Final Act of the Congress of Vienna/Act VI

by The plenipotentiaries of the high powers who signed the treaty

In the Name of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity.

His Majesty the King of Prussia, and his Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of Hanover, desiring to comprise, in a particular Treaty, the dispositions contained in the Protocols signed the 13th and 21st of February 1815, of the Committee of Plenipotentiaries of England, Austria, Russia, Prussia, and France, in order to carry into effect the stipulations of the Treaty concluded at Keichenbach, on the 14th June 1813,^[2] and to fulfil the territorial arrangements consequent upon the engagement therein contained on the part of his Prussian Majesty, the two sovereigns have named Plenipotentiaries, to concert, agree upon, and sign whatever relates to this subject; viz.:

His Majesty the King of Prussia, the Prince Hardenberg, his Chancellor of State, Knight of the Grand Orders of the Black Eagle, and of the Red Eagle, Knight of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, and of the Iron Cross of Prussia; Knight of the Orders of St. Andrew, of St. Alexander Kewsky, and of St. Anne of Russia, of the First Class; Grand Cross of the Royal Order of St. Stephen of Hungary; Grand Cordon of the Legion of Honour, Grand Cross of the Order of St. Charles of Spain; of St. Hubert of Bavaria; of the Supreme Order of the Annunciation of Sardinia; Knight of the Order of the Seraphim of Sweden; of the Elephant of Denmark; of the Golden Eagle of Wurtemberg, and of several others; his First Plenipotentiary at the Congress; and

The Sieur Charles William Baron de Humboldt, his said Majesty's Minister of State, his Chamberlain, Envoy Extraordinary, and Minister Plenipotentiary to his Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty; Knight of the Grand Order of the Red Eagle, of the Order of the Iron Cross of Prussia, and of St. Anne of the First Class of Russia; his Second Plenipotentiary at the Congress of Vienna.

And his Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of Hanover, the Sieur Ernest Frederic Herbert, Count Munster, Hereditary Grand Marshal of the Kingdom; Grand Cross of the Royal Order of St. Stephen, his Minister of State and of the Cabinet; His Minister Plenipotentiary at the Congress of Vienna; and

The Sieur Ernest Christian George Augustus Count de Hardenberg, Grand Cross or the Order of Leopold of Austria; and of the Red Eagle of Prussia; Knight of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem; his Minister of State and of the Cabinet, his Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Congress of Vienna;

Who, after having exchanged their full powers, found in good and proper form, have agreed to the following Articles:

ART. I. His Majesty the King of Prussia cedes to his Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of Hanover, to be possessed by his Majesty and his successors, in full property and sovereignty:

1. The principality of Hildesheim, which shall pass under the government of his Majesty, with all the rights and all the charges with which the said principality passed under the Prussian government.
2. The town and territory of Goslar.
3. The principality of East Frieseland, including the country called Harlinger-Land, under the conditions reciprocally stipulated in the 5th Article for the navigation of the Ems, and the trade with the port of Embden. The states of the principality shall preserve their; rights and privileges.
4. The lower county (Nieder Grafschaft) of Lingen, and the part of the principality of Prussian Munster which is situated between that county and the part of Rheina Wolbeck possessed by the Hanoverian government; but as the two High Contracting Parties have agreed that the kingdom of Hanover shall obtain by this cession an increase of territory containing a population of 22,000 souls, and, as the lower county of Lingeu and the part of the principality of Munster above-mentioned, might not fulfil this condition, his Majesty the King of Prussia agrees to extend the line of demarcation in the principality of Munster, as far as shall be necessary to comprise the said population. The Commission, which shall be immediately appointed by the Prussian and Hanoverian governments, to proceed to the exact determination of the limits, shall be particularly charged with the execution of this arrangement.

His Prussian Majesty renounces in perpetuity, for himself, his descendants and successors, all the provinces and territories mentioned in the present Article, as well as all the rights which relate to them.

ART. II. His Majesty the King of Prussia renounces for himself, his heirs and successors, for ever, all right and title, of every description, which his Majesty, as sovereign of Eichsfeld, might advance to the Chapter of St. Peter, in the borough of Norten, or to its dependencies, situated in the Hanoverian territory.

ART. III. His Majesty the King of Prussia engages, in consideration of certain indemnities to be taken out of the mass of the countries secured to him by the arrangements of the Congress of Vienna, to induce:

1. His Royal Highness the Elector of Hesse to cede to his Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of Hanover, to be possessed by him and his successors, in full sovereignty and property, the three bailiwicks of Uechle, Freudenberg and Aubourg, otherwise called Wagenfeld, with the districts and territories dependent thereon, as well as that part which his Royal Highness possesses of the county of Schaumbourg and the lordships of Plessen and Neuengleichen.
2. His Serene Highness the landgrave of Hesse Rothenburg, to renounce for ever the rights which he possesses in the said lordship of Plessen, in order that these rights may be transferred to his Britannic Majesty, King of Hanover.

As the cession on the part of his Royal Highness the Elector of Hesse and the renunciation of the Landgrave of Hesse Rothenburg, above-mentioned, have not been obtained within the three months prescribed by the 40th Article of the Protocol of the 13th of February; and as the reciprocal cessions ought to have been effected pursuant to that Article, with the reservation, that whilst Prussia continued in possession of the territory destined as a compensation to the Elector of Hesse and the Landgrave of Rothenburg, Hanover should retain, on her part, that portion of the duchy of Lauenburg which has been made over to his Prussian Majesty, in virtue of the 4th Article; this arrangement shall continue in force until Hanover shall have actually acquired the cessions and renunciations on the part of Hesse, and until the governments of Prussia and Hanover, shall have agreed upon indemnities to be given to the latter for the diminution which would result from the loss of the territories Comprised in the said cession and renunciation; indemnities, which shall be provided wit of the country of Eichsfeld, and of the Prussian part of the county of Hohenstein.

His Prussian Majesty and his Royal Highness the Prince Regent of Great Britain and Hanover, having already consented to the other cessions to be made in virtue of the stipulations contained in the Protocol of the 13th February 1815, the two High Contracting Parties will give the necessary orders that these cessions may be completed in eight weeks from the date of the signature of the present Treaty.

ART. IV. His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of Hanover, cedes to his Majesty the king of Prussia, to be possessed by him and his successors, in full property and sovereignty;

1. That part of the duchy of Lauenburg situated upon the right bank of the Elbe, with the villages of Luneburg situated upon the same bank. That part of the duchy upon the left bank, remains to the kingdom of Hanover. The states of that part of the duchy which passes under the Prussian government shall preserve their rights and privileges; especially those founded on the provincial recess of the 15th of September 1702, confirmed by his Majesty the King of Great Britain, now reigning, under date of the 21st June 1765
2. The bailiwick of Klötze;
3. The bailiwick of Elbingerode;
4. The villages of Rudegershagen and Geenseleich;
5. The bailiwick of Reckeberg.

His Britannic Majesty, King of Hanover renounces for himself, his heirs and successors, for ever, the provinces and districts specified in the present Article, and all the rights which belong to them.

ART. V. His Majesty the King of Prussia, and his Britannic Majesty, King of Hanover, animated with the desire of rendering the advantages of the commerce of the Ems and of the Port of Embden, entirely equal and common to their respective subjects, have determined upon the following arrangements:

1. The Hanoverian government engages for the erection, at its expense, in the years 1815 and 1816, of the works which a Commission, composed of professional men of both governments, to be immediately appointed by Prussia and Hanover, shall deem necessary to render that part of the river of Ems navigable, which extends from the confines of Prussia to its mouth, and to keep that part of the river constantly in the state in which those works shall have placed it, for the benefit of navigation.
2. Prussian subjects shall have the liberty of importing and exporting, by the port of Embden, all kinds of commodities, productions, and goods what ever, whether natural or artificial, and to have warehouses in the town of Embden, wherein to place the said goods for two years, dating from their arrival in the town, without their being subject to any, other inspection than that to which those of Hanoverian subjects are liable.
3. Prussian vessels, and merchants of the same nation, shall not pay for navigation, for the export or import of merchandize, or for warehousing,any other tolls or duties than those charged upon Hanoverian subjects. These tolls and duties shall be regulated by agreement between Prussia and Hanover, and no alteration shall be introduced into the tarif, hereafter, but by mutual consent. The privileges and liberties herein specified extend equally to Hanoverian subjects who navigate that part of the river Ems which remains to his Prussian Majesty.
4. Prussian subjects shall not be compelled to employ the merchants of Embden, for the trade which they carry on with that port; they shall be at liberty to dispose of their commodities, either to inhabitants of the town, or to foreigners, without paying any other duties- than those to which Hanoverian subjects are liable, and which cannot be raised but by mutual consent.

His Majesty the King of Prussia, on his part, engages to grant to Hanoverian subjects the free navigation of the Stecknitz canal, so as not to exact from them any other duties than those which shall be paid by the inhabitants of the duchy of Lauenburg. His Prussian Majesty engages, besides, to insure these advantages to Hanoverian subjects, even if he should hereafter cede the duchy of Lauenborg to any other sovereign.

ART. VI. His Majesty the King of Prussia and his Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of Hanover, mutually agree to three military roads through their respective states, viz.:

1st. One from Halbersladt, through the country of Hildesheim, to Minden.

2d. A second from the Old March, through Gifhorn and Neustadt, to Minden.

3d. A third from Osnabruck, through Ippenbüren and Rheina, to Bentheim.

The two first in favour of Prussia, and the third in favour of Hanover. The two governments shall appoint a Commission, without delay, to prepare, by common consent, the necessary regulations for the said roads.

ART. VII. The military, in the active service of the two High Contracting Powers, natives of the countries ceded by one Power to the other in virtue of the present Convention, shall be sent home in one year from the exchange of the ratifications of the present Convention. Officers of every rank may have the option of continuing in the service to which they are at present attached.

The pensions allowed to different ranks of military, shall continue to be paid by the Powers who have granted them.

ART. VIII. The High Contracting Parties reciprocally engage to restore to each other the title-deeds of Crown lands, and the documents and papers which relate to provinces and districts mutually ceded, within two months from the day of the restitution of each of the said provinces or districts. The same rule shall be observed with respect to the plans and maps of the towns and countries above-mentioned.

ART. IX. In all the countries ceded or exchanged in pursuance of the present Convention, the new possessor shall be responsible for all the debts, specially mortgaged upon the said countries, as well as for those contracted for the expenses incurred in the actual improvement of these countries.

The debts constitutionally contracted in the name of the country, particularly those in the duchy of Lauenburg since 1798; for the expenses of forming the line of frontier, and those occasioned by the occupation of the French; shall be acknowledged as debts of the country, and the mode of effecting the speedy and punctual reimbursement of the capital and interest, shall be settled, with the concurrence of the provincial states.

ART. X. The bailiwick of Meppen, belonging to the Duke of Aremberg, as well as the part of Rheina Wolbeck which belongs to the Duke of Looz-Corswaren, which are now provisionally occupied by the Hanoverian government, shall be placed in the situation, with respect to the kingdom of Hanover, which the Federative Constitution of Germany shall settle for the mediatised territories.—The Prussian and Hanoverian governments having nevertheless reserved to themselves, by Article XLIII. of the said Protocol of the 13th of February, to agree hereafter, if necessary, upon the fixing of another line of frontier with regard to the county belonging to the Duke of Looz-Corswaren; the said governments will instruct the Commission, which they may name for settling the limits of that part of the county of Lingen ceded to Hanover, to deliberate thereupon, and to adjust definitively the frontiers of that part of the county belonging to the Duke of Looz-Corswaren, which, as aforesaid, is to be possessed by the Hanoverian government.

The relations between the Hanoverian government and the county of Bentheim shall remain as settled by the mortgage Treaties existing between his Britannic Majesty and Count Bentheim; and when the rights derived by Treaty shall have expired, the relations of the county of Bentheim towards the kingdom of Hanover shall be such as the Federative Constitution of Germany shall determine for the mediatised territories.

ART. XI. His Majesty the King of Prussia, desiring to make certain exchanges of terrirtory with his Serene Highness the Duke of Brunswick, for the consolidation of their respective territories; his Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of Hanover, engages to use his best endeavours in inducing his Serene Highness to consent to these arrangements; and to facilitate the same, he consents beforehand to any cessions of territory which the two Parties may agree upon. The present Article refers particularly to Calvoerde and Walkenried, without being absolutely restricted to these two places.

ART. XII. His Britannic Majesty, King of Hanover, with a view to acceding to his. Prussian Majesty's wish, that a suitable accession of territory should be provided for his Serene Highness the Duke of Oldenburg, promises to cede to him a district containing a population of 5,000 inhabitants.

ART. XIII. The present Treaty shall be ratified, and the ratifications exchanged within four weeks, or sooner, if possible.

In faith of which the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed it, and have affixed thereunto the seal of their arms.

Done at Vienna the 29th May 1815.

Signed	(L. S.) The Prince de Hardenberg.
	(L- S.) The Baron de Humboldt.
	(L. S.) The Count Munster.
	(L. S.) The Count Hardenberg.

Notes

1. Hansard (1816)
2. Foreign office page 94: See Martens. Supplement Vol. 5. Page 571

References

• Hertslet, Edward (1875). The map of Europe by treaty; showing the various political and territorial changes which have taken place since the general peace of 1814, London, Butterworths. (No. 12) pp. 150–151
• British Foreign Office British and Foreign State Papers. 1814—1815 Volume II. Compiled by the librarian and keeper of the papers, Foreign Office-London: James Rigway and Sons, Piccadilly, H.M.S.O., 1839. pp. 93–94. Original French. The additional formatting of this treaty from this document.
• Hansard, The Parliamentary Debates from the Year 1803 to the Present Time ..., Volume 32. 1 February to 6 March 1816, T.C. Hansard, 1816. pp. 150 –151. The translation is from this document.