Historic German languages

Map of historic Germany.

Map of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation 1789

A multitude of kingdoms, dukedoms, electorates. There was yet no standard orthography.

map c/o Creative Commons

Map of the old German language.

The German languages around 1850

White lines: Modern day European borders.

Red outline: The German Empire 1871 - 1918

map c/o Wikimedia Commons

Map of the old German dialects.

The different German languages before WW 2

Bright yellow: Low German

Light yellow: Dutch

Light green: Frisian

Blue: Middle German Dialect

Olive: High German

map c/o Wikimedia Commons