English-German Geographic Glossary

German historical accounts often refer to place names that have changed over the years. Germany/Prussia and the Austro-Hungarian empire once extended over parts of Europe (and colonial territories) that are now parts of other countries. Sometimes it is difficult for non-German-speakers to determine which city or region a name actually refers to. The following annotated historical gazetteer will help you determine the English name and current location of historical German place names. For instance, the former East Prussian city of Königsberg became the Russian city of Kaliningrad in 1946. If you are reading a German reference to "Königsberg," even a German-English dictionary may not help you figure out that the historical German place now bears a Russian name. A reference to Bukowina may draw a blank for English-speakers, even if they know the English name is Bukovina. See the glossary below for more. More history in German: Germanic History and Culture.

Also see current City Names in English and German and Germanic Genealogy: Vocabulary (Places).

Historical Cities and Regions Glossary Also see Countries - Nations
Old Name	Current Name	English Name	Today in...
Agram	Zagreb	Zagreb	Croatia
Auschwitz	Oswiecim	Oswiecim	Poland
das Banat	das Banat	Banat	Romania
Böhmen	Böhmen	Bohemia	Czech Republic
Bohemia was part of the Austrian Habsburg crown lands from 1526 to 1918.
Breslau	Breslau	Wroclaw	Poland
Brünn	Brno	Brno	Czech Republic
Budweis	Budweis	Budweis Ceske Budejovice	Czech Republic
Bukowina	Bukowina	Bukovina	Romania Ukraine
The region known as Bukovina was part of the Austrian Habsburg crown lands from 1775 to 1918, when it became part of Romania. In 1940 the northern part went to Ukraine and the remaining German population (80,000) was expelled.
Czernowitz Tschernowitz	Chernivtsi	Chernivtsi	Ukraine
The city and district of Chernivtsi were once part of Bukovina. See more about Bukovina above.
Dalmatien	Dalmatien	Dalmatia	Balkans Adriatic coast
Dalmatia was part of the Austrian Habsburg crown lands from 1797 to 1919.
Danzig	Gdansk	Gdansk	Poland
Deutsch-Ostfrika (German East Africa)	Burundi Rwanda Tansania	Burundi Rwanda Tanzania	eastern Africa
Deutsch-Südwestfrika (German South West Africa)	Namibia	Namibia	western Africa
Germany lost its African colonies (1884-1918) after World War I.
Elsass	Elsass	Alsace	France
Galizien	Galizien	Galicia	Poland Ukraine
Director Billy Wilder and other famous Austrians were born in Austro-Hungarian Galicia, various parts of which were part of the Austrian Habsburg crown lands from 1772 to 1919.
Görz	Gorizia	Gorizia	Italy
Hermannstadt	Sibiu	Sibiu	Romania
Karl-Marx-Stadt	Chemnitz	Chemnitz	Germany
Kaschau	Kassa	Kassa	Hungary
Königsberg	Kaliningrad	Kaliningrad	Russia
Königsberg was founded by the Teutonic Order (Deutscher Orden) in 1255. After World War II this part of East Prussia (Ostpreußen) went to the Soviet Union (1946). After Lithuania (Litauen) became independent in 1991, the territory around Kaliningrad became a Russian exclave, cut off from the rest of Russia.
Königsgrätz	Hradec Králove	Hradec Králove	Czech Republic
Kronländer	Kronländer	(Austrian) crown lands	see below
The Austrian Habsburg crown lands (1867-1918) covered most of present-day Austria and the territories of Siebenbürgen, Böhmen, Mähren, Schlesien, Galizien, Bukowina, and Dalmatien (all listed here).
Kronstadt	Brasov	Brasov	Romania
Laibach	Ljubljana	Ljubljana	Slovenia
Lemberg	Lwiw	L'viv / L'vov	Ukraine
Lemberg was the capital of Austrian Galicia (see Galizien above) from 1772 to 1918. Population today: 800,000
Litzmannstadt	Lodz	Lodz	Poland
Lothringen	Lothringen	Lorraine	France
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