After the war between Austria and Prussia of 1866, Prussia led the Northern states into a federal state called North German Confederation of 1867–1870. The Southern states joined the federal state in 1870/71, which was consequently renamed German Empire (1871–1918).

Boundaries (in red) of the German Confederation with Prussia in blue, Austria in yellow, and the rest of the German states in grey The German Confederation ( German: Deutscher Bund) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. [1]

Prussia's influence was widened by the Franco-Prussian War resulting in the proclamation of the German Empire at Versailles on 18 January 1871, which united the North German Federation with the southern German states.

All the constituent states of the former German Confederation became part of the Kaiserreich in 1871, except Austria, Luxembourg, the Duchy of Limburg, and Liechtenstein . The neutrality of this section is disputed.