say: "There must be order!"
    If You are open to a bigger Challenge, take an older version of the German map and try again. Not only are the borders larger, the inbetween is far more subdovided. No double names with dashes but a very interesting patchwork of separate entities.

  • @afjo972
    @afjo972 Місяць тому +4

    9:45 the V is pronounced like an F, the word is stressed on the first syllable and the R comes from the throat

  • @KarlKarpfen
    @KarlKarpfen Місяць тому +1

    The Berlin bear is much younger than the name of the city. The official version taught in school in Berlin is "swamp-settlement".

  • @martinmeinname
    @martinmeinname Місяць тому +4

    The Württemberg is a Hill outside of Stuttgart, our Länd has its name from it, how exactly I don't know

    • @fabovondestory
      @fabovondestory Місяць тому

      🖤Furchtlos und Treu💛

    • @bjoernschneider7762
      @bjoernschneider7762 Місяць тому +1

      There was a castle Wirtemberg at 1080, built by a family which probable was close to the Salian dynasty and they got eventually from Graf (Count/Earl), to Kurfürst (prince elector) to König (King).

  • @stevefranklin9176
    @stevefranklin9176 29 днів тому

    Good background work.

  • @ItsSeated
    @ItsSeated Місяць тому +4

    Modern German: *Unites the States*
    Holy Roman Empire: *Divides into hundreds of countries*

    • @rodi8266
      @rodi8266 Місяць тому

      It was better then
      nowadays half of the states are artificial, administrative constructs, often removed from their old origin.

  • @tp6335
    @tp6335 14 днів тому +1

    There is a city called "Brandenburg an der Havel". In the year 1157 the country Brandenburg was founded by Albrecht the Bear after repossesing the Castle Brandenburg and making it his administrative center. Before that it hat already changed hands a few times between Slavic tribes and German conquerors. The founders of the castle city, then called Brendanburg or Brennaburg, were the Heveller tribe a Slavic tribe that migrated to the banks of the river Havel during the great period of migration centurys before the holy roman empire. The name means Gate(Bren) Castle(Brug), gate-castle or castle of or at the gate

  • @egeiaerdeklian9368
    @egeiaerdeklian9368 6 днів тому

    Thanks! 🎉

  • @chrisrudolf9839
    @chrisrudolf9839 19 днів тому

    An interesting fact to add to the Palatinate part of Rhineland Palatinate would be that the Germans once used the term Pfalz (Palatinate) for any castle that was dedicated to host the ever travelling court of the Emperor of the HRE. Those castles and the land around them were given to counts, who governed the region as their fiefdom and had to maintain the Pfalz (Pfalzgrafen / Palatinate counts) and be prepared to host the imperial court whenever the emperor decided to drop by. Although there once were dozends of them, significant differences in power developed, depending on how important the location was and how some Palatinate counts could expand their lands. The most influential and rich of those Palatinate counts, the Pfalzgraf bei Rhein (palatinate count at the Rhine) became one of the seven heriditary members of the the electorate council that elected the emperor (a position made permanet by the Golden Bill of 1356). From that time, the holdings of that one Palatinate count were know as the "Kurpfalz" (= the Electorate Palatinate), which over time colloquially got shortened to just the "Pfalz". So that's how even though their were palatinates all over the HRE, that one region at the river Rhine (in the southern part of today's Rhineland-Palatinate) became associated with the term Palatinate.

  • @No.Good.Nickname
    @No.Good.Nickname Місяць тому +3

    I'm not entirely shure where it derives from, but there also is a 'Brandenburg', which is/was a wooden castle/fortification built by the celts, but I don't know the origin of that name.

  • @afjo972
    @afjo972 23 дні тому +1

    The state of Sachsen has never been part of the Saxons‘ territory. It’s a bit confusing but in brief: Sachsen (and Sachsen-Anhalt) have nothing to do with the Saxons

  • @Momie_et_Masque
    @Momie_et_Masque Місяць тому +1

    the music starting at 3:29 is an austrian march, right ?

    • @tastefullynerdy1161
      @tastefullynerdy1161 19 днів тому

      Yeah, the Radetzky March, the traditional end piece of the famous Neujahrskonzert

  • @tastefullynerdy1161
    @tastefullynerdy1161 19 днів тому

    I think it's funny how you used the Radetzky March, one of the quintessential pieces of Austrian classic music for Rhineland-Palatine 😂

  • @dorderre
    @dorderre Місяць тому

    As a german myself, thank you :)
    A lot of new info in this video, mostly the etymology of certain names. I know that term X comes from germanic origins, term Y from slavic ones, but what exactly they mean always eluded me. So again, thank you.

  • @commluke6007
    @commluke6007 Місяць тому +4

    I see the thumbnail, grab my popcorn and watch the comments

    • @General.Knowledge
      @General.Knowledge  Місяць тому +3

      Wrong thumbnail and description, plus debatable claims about origin, PLUS wrong german pronunciation. Angry comments incoming 😍

    • @benlee6158
      @benlee6158 Місяць тому +1

      @@General.Knowledge Your pronounciation is actually quite decent.😉

  • @kalanou8513
    @kalanou8513 Місяць тому +1

    Nice video. I live in Bremen now and can flex with it's name origin.

  • @ottovonbismarck5067
    @ottovonbismarck5067 Місяць тому +1

    Regarding Niedersachsen, the video makes it seem as if the "Lesser" is referring to it as the "lesser" Saxony compared to the much more important Electorate. "Lesser" or better translated as "Lower" refers to geography however. The South of Germany is geographically higher, culminating in the Alps, and is thus the "Ober" ("Upper") to North Germany's "Nieder" ("Lower").
    The dialect family of Northern German is called Niederdeutsch ("Low German"), or also Plattdeutsch (literally "Flat German").

    • @fuckinantipope5511
      @fuckinantipope5511 Місяць тому

      And the regular German, Hochdeutsch (high German), comes from the fact that it comes from the geographically higher parts of germany. Pretty funny imo that the explanations for why it's called Hochdeutsch und Plattdeutsch are so simple

  • @Caligulashorse1453
    @Caligulashorse1453 Місяць тому

    Been studying the Holy Roman Empire this was somewhat helpful. It would be great to see a video on every single holy Roman empire State.

    • @bjoernschneider7762
      @bjoernschneider7762 Місяць тому

      So about 800+ videos, starting with Aach and ending with Zwiefalten.

  • @Nebelkrieger15
    @Nebelkrieger15 Місяць тому +1

    really informative video. as a german i can tell you really tried to get the pronunciation right.

  • @kczechowicz
    @kczechowicz Місяць тому +9

    You have shown us Mieszko I instead of Ibn Jakub lol

    • @General.Knowledge
      @General.Knowledge  Місяць тому +3

      When you thought I couldn't make another mistake after uploading this with the wrong thumbnail, there it is! It's because when you search for Ibn Jakub, it shows a lot of illustrations of Mieszko due to the first's travels to Poland at the time.

    • @kczechowicz
      @kczechowicz Місяць тому

      Indeed, he was important for Mieszko and his sons while they tried to build some reputation for the new statehood. Funny to see him here anyway :)

    • @TheLink91
      @TheLink91 Місяць тому

      @@General.Knowledge Since we're already in the topic of Poland, I proposed you circa 7 months ago an idea about a video explaining in details how each of interwar Poland's borders was made. So... any chance for that?

  • @yarion4774
    @yarion4774 18 днів тому

    Fun Fact. In Holstein we have Ostholstein, East Holstein, coastal area near the Mecklenburgian border. It is also coloquially referred to as Holsteinische Schweiz, Holsteinian Switzerland, as it has the highest elevations in all of Northern Germany. The highest elevation being the Bungsberg with ca. 170 meters above sea level. Compared to the area close to the Northern Sea which are flatlands.
    So yeah, Holstein meaning Hill dwellers is kinds funny in that sense in comparison to so much land around it.

  • @geraldmeehan8942
    @geraldmeehan8942 Місяць тому +5

    West Baden, Indiana.

  • @wuzzle22
    @wuzzle22 Місяць тому +3

    To quote Gordon Ramsey:
    "IT'S RAW"

  • @afjo972
    @afjo972 Місяць тому +4

    0:12 the S before the T is pronounced like SH

  • @Snagprophet
    @Snagprophet Місяць тому +2

    Regions of England next please?

  • @zakazskretuwlewo145
    @zakazskretuwlewo145 Місяць тому +5

    why there is Mieszko I when u are talkimg about ibrachim ibn jakub?

    • @solce809
      @solce809 Місяць тому

      when you search his name on Google and go to images youll find mieszko instead because of his travels to polish lands

    • @General.Knowledge
      @General.Knowledge  Місяць тому

      @@solce809 This!

    • @metanoian965
      @metanoian965 Місяць тому +1

      @@solce809 No. There are images of Iby, also. Lazy search is cheap outcome.

  • @maximkretsch7134
    @maximkretsch7134 28 днів тому +1

    The term "Freistaat" in German means nothing else but "Republic" and was, together with "Volksstaat" (people's state, i.e. "Democracy") widely used in the inter-war period to designate the republican constitutions of the individual member states. Before the revolution of 1918 most German states were monarchies, so they were called principalities, duchies, grandduchies, kingdoms and the like, and only a few were republics, mainly the city states with their hanseatic tradition.

    • @hrs6480
      @hrs6480 27 днів тому

      Yes and Bavaria was annexed into it. Everyone after Second World War knew that bavarian hate german and want nothing to do with them but they rather placed them inside Germany so there are different folks inside the republic that both hate each other and nothing goes forward. Some wanted to do the right thing and reinstall Bavaria-Austria but it would’ve been too powerful for some! When Bavaria leaves bankrupt Germany now it will surpass the rest of Germany in 10-20 years.

  • @realskorpio6949
    @realskorpio6949 Місяць тому

    Why there is a photo of Mieszko I when talking about Germany?

  • @jacksonhiatt4174
    @jacksonhiatt4174 Місяць тому

    Could you do a follow up video about the adjustment/creation of these and other nation's states? I know there were some changes after WW2. Maybe include some as US territories were partitioned, or the change of counties across England and rest of the UL.

  • @viktorsersik1997
    @viktorsersik1997 Місяць тому +1

    Hamburg also has the prefix "Frei" still in front of its name. While for the Flächenländer it is Freistaat, for Hamburg it is Freistadt, but it is basically the same.

  • @norielgames4765
    @norielgames4765 27 днів тому

    5:52 you said Thurungii but the screen displays Thuringii. Which one is correct?

  • @bar88888
    @bar88888 Місяць тому +1

    9:16 Why Ibrahim Ibn Jakub was portrayed by painting of Mieszko I?

  • @ericschockemohle5642
    @ericschockemohle5642 Місяць тому +2

    I need to make this very clear: The people from "Saxony" have NOTHING to do with the Saxon tribe. Their descendents are the people from LOWER Saxony. People from saxony have slavic roots.

    • @embreis2257
      @embreis2257 Місяць тому +2

      consider the Saxon tribes moved around a lot and any Slavic influence in the area came in later centuries. besides, the current name for the federal state takes it cue from the kingdom of Saxony and its predecessors.

    • @P._Nisbroch
      @P._Nisbroch Місяць тому +1

      @@embreis2257 Greetings from Lower Saxony,
      the Saxon tribe has not moved, but has spread out towards England and Mecklenburg. But not to the southeast.
      The descendants of Thuringians, Franks and Slavs live there. Only the name "saxony" has moved.
      In the Middle Ages, there was a dispute between the Emperor and the Duke of Saxony Henry the Lion (House of Welf). He went into exile and his title "Duke of Saxony" was taken away from him. The duchy was divided into several principalities.
      The emperor gave the title "Duke of Saxony" another noble family. The house of Anhalt. Then House Askania, Wettiner etc
      Anhalt had counties in Eastfalia. And then, years later, inheritance, marriage, etc., the title went to the Margraviate of Meissen. Slavic people with german migrants. The margraviate thus became the new duchy, later the Kingdom of Saxony.

  • @Cre9
    @Cre9 Місяць тому +2

    The thumbnail, timestamps and description are wrong 😭🙏

  • @roarthunder8583
    @roarthunder8583 Місяць тому +1

    The Timestamps are killing me 😂😂😂

  • @Fomlefantastic
    @Fomlefantastic Місяць тому +2

    "The medieval Vikings, who had contacts with the Byzantine Empire through their expansion through eastern Europe (Varangians), used the Old Norse name Mikligarðr (from mikill 'big' and garðr 'wall' or 'stronghold') as seen in the Icelandic sagas"
    ...this is about Istanbul, but checks out in terms of Mecklenburg.
    (the meaning slightly differs depending on who you ask)

    • @ccvcharger
      @ccvcharger 23 дні тому +1

      That makes sense, because the Vikings did have colonies in that region.

  • @fusseluflecki
    @fusseluflecki Місяць тому +12

    Cool, but why did Virginia, Dakota and Carolina split up?

    • @Maxi_94
      @Maxi_94 Місяць тому +2

      Don't know but at least two of them have a "Mecklenburg County", so now you at least know where that name comes from. 😅

    • @General.Knowledge
      @General.Knowledge  Місяць тому +3

      It's a secret.

    • @tomkerruish2982
      @tomkerruish2982 Місяць тому +1

      Irreconcilable differences.

    • @fusseluflecki
      @fusseluflecki Місяць тому

      @@General.Knowledge ok ):

    • @terranceaddison4599
      @terranceaddison4599 29 днів тому

      Dude... Dakotas is in North central U.S

  • @koyiisawa2388
    @koyiisawa2388 29 днів тому

    Im from Mecklenburg and I’m quit amazed by what I could learn here
    I know all the German federal states and their capitol (it’s mandatory for geography) but this is way interesting I just know the meaning of some state names like the one I live in and some others but having this overview is really nice
    That’s for the video

  • @ryandebruijn5761
    @ryandebruijn5761 Місяць тому

    Maybe do this concept for the low lands combined (the netherlands, belgium and Luxemburg), because it would be to short otherwise. But I think it could make for an interesting video. (Please include the wadden islands)

  • @wolfgangpagel6989
    @wolfgangpagel6989 23 дні тому

    Brandenburg is the name of the province Mark Brandenburg, Mark meaning a border province. Every German recognises that the word refers to a burned castle and there is 2 cities carrying the name, Brandenburg and Neubrandenburg. The settlers did not use forests to rule the land but fortifications, so -burg is a major part of city names.

  • @rpgbb
    @rpgbb Місяць тому +3

    I would like a video why Germany and Germans are called in so many ways in different languages

    • @Nazdreg1
      @Nazdreg1 Місяць тому +2

      That is pretty easy. There are four different concepts:
      1.We call ourselves "Deutsch" ("belonging to the people"). The Scandinavian "Tyskland" (Germany) is the same. Also the Italian "tedeschi" (Germans)
      2. "Germany" ("area of Germanic tribes") is the name given to roughly the same region by the Romans. Some Romance speaking languages use this name too, "Germania".
      3. The French call our country "allemagne". It refers to the specific tribe of the Allemanni who seemed to be meaningful enough to be featured in French and Portuguese. In Finnish, we are call Saksa ("Saxons"), so that would be another Germanic tribe.
      4. The Slavic neighbouring countries use the concept of (correct me if I am wrong) Niemczy (the mute ones, I believe). It refers to a language barrier between Slavic and Germanic languages (q.e.d....).
      I think, the Czech last name Nemec also means "German"?
      I think that's it. Not sure about African, American or East Asian languages though. Arabic, Turkish and Persian call us Alman (probably a French connection)

    • @thkempe
      @thkempe Місяць тому

      ​@@Nazdreg1 5. The Finnish people refer to the Germans as Saxons, calling our country "Saksa".

    • @sebe2255
      @sebe2255 Місяць тому

      Because different languages shockingly use different words for different concepts

    • @anunluckyguy7586
      @anunluckyguy7586 Місяць тому

      ​@@thkempei think you need glasses my friend

  • @afjo972
    @afjo972 Місяць тому +2

    10:50 the E is long. SchlEEHswig
    And the H is NEVER silent.
    The S before the T is pronounced like SH

    • @lanamack1558
      @lanamack1558 Місяць тому

      Incorrect, the "h" can indeed be silent, cf. sehen, gehen, fehlen, etc.

  • @georgb710
    @georgb710 28 днів тому +7

    Fun Fact: "saxony" is the only state with saxony in its name that was never inhabited by actual saxons. They got it cause on of their rulers became duke of saxony (without actually owning any saxon land).
    Since all real saxonys have a secondary discriptor i am herefor proposing "Sachsen-Falschheit" (saxony-falsehood)

    • @lucdubras
      @lucdubras 20 днів тому +2

      Obersachsen (Upper Saxony) would be acceptable

    • @TheMichaelK
      @TheMichaelK 18 днів тому

      Exactly, Saxony is called after the Saxons, but the people there are a mix of the local Slavic population with the Franks, Thuringians, and Bavarians that moved there during the German eastwards expansion.
      It’s basically name robbery and cultural appropriation.

  • @conorflynn6666
    @conorflynn6666 13 днів тому

    What song is playing in the background

  • @geographydragon3016
    @geographydragon3016 Місяць тому

    Explaining how each Canadian province/territory got its name would be a good topic for an upcoming video.

  • @k3v1n73
    @k3v1n73 18 днів тому

    to explain 'freistaat';
    there was a german nativism/purity movement which opposed the use of foreign, often latin or french, loanwords, which was quite popular in the 19th and early 20th century.
    so instead of 'Republik' (eng. republic) they used 'Freistaat', and instead of 'Demokratie' (eng. democracy) they used 'Volksstaat'
    i mean thats quite a simplified explanation, but its close enough

  • @jojogh10
    @jojogh10 28 днів тому

    05:45 in a Thuringian museum in Weimar I visited some time ago the name was actually explained as the following: when the Romans marched North into Germanic territories they found a collection of tribes in this region that worshipped the god Thor the most, so they gave them the name Thoringer (-inger as the suffix to describe someone with a word before that). And this evolved into Thüringer and therefore Thüringen.

  • @Hendricus56
    @Hendricus56 Місяць тому +10

    Apart from the thumbnail a good job GK

  • @robertnett9793
    @robertnett9793 28 днів тому

    I've learned that 'Pfalz' refers to a province the Emperor has under direct control.
    Like You are the Emperor and devide your land among your vassals as fiefdoms - who in turn can lend out some of their land to vassals lower on the hierarchy and so on. But if there's an especially juicy bit of land or something dear to your heart, you might want to control and hold it yourself - and that's called 'Pfalz'.
    As said - I learned it that way, might be wrong.

  • @wolfgangpagel6989
    @wolfgangpagel6989 23 дні тому

    "Pfalz" comes from a place owned by the Emperor to support him before there was a capital and he had to move constantly through his empire. Then the person in charge, a count, became important through the ages and was electoral figure to elect the emperor. So the word transferred to the whole state he ruled, but there are several other "Pfalz" in the former Frankish empire.

  • @DAlienzombie
    @DAlienzombie Місяць тому +1

    Bavaria is the latinised speaking. Viradonum too. Comes from a profession of freemasonry. Middle High English is basically modern German, from Gàul. Antilatinisation always is a theme in Europa. Comes from Antike where only tribesmen could go. In the path of pre-human sorcerers.
    Thuri compiles to tara. Mesopotamian greek era again. From Egypt, lesser old sorcerers. Hebrews inclusions, too - keep the middle in balance.
    Hosnici and Husars make a Point to Hessen, with them being legendary riding warriors compared with the more old saxons. A rebuild grabbing history back before the polish king Arian II.
    How does 'war woods' match 'burn castle'? We always sainted the plantings and wilds. About the 'Ham' of Hamburg, Hamdullah. The Vikings met the arabs a lot.
    Bremen is a special. That area produced legendary blacksmithed fake Viking steel (Brom, Aluminium, chromatum) while the Emporium Romagnum conquest and won over. Hat is Hat. Butter bei de Fisch.

  • @hannesmayer3716
    @hannesmayer3716 Місяць тому +5

    Fun Fact for fantasy fans: In Tolkiens "The Lord of the Rings" the kingdom of Rohan is divided into a Westfold and an Eastfold. It's basically the same as Westfalen (Westphalia). In former times there was an Ostfalen (Eastphalia?), too, but this name isn't used any more. Tolkien used the old Saxons as a model for the Rohirrim, and there language, including the names of these areas.

    • @antjeschroeder
      @antjeschroeder Місяць тому

      Ostwestfalen-Lippe gibts doch immer noch!

    • @inaeigenbrodt6571
      @inaeigenbrodt6571 Місяць тому +1

      Stimmt, Ostwestfalen-Lippe, (der Name wird auch noch offiziell genutzt) gibt es heute noch, aber das Gebiet hat nichts mit Ostfalen zutun.
      Denn der Name Ostwestfalen-Lippe bezeichnet lediglich die Nord-Östliche Region Westfalens.
      Während der Name Ostfalen für eine Region zwischen Braunschweig, der Lüneburger Heide und Sachsen-Anhalt benutzt wurde, und heute ist der Name Ostfalen tatsächlich nicht mehr so gebräuchlich.

    • @P._Nisbroch
      @P._Nisbroch Місяць тому +1

      @@antjeschroeder das ist der östliche Teil von Westfalen 😄😄

    • @sebe2255
      @sebe2255 Місяць тому

      Tolkien mostly based Rohan on the Mercians, who were Angles

  • @Macion-sm2ui
    @Macion-sm2ui Місяць тому

    9:13 This paiting presents first polish duke Mieszko I, not Ibrahim ibn Jakub. I suppose that this is first image that poped out in google after typing "Ibrahim ibn Jakub", because he is the first ever chronicler who mentioned Mieszko I and Polish state and because of that is important in Polish historiography.

  • @zypherx1891
    @zypherx1891 Місяць тому +2

    The thumbnail and the timestamps is both wrong lmao

  • @mi-lo4ec
    @mi-lo4ec Місяць тому +4

    Ah yes I remember when my parents visit Europe and went to the most famous German State of them all South Carolina

  • @jolly_39
    @jolly_39 Місяць тому

    Fun fact: Bayern (Bavaria) used to be spelled with an "i" for the longest time. That is until Ludwig the first, a huge Greece fan, changed to spelling from Baiern to Bayern to make the name look more Greek. I'm glad he didn't go as far as changing the entire writing system to the Greek one.

  • @smashwombel
    @smashwombel 29 днів тому

    I believe the Baiovarii were originally located in Bohemia, but moved out during the migration era after which Slavic Czechs moved in to replace them. The Boii gave the name to the region of Bohemia, but by the time this migration happened there were almost no celts left there.

  • @lukasrentz3238
    @lukasrentz3238 Місяць тому +1

    I would have included that "Free State" has aboslutely no meaning. These States aren´t different from the other ones (even though Bavaria often does act like it and is seen like they are something special). The "Lower" in Lower Saxony describes its Elevation, its coastal. Vorpommern doesn´t mean close to Pommern. Its more like the Front Part of Pommern (the other is Hinterpommern then).
    A Video about the territorial History of german States can be interesting as well. Some have really long Roots (like Bavaria) some developed out of the unification of several States (like Baden-Württemberg, even though with a weird intermediate Step) and some are rather young like RP.

  • @Lexeterr
    @Lexeterr Місяць тому +2

    Mixing Germany with US is one thing, but bro even got wrong description for sponsorship

  • @Zmajam
    @Zmajam Місяць тому +1

    The south-east of Germany (Baden-Württemberg) is also call ,,Schwaben/Schwabenland "(English=Swabia) and was also one of the 5 Stem-duchy's ,back then in the middle ages.

    • @bjoernschneider7762
      @bjoernschneider7762 Місяць тому

      That's nice to know, the same goes for "Franken" or "Silesia". But it's irrelevant for the topic.

  • @Mtioo1
    @Mtioo1 Місяць тому +4

    Random funfact that came to me due to the confusion: The song country roads take me home was really popular in Germany with people even thinking its Usa's national anthem and its still very popular with german youth singing it on school trips with other songs too like I want it that way and the current Tiktok trend song

  • @FuzePunch
    @FuzePunch Місяць тому +3

    Chapters seem to be a little off... 🤨

  • @kamilpawlik5636
    @kamilpawlik5636 26 днів тому

    The next one should be an episode about the names of voivodeships in Poland.

  • @b4ttlemast0r
    @b4ttlemast0r Місяць тому +1

    "vor" just means "before", "in front of", or "pre-"