a millennium of squabbling princedoms pretending the holy roman empire counted as one country.
means the patchwork of kingdoms, duchies, and electorates that occupied german-speaking europe before unification in 1871.
from rooted in the fragmentation of charlemagne's empire in 843, the german lands never consolidated like france or england, instead splintering into hundreds of sovereign entities under the loose umbrella of the holy roman empire, each with its own king, laws, currency, and grudges.
kingdom of prussia — swallowed rivals to forge german unity in 1871
kingdom of bavaria — kept its own king until 1918, still culturally distinct
kingdom of saxony — industrial powerhouse, capital dresden, dissolved after wwi
kingdom of hanover — shared a monarch with britain until 1837