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| logo_size =
| image = File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1982-0114-501, Berlin, Jägerstraße, Reichsbank.jpg
| caption = Reichsbank head office at Jägerstraße in Berlin, photographed in 1933
| image_size =
| headquarters = [[Berlin]]
| coordinates = <!-- use {{coord}} -->
| established = {{Start date|1876|01|01|df=y}}
| ownership =
| executive_title =
| executive = [[Hermann von Dechend]] (1876-1890)<br>Richard Koch (1890-1908)<br>[[Rudolf Havenstein]] (1908-1923)<br>[[Hjalmar Schacht]] (1923-1930, 1933-1939)<br>[[Hans Luther]] (1930-1933)<br>[[Walther Funk]] (1939-1945)
| bank_of = [[German Empire]]<br>[[Weimar Republic]]<br>[[Nazi Germany]]<br>[[German-occupied Europe|Nazi-occupied territories]]
| currency = [[German
| currency_iso = <!-- see [[ISO 4217]] -->
| reserves =
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| excess_reserves = <!-- "yes" or "no" reg. interest on excess reserves - or "not applicable - no reserve requirement" if there is no reserve requirement -->
| website =
| predecessor = [[Bank of Prussia]] (1876)<br>[[Oesterreichische Nationalbank]] (1938)
| successor = [[Bank deutscher Länder]] {{small|([[West Germany]])}}<br>[[
{{small|([[East Prussia]])}}<br>[[Banque de France]] {{small|([[Alsace-Lorraine]])}}<br>[[National Bank of Belgium]] {{small|([[Luxembourg]])}}
| footnotes =
}}
The '''''Reichsbank''''' ({{IPA-de|ˈʁaɪçsˌbank|lang|Reichsbank.ogg}}; {{lit|Bank of the [[Reich]]}}) was the [[central bank]] of the [[German
▲The '''''Reichsbank''''' ({{IPA-de|ˈʁaɪçsˌbank|lang|Reichsbank.ogg}}; {{lit|Bank of the [[Reich]]}}) was the [[central bank]] of the [[German Reich]] from its establishment in 1876 until liquidation in 1945.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Budzinski|first=Prof Dr Oliver|title=Definition: Reichsbank|url=https://wirtschaftslexikon.gabler.de/definition/reichsbank-43311|access-date=2020-01-06|website=wirtschaftslexikon.gabler.de|language=de}}</ref>
==Background==
The monetary institutions in Germany had been unsuited for its economic development for several decades before unification. In the [[Kingdom of Prussia]], the [[Bank of Prussia]] had been established in 1847 and, in the aftermath of the [[German revolutions of 1848–1849|revolution of 1848]], five additional banks had been granted a note-issuance privilege (the {{ill|Berliner Kassenverein|de}}, {{lang|de|Kölnische Privatbank}}, {{lang|de|Magdeburger Privatbank}}, {{lang|de|Ritterschaftliche Privatbank in Pommern}} at [[Stettin]], and {{lang|de|Städtische Bank in Breslau}}), but that was still insufficient to sustain adequate monetary conditions.<ref>{{citation |title=The Political Calculus of Capital: Banking and the Business Class in Prussia, 1848-1856 |author=James M. Brophy |journal=Central European History |issue=2 |year=1992 |volume=25 |pages=149–176 |doi=10.1017/S0008938900020306 |jstor=4546258 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4546258 }}</ref>{{rp|156}} By 1851, 9 banks in the whole of Germany (not including Austria) were chartered to issue banknotes, known as {{lang|de|Notenbanken}}.<ref name=Guinnane>{{citation |url=https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/98270/1/cdp835.pdf |author=Timothy W. Guinnane |year=2001 |title=Delegated Monitors, Large and Small: The Development of Germany's Banking System, 1800-1914 |publisher=Yale University Economic Growth Center |location=New Haven CT}}</ref>{{rp|16}} In addition, most German states - with the only exceptions of [[Principality of Lippe|Lippe]] and the Hanseatic cities of [[Free City of Bremen|Bremen]], [[Free City of Hamburg|Hamburg]] and [[Free City of Lübeck|Lübeck]] - issued government paper money without the intermediation of an issuing bank.{{R|Conant|p=197}}
Several pan-German conventions were held with the aim to simplify and rationalize the German monetary system, e.g. in [[Vienna]] on {{date|1857/01/24}}, but to no avail.<ref name=Conant>{{cite book |title=A History of Modern Banks of Issue |author=Charles Arthur Conant |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VDE5AAAAMAAJ |publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons |year=1915 |location=New York & London}}</ref>{{rp|196}} Instead, the number of {{lang|de|Notenbanken}} kept growing, reaching 31 (in the territories that would become the [[German Reich]]) in 1870.<ref name=NMC>{{citation |title=The German Great Banks and Their Concentration in connection with The Economic Development of Germany |url=https://historyofeconomicthought.mcmaster.ca/riesser/GreatGermanBanks.pdf |year=1911 |author=Jacob Riesser |publisher=National Monetary Commission |location=Washington DC}}</ref>{{rp|141}} They were typically private-sector entities, albeit often under hands-on government oversight, except the [[Bank of Bremen]] and [[Frankfurter Bank]] which were comparatively independent.{{R|Conant|p=192}} Twelve of these were in Prussia, four in the [[Kingdom of Saxony]], one in the [[Kingdom of Bavaria]], and the other 14 in various duchies, principalities and [[Free imperial city|free cities]].
On {{date|1870/03/27}}, a law was passed that forbade the formation of further {{lang|de|Notenbanken}} in the [[North German Confederation]]. Following the promulgation of the [[German Empire]] that law was extended to all German lands, with entry into force on {{date|1872/01/01}}. These Prussian initiatives precipitated action by the [[Grand Duchy of Baden]] and [[Kingdom of Württemberg]] to create note-issuing banks of their own, respectively the [[Badische Bank]] in [[Mannheim]] (est. 1870) and the [[Württembergische Notenbank]] in [[Stuttgart]] (est. 1871), bringing the total number of {{lang|de|Notenbanken}} to 33.{{R|NMCR|p=14}} The [[panic of 1873]] further stimulated discussions on the creation of an integrated monetary system,<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.bostonfed.org/-/media/Documents/conference/43/33p.pdf |author=Harold James |title=A historical perspective on international monetary arrangements: opening address |publisher=Federal Reserve Bank of Boston |year=1999}}</ref>{{rp|34}} which pitted advocates of centralization led by [[Ludwig Bamberger]] against the incumbent local banks of issue and defenders of state rights, led by [[Gottfried Ludolf Camphausen|Ludolf Camphausen]]. The political compromise was to allow the latter to keep issuance activity but under such restrictions that they rapidly fell into monetary irrelevance.<ref>{{cite book |author=Charles Kindleberger |title=A Financial History of Western Europe |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1993 |edition=Second }}</ref>{{rp|127}}
==German Empire==
[[File:1908-2-7-100large.jpg|thumb|A 100-[[German gold mark|Goldmark]] banknote issued by the German Reichsbank in 1908<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-01-06|title=German Notes|url=http://germannotes.com/|access-date=2021-08-31|language=en-US}}</ref>]]
The Reichsbank was established by legislation of the [[Reichstag (German Empire)|Reichstag]] of {{date|1875/03/14}}, and assumed its new role on {{date|1876/01/01}} when it succeeded the Bank of Prussia. Meanwhile, between 1873 and 1875 the Bank of Prussia assumed all the assets and liabilities of the [[Hamburger Bank]], which was a major monetary anchor in Northern Germany.<ref>{{citation |title=Early French and German central bank charters and regulations |url=https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/scpops/ecb.op234~ed52941e3b.en.pdf |author=Ulrich Bindseil |publisher=European Central Bank |location=Frankfurt |date=September 2019}}</ref>{{R|Conant|p=199}}
The Reichsbank was technically a private-sector company with individual shareholders, albeit not in joint-stock form, and operated from the start under the close control of the Reich government.<ref name=NMCR>{{Cite web |title=The Reichsbank 1876-1900 |url=https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/files/docs/historical/nmc/nmc_408_1910.pdf |author=National Monetary Commission |publisher=U.S. Senate |location=Washington DC |year=1910}}</ref> The bank was managed by a management board ({{lang-de|Direktorium}}) reporting to a supervisory board ({{lang-de|Curatorium}}). The Curatorium was chaired by the [[Chancellor of Germany|Imperial Chancellor]] and included four additional members, one appointed by the [[German Emperor|emperor]] and the other three by the [[Bundesrat (German Empire)|Bundesrat]]; it was to meet every three months.{{R|Conant|p=202}} The Direktorium was led by the President ({{lang-de|Reichsbankpräsident}}) and all its members were appointed for life by the emperor, upon nomination by the Bundesrat. The law specified that the Direktorium must obey the Chancellor's orders at all times.{{R|NMCR|p=42}} The shareholders were represented in a central committee ({{lang-de|Zentralausschuss}}) of 15 members, which met at least every month under the chairmanship of the Reichsbank's president and could scrutinize the management but not change it or influence policy decision. Three deputies of the {{lang|de|Zentralausschuss}} were allowed to attend all meetings of the Direktorium and to examine the books of the Reichsbank.{{R|NMCR|p=25-28}} The initial shareholders included the former shareholders of the Bank of Prussia (except a few who opted for selling their shares) and new subscribers.{{R|NMCR|p=35}} The bank was exempted from all income and trade taxes,{{R|NMCR|p=30}} but also had to act as the Reich's [[fiscal agent]] without compensation.{{R|NMCR|p=293}}
The Reichsbank operated throughout the Reich's territory through a network of branches, which numbered 206 at its inception in 1876 and expanded to 330 by 1900.{{R|NMCR|p=56}} A formal distinction was made between main branches ({{lang-de|Reichsbankhauptstellen}}), whose head was appointed directly by the emperor,{{R|NMCR|p=62}} and other branches ({{lang-de|Reichsbankstellen}}), but that difference of status was insubstantial in practice.{{R|NMCR|p=47}} The bank's employees had the status of civil servants of the Reich,{{R|NMCR|p=61}} even though they were paid by the Reichsbank.{{R|NMCR|p=65}} The Reichsbank also sponsored the establishment of [[Clearing house (finance)|clearing houses]] which were established in the 1880s and 1890s in [[Berlin]], [[Frankfurt]], [[Stuttgart]], [[Cologne]], [[Leipzig]] ([[Petersstrasse]]), [[Dresden]], [[Hamburg]], [[Breslau]], [[Bremen]], and [[Elberfeld]].{{R|NMCR|p=117}}
15 of the 32 {{lang|de|Notenbanken}} (other than the Bank of Prussia) relinquished issuing their own banknotes shortly after the Reichsbank's creation; four more did so in the 1880s, six in the 1890s, and three in the early 1900s, leaving only the [[Bayerische Notenbank]], [[Bank of Baden]], [[Bank of Saxony]] and [[Württembergische Notenbank]] as residual note-issuing institutions by 1906.<ref>{{citation |author=Heinz Fengler |title=Geschichte der deutschen Notenbanken vor Einführung der Mark-Währung |publisher=Gietl Verlag |location=Regenstauf |year=1992}}</ref>
Until [[World War I]], the Reichsbank produced a very stable currency, fully convertible into gold and thus known as the [[German gold mark]]. In 1909, an amendment to the Banking Act of 1875 made the Rischsbank's notes [[legal tender]] and redeemable at the rate of 2790 Marks per kilogram of [[gold]].{{R|HandbookDE|p=13}} In the period immediately before the war erupted, the Reichsbank greatly increased its gold reserves, as also did the [[Bank of France]], [[State Bank of the Russian Empire|Bank of Russia]] and [[Austro-Hungarian Bank]], from an equivalent US$184 million on {{date|1912/12/31}} to $336 million on {{date|1914/06/30}}.{{R|Conant|p=743}} At the outbreak of [[World War I]], however, the link between the mark and gold was abandoned, resulting in the [[Papiermark]]. The expenses of the war caused [[inflation]]ary pressure and the mark started to decrease in value.{{Citation needed|date=March 2020}}.
==Weimar Republic==
[[File:Reichsbankdirektion.jpg|thumb|Stamp of the Reichsbank, 1922]]
[[File:Reichsfinalb.jpg|thumb|A 10000 Mark banknote issued by the German Reichsbank in 1922
Following Germany's defeat and the 1919 [[Treaty of Versailles]], the German government was unable to meet its expenditures and commitments by taxation and borrowing from external sources, and instead turned to the Reichsbank for [[monetary financing]]. Combined with its reaction to the [[occupation of the Ruhr]] by France and Belgium, this triggered a dramatic [[Hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic|episode of hyperinflation]] that rendered the Mark practically worthless. The Reichsbank only started raising its discount rate in July 1922, reaching 40 percent per day at the hyperinflationary peak in November 1923.{{R|HandbookDE|p=17-18}} By decree of {{date|1923/10/15}} on the initiative of finance minister [[Hans Luther]], the government created a separate bank, the [[Deutsche Rentenbank]], endowed with the right to issue notes ({{lang-de|Rentenbankscheine}}) redeemable in a kind of non-interest-bearing mortgage bond, the {{lang|de|Rentenbrief}}, denominated in gold Mark and theoretically backed by a collective mortgage debt imposed upon German agriculture and industry. That confidence-building initiative succeeded against all expectations, even though the {{lang|de|Rentenbankscheine}} only had the status of "legally-admitted medium of exchange" while the Reichsbank's devalued paper notes remained legal tender. No fixed exchange rate was set by law, but the "[[Rentenmark]]" became interchangeable with paper Mark at the rate of one to one trillion. The Rentenmark was thus in effect a transitory domestic currency, which was never convertible internationally.{{R|HandbookDE|p=21}}
The success of the Rentenmark, followed by the [[Dawes Plan]] on war reparations, paved the way for a restoration of monetary order. The Banking Law of {{date|1924/08/30}} was inspired by the stabilization loans orchestrated by the [[Economic and Financial Organization of the League of Nations]] that had entailed the creation of the [[Oesterreichische Nationalbank]] in January 1923 and of the [[Hungarian National Bank]] in June 1924. It comprehensively reformed the Reichsbank and made it, for the first time, an explicitly independent central bank. Its ''Kuratorium'' was replaced by a General Council ({{lang-de|Generalrat}}) consisting of 7 German and 7 foreign members, which was to elect the bank's president subject to approval of the [[President of Germany (1919–1945)|President of Germany]]. The General Council also elected one of its foreign members to serve as Currency Commissioner ({{lang-de|Komissar für die Notenausgabe}}) supervising note issuance. The ability of the reformed Reichsbank to extend credit to the Reich government was strictly limited. The new currency, the [[Reichsmark]] (RM), was set at one trillion paper Mark, restoring the prewar parity of 2790 RM for one kilogram of fine gold; the pre-reform notes ceased to be legal tender on {{date|1925/06/05}}.{{R|HandbookDE|p=22}}
In the subsequent period of [[deflation]], the Reichsbank became practically the only source of short-term banking credit in the German economy, which it chose to ration (maintaining a discount rate of no more than 10 percent) rather than lending to high market-determined rates. The Reichsbank's credit rationing only ended in early 1926, after which the discount rate could be gradually lowered, reaching 56 percent in January 1927.{{R|HandbookDE|p=23}} In 1930, legislative amendments in line with the [[Young Plan]] brought an end to the involvement of foreigners in the Reichsbank's governance. The General Council was reduced to 10 members, all German, and the role of Currency Commissioner went to the President of the {{ill|Rechnungshof des Deutschen Reiches|de}}.{{R|HandbookDE|p=22}}
==Nazi period==
[[File:Buchenwald Property 80623.jpg|thumb
[[File:Schachtanlage Merkers.jpg|thumb
The [[Nazi regime]] promptly put an end to the independence of the Reichsbank and made it an instrument of their policy of directing Germany's resources towards rearmament and military expansion. By amendment of {{date|1933/10/27}} to the Banking Law, the General Council was abolished and the Direktorium, including the President, were henceforth to be directly appointed and dismissed by the Führer. On {{date|1937/01/30}}, Hitler publicly proclaimed the unlimited sovereignty of the Reich over the Reichsbank, and a lew of {{date|1937/02/18}} formally abolished the Reichsbank's autonomous status. Another law of {{date|1939/06/15}} stipulated that the President and Direktorium should directly receive their instructions from the Führer, and renamed the bank as {{lang|de|Deutsche Reichsbank}}.{{R|HandbookDE|p=33}} During most of the Nazi period the same individual was President of the Reichsbank and Minister of the Economy, namely Hjalmar Schacht from August 1934 to November 1937 and Walther Funk from January 1939 to May 1945.
The seizure and consolidation of power by the [[Nazis]] during the years of the [[Third Reich]] also greatly affected the ''Reichsbank''. A 1937 law re-established the ''Reich'' Government's control of the ''Reichsbank'', and in 1939, the ''Reichsbank'' was renamed the '''''Deutsche''''' ''Reichsbank'' (“''Bank of the '''German''' Reich''”, lit.: “''Bank of the '''German''' Realm''”) and placed under the direct control of [[Adolf Hitler]], with [[Walther Funk]] as the last president of the Reichsbank, from 1939 to 1945.<ref>[[Shirer, William L.]] ''[[The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich]]''. Greenwich: Fawcett Publications, 1959. 360.</ref> The bank benefited by the theft of the property of numerous governments invaded by the Germans, especially their [[gold reserve]]s and much personal property of the Third Reich's many victims, especially the [[Jews]]. Personal possessions such as gold [[wedding ring]]s were confiscated from prisoners, and [[gold teeth]] torn from dead bodies, and after cleaning, were deposited in the bank under the false-name [[Max Heiliger]] accounts, and melted down as [[bullion]].▼
On {{date|1935/12/31}}, the Reichsbank's note issuing privilege became exclusive, bringing an end to the residual central banking roles of the Bank of Baden, Bayerische Notenbank, Bank of Saxony, and Württembergische Notenbank.<ref name=HandbookDE>{{citation |url=https://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/collection/p4013coll8/id/2634/download |title=Army Service Forces Manual M356-5 / Military Government Handbook - Germany - Section 5: Money and Banking |publisher=U.S. Army Service Forces |location=Washington DC |author=Federal Reserve Board |date=March 1945}}</ref>{{rp|12}}
The defeat of Nazi Germany in May 1945 resulted in the dissolution of the Reichsbank, along with other Reich ministries and institutions. The explanation of the disappearance of the Reichsbank reserves in 1945 was uncovered by [[W. Stanley Moss|Bill Stanley Moss]] and [[Andrzej Kowerski|Andrew Kennedy]], in post-war Germany. In April and May 1945, the remaining reserves of the Reichsbank – gold (730 bars), cash (6 large sacks), and precious stones and metals such as platinum (25 sealed boxes) – were dispatched by Walther Funk to be buried on the Klausenhof Mountain at Einsiedl in Bavaria, where the final German resistance was to be concentrated. Similarly, the Abwehr cash reserves were hidden nearby in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Shortly after the American forces overran the area, the reserves and money disappeared.<ref>[[Moss, W. Stanley]], ''Gold Is Where You Hide It; What Happened to the Reichsbank Treasure?'', Andre Deutsch 1959</ref> Funk would be tried and convicted of [[war crimes]] at the [[Nuremberg trials]], not least for receiving money and goods stolen from Jewish and other victims of the [[Nazi concentration camp]]s. [[Gold teeth]] extracted from the mouths of victims were found in 1945 in the vaults of the bank in Berlin.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}▼
▲The
▲
==Aftermath and liquidation==
In line with decisions made at the [[Potsdam Conference]], the Reichsbank was placed under joint Allied custodianship pending its liquidation.<ref name=Adler>{{citation |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1882258 |title=The Post-War Reorganization of the German Banking System |author=Hans A. Adler |journal=Quarterly Journal of Economics |issue=3 |date=August 1949 |volume=63 |pages=322–341 |publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.2307/1882258 |jstor=1882258 }}</ref>{{rp|322}} The four occupying powers ([[France]], the [[Soviet Union]], the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[United States]]) initially continued to issue Reichsmarks and [[Allied military marks]]. In [[Austria]], the Oesterreichische Nationalbank was re-established by the Central Bank Transition Act of {{date|1945/07/03}} of the [[Second Austrian Republic]].<ref>{{cite web |website=Oesterreichische Nationalbank |url=https://www.oenb.at/en/About-Us/History/1945-1998.html |title=1945-1998: The Oesterreichische Nationalbank during the Second Republic}}</ref>
In line with the [[Morgenthau Plan]], the American authorities in November 1945 proposed a radically decentralized plan that would have organized a separate financial system in each of the {{lang|de|Länder}}, with minimal central coordination. After some hesitancy, the French authorities rallied that vision; the British authorities were initially reluctant, but gradually aligned with U.S. views following the establishment of the [[Bizone]] on {{date|1947/01/01}}. Thus, Land central banks ({{lang-de|Landeszentralbanken}}) were created on {{date|1947/01/01}} in American-occupied [[Munich]] (for [[Bavaria]]), [[Stuttgart]] (for [[Württemberg-Baden]]), and [[Wiesbaden]] (for [[Hesse]]), followed in March by French-occupied [[Tübingen]] (for [[Württemberg-Hohenzollern]]), [[Freiburg im Breisgau]] (for [[South Baden]], and [[Mainz]] (for [[Rhineland-Palatinate]]), then American-occupied [[Bremen]] on {{date|1947/04/01}}, and eventually British-occupied [[Düsseldorf]] (for [[North Rhine-Westphalia]]), [[Hanover]] (for [[Lower Saxony]]), [[Kiel]] (for [[Schleswig-Holstein]]) and [[Hamburg]] by the Spring of 1948.{{R|Adler|p=327-330}}
In the [[Soviet occupation zone in Germany|Soviet occupation zone]], ostensibly similar entities dubbed {{lang|de|Emissions- und Girobanken}} were established in May 1947 in each of the zone's five Provinces, namely in [[Potsdam]] for [[Brandenburg (1945–1952)|Brandenburg]], [[Rostock]] for [[State of Mecklenburg (1945–1952)|Mecklenburg]], [[Dresden]] for [[Saxony]], [[Halle (Saale)|Halle]] for [[Saxony-Anhalt (1945–1952)|Saxony-Anhalt]], and [[Erfurt]] for [[Thuringia]]. Each of these was fully owned and controlled by the respective provincial authorities.{{R|Adler|p=335}}
In 1947, newly appointed U.S. Military Governor [[Lucius D. Clay]] decided, against directives from Washington, that Germany needed a central bank instead of a mere board bringing together the {{lang|de|Landeszentralbanken}} for joint policy decisions. An agreement on that concept was reached among the three Western occupying forces on {{date|1947/10/30}}, resulting in the establishment on {{date|1948/03/01}} of the [[Bank deutscher Länder]].{{R|Adler|p=330-331}} On {{date|1948/05/21}}, the Soviet occupation authorities replied by establishing a {{lang|de|Deutsche Emissions- und Girobank}} in [[Potsdam]], which was renamed {{lang|de|Deutsche Notenbank}} in July, later relocated to [[East Berlin]], and in 1968 was rebranded the [[Staatsbank der DDR]].{{R|Adler|p=336}}
Given Berlin's special situation, no {{lang|de|Landezentralbank}} was initially established there. Plans for a separate currency for all of Berlin were considered up until June 1948, when the situation came to a head and the introduction of Western German marks into [[West Berlin]] precipitated the [[Berlin Blockade]]. Only after the blockade ended was the {{lang|de|Berliner Zentralbank}} established on {{date|1949/03/20}}, and initially operated under an association agreement with the Bank deutscher Länder. It was eventually converted into a {{lang|de|Landezentralbank}} in 1957.<ref>{{cite web |website=Deutsche Bundesbank |title=50 Jahre Landeszentralbank in Berlin und Brandenburg 1949 - 1999 |url=https://www.bundesbank.de/de/publikationen/bundesbank/50-jahre-landeszentralbank-in-berlin-und-brandenburg-1949-1999-605250}}</ref>
The Reichsbank itself went into a protracted process of liquidation. In 1955, a Federal German Law allowed holders of Reichsbank common stock to exchange it for interim certificates of the Bank Deutscher Länder.<ref>{{cite web |website=New York Times |title=Reichsbank Plan Agitates Zurich; Liquidation Bill Held Unfair to Stockholders of Discount Bank, a Subsidiary |author=George H. Morison |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/12/12/archives/reichsbank-plan-agitates-zurich-liquidation-bill-held-unfair-to.html |date={{date|1955/12/12}}}}</ref>
{{clear}}
==Head office==
The Bank of Prussia had commissioned a new head office in the late 1860s, which replaced its previous building dating from the late 17th century. The structure designed by architect [[Friedrich Hitzig]] was completed in 1876 as the Reichsbank started activity. In 1892-1894, the Reichsbank erected a palatial southward extension on an adjacent lot facing Hausvogteiplatz, designed by its architects {{ill|Max Hasak|de}} and {{ill|Julius Emmerich|de}}. In the early 1930s, the Reichsbank erected a large new facility on the other side of Kurstrasse, designed by its architect {{ill|Heinrich Wolff (Architect){{!}}Heinrich Wolff|de|Heinrich Wolff (Architekt)}}. While the main building was heavily damaged during [[World War II]] and eventually demolished in 1960, the 1930s extension survives as the [[Haus am Werderschen Markt]], hosting the German [[Federal Foreign Office]] after having been the home of the [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany]] in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
<gallery>
File:Meyers b2 s0754a.jpg|The Reichsbank (upper right) in a display or recent Berlin architecture, late 1880s
File:M Reichsbank Berlin 1903.jpg|Extension on Hausvogteiplats, photographed in 1903
File:M Reichsbank Berlin Kassenhalle 1903.jpg|[[Banking hall]] of the Reichsbank, part of the 1890s extension
File:Mario von Bucovich Berlin Hausvogteiplatz 1928.png|The bank's Hausvogtei front in 1928
File:Berlin, Mitte, Kurstrasse, Erweiterungsbau der Reichsbank.jpg|1930s extension ({{lang|de|[[Haus am Werderschen Markt]]}})
</gallery>
==Branches==
In Prussia, the Reichsbank kept the branches it inherited from the [[Bank of Prussia]], including buildings it had purchased from others (e.g. the palace erected by {{ill|David Schindelmeißer|de}} in [[Königsberg]], acquired in 1843) and those it had built for itself (e.g. in [[Bromberg]] in 1864). Elsewhere, it did not take over the properties of banks whose monetary role it replaced, and erected new branch buildings instead. By the end of the 19th century, it had newly built branches in most of Germany's significant cities. In some cases, these branches were replaced by more modern ones in the interwar period.
The Reichsbank employed a number of specialized architects for branch design, including the prolific {{ill|Max Hasak|de}} and {{ill|Julius Emmerich|de}} from the 1880s to the early 1900s, {{ill|Havestadt & Contag|de}} in the 1890s and early 1900s, [[Curjel and Moser]] in the 1900s, {{ill|Julius Habicht|de}} and [[Hermann Stiller]] in the 1900s and 1910s, {{ill|Philipp Nitze|de}} in the 1910s and 1920s, and {{ill|Heinrich Wolff (Architect){{!}}Heinrich Wolff|de|Heinrich Wolff (Architekt)}} in the 1920s and 1930s.
Due to Germany's territorial losses following [[World War I]], the former Reichsbank branches in what became the [[Second Polish Republic]] were taken over by [[Bank Polski]], and the one in the [[Free City of Danzig]] became the [[Bank of Danzig]]. During [[World War II]], a number of branches were destroyed and not subsequently rebuilt. The one in [[Munich]], whose construction had started in 1938 on the site of the former [[Herzog-Max-Palais]] demolished that year, was only completed in 1951.<ref>{{cite web |website=Munich Art To Go |title=Das Herzog-Max-Palais: Ein Abriss zugunsten der "Hauptstadt der Deutschen Kunst |author=Thomas Müller |url=https://municharttogo.zikg.eu/items/show/59 }}</ref> Following the disappearance of the Reichsbank in 1945, a number of its former branches were taken over by its successor entities, namely the [[Deutsche Bundesbank]] in [[West Germany]], the [[Staatsbank der DDR]] in [[East Germany]], and the [[National Bank of Poland]] in [[Poland]]; some in East Germany were demolished later on, such as the [[Chemnitz]] branch in 1964.<ref>{{cite web |website=chemnitz-gestern-heute.de |title=Reichsbank – Hier ist ihr Geld sicher |url=https://chemnitz-gestern-heute.de/reichsbank-hier-ist-ihr-geld-sicher/ }}</ref> Many other branches have been repurposed for other uses over the years, such as the [[Bucerius Kunst Forum]] in [[Hamburg]] or the {{ill|Dommuseum Ottonianum|de|Dommuseum Ottonianum Magdeburg}} in [[Magdeburg]].
The addresses indicated below are the latest ones, which sometimes differ from original addresses due to street renaming and/or renumbering.
<gallery>
File:Theaterstraße 17, Aachen (
File:Neustädter Markt 10 Brandenburg Havel.jpg|[[Brandenburg an der Havel|Brandenburg]] branch, Neustädter Markt 10 (arch. Hasak), completed 1902
File:Former Reichsbank building Wroclaw.png|Breslau (now [[Wrocław]]) branch, 10 Wolności Square, completed 1890<ref>{{cite web |website=wyborcza.pl |title=AC Hotel by Marriott powstanie w gmachu dawnego Banku Rzeszy |date={{date|2015/12/11}} |url=https://wroclaw.wyborcza.pl/wroclaw/7,95327,19327611,ac-hotel-by-marriott-powstanie-w-gmachu-dawnego-banku-rzeszy.html |author=Jacek Kulesza}}</ref>
Line 113 ⟶ 151:
File:Ludwigstr. 13 Muenchen-2.jpg|[[Munich]] branch, Ludwigstrasse 13 (arch. Wolff, then [[Carl Sattler]]), completed 1951 for the {{lang|de|Bayerische Landeszentralbank}}
File:Muenster Freiherr von Vincke Haus 11.jpg|[[Münster]] branch, Domplatz 36 (arch. Hasak, Havestadt & Contag), completed 1894
File:Al. Marcinkowskiego bank.jpg|[[Poznań]] {{ill|Reichsbank branch in Pozna{{!}}branch|pl|Budynek bankowy przy Alejach Marcinkowskiego 12 w Poznaniu}}, al. Marcinkowskiego 12 (arch. Habicht), completed 1912 or 1913
File:Siegen Reichsbank.jpg|[[Siegen]] {{ill|Reichsbank branch in Siegen{{!}}branch|de|Reichsbank (Siegen)}}, Spandauer Straße 40 (arch. Habicht), completed 1911
File:Hauptverwaltung Deutsche Bundesbank Stuttgart 01.jpg|[[Stuttgart]] branch, Marstallstrasse 3 (arch. {{ill|Hans Herkommer|de}} & Theodor Bulling), completed 1923<ref>{{cite web |website=Deutsche Bundesbank |title=Architektur und Kunst: Deutsche Bundesbank Hauptverwaltung in Baden-Württemberg |url=https://www.bundesbank.de/resource/blob/607126/24a7894086011580db96f645a2c33056/mL/architektur-und-kunst-hv-stuttgart-data.pdf |author=Iris Cramer and Sabine Muschler}}</ref>
Line 209 ⟶ 248:
==See also==
{{Portal|Banks}}▼
* [[Austro-Hungarian Bank]]
* [[List of central banks]]
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==External links==
▲{{Portal|Banks}}
*{{Commons category-inline}}
* {{PM20|FID=co/042227|TEXT=Documents and clippings about|NAME=}}
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