# Free State of Bottleneck
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{{Short description|1919–1923 quasi-state in western Germany}}
{{Expand German|topic=hist|Freistaat Flaschenhals|date=May 2026}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2026}}
{{Infobox former country
| native_name = {{native name|de|Freistaat Flaschenhals}}
| conventional_long_name = Free State of Bottleneck
| common_name = Bottleneck
| era = [Interwar period](/source/Interwar_period)
| status = Special
| status_text = Unoccupied territory within [Post-World War I](/source/Post%E2%80%93World_War_I_recession) [Germany](/source/Weimar_Republic)
| government_type = [Republic](/source/Republic)
| year_start = 1919
| year_end = 1923
| event_start =
| date_start = 10 January
| event_end = [Abolished](/source/Occupation_of_the_Ruhr)
| date_end = 23 February
| image_map = Map of the Freistaat Flaschenhals (1919-1923).png
| image_map_caption = Map of the Free State of Flaschenhals, 1919–1923
| capital = [Lorch](/source/Lorch_am_Rhein)
| p1 = German Empire
| flag_p1 = Flag of Germany (1867–1918).svg
| s1 = Occupation of the Ruhr{{!}}Occupied Ruhr
| flag_s1 = Flag of France.svg
| image_flag = Flag of the Free State of Bottleneck.png
| flag_alt =
| common_languages = {{ubli|[German](/source/German_language)|[Central Hessian](/source/Central_Hessian)}}
| religion = [Protestantism](/source/Protestantism)
| currency = {{ubli|[Freistaattaler](/source/Freistaattaler)|[German mark](/source/Papiermark)|[French franc](/source/French_franc)}}
| leader1 = Edmund Pnischeck
| year_leader1 = 1919–1923
| title_leader = President
| stat_year1 = 1920
| stat_area1 =
| stat_pop1 = 17,363
| footnotes = {{ubl|{{longitem|{{note|a|a}} Today used for tourist purposes.}}}}
| demonym = German
| area_km2 =
| area_rank =
| GDP_PPP =
| GDP_PPP_year =
| HDI =
| HDI_year =
| today = [Germany](/source/Germany)
}}
The '''Free State of Bottleneck''' ({{langx|de|Freistaat Flaschenhals}}) was a short-lived [quasi-state](/source/quasi-state) that existed from 10 January 1919 until 25 February 1923. It was formed from part of the [Prussia](/source/Prussia)n province of [Hesse-Nassau](/source/Province_of_Hesse-Nassau) as a consequence of the [occupation of the Rhineland](/source/occupation_of_the_Rhineland) following [World War I](/source/World_War_I). The Bottleneck is now part of the German [states](/source/States_of_Germany) of [Hesse](/source/Hesse) and [Rhineland-Palatinate](/source/Rhineland-Palatinate).
==Creation==
Following the [Armistice of 1918](/source/Armistice_with_Germany_(Compi%C3%A8gne)), Allied forces occupied the German territory west of the [Rhine](/source/Rhine). To maintain a military presence on the eastern side, the Allied powers extended their zones of occupation by creating three semi-circular bridgeheads of {{cvt|30|km}} radius, radiating from [Cologne](/source/Cologne) (British zone), [Koblenz](/source/Koblenz) (American zone), and [Mainz](/source/Mainz) (French zone).
The French and American zones did not meet entirely, leaving a narrow gap on the eastern side of the Rhine containing the [Wisper](/source/Wisper) valley, the towns of [Lorch](/source/Lorch_(Rheingau)) and [Kaub](/source/Kaub), and villages of Lorchhausen, Sauerthal, Ransel, Wollmerschied, Welterod, Zorn, Strüth and Egenrod.
Surrounded by the two Allied bridgeheads, the Rhine to the south-west and no roads nor railways to speak of towards the north-east, this tiny region was effectively cut off from the rest of Germany and subsequently separated from the administration of the [Weimar Republic](/source/Weimar_Republic).
Owing to the circular nature of the Allied bridgeheads, this enclosed territory took on the shape of a bottleneck, hence the name that was given to the microstate, when it was declared on 10 January 1919.
==Life in the Bottleneck==
[[File:Notgeldschein Freistaat Flaschenhals 01.JPG|thumb|[Emergency money](/source/Notgeld) with a verse reading "Nowhere is finer than the 'Free State' Bottleneck".]]
The region contained approximately 17,000 people and its largest town, [Lorch](/source/Lorch_(Rheingau)), was established as the capital. The Mayor of Lorch, Edmund Pnischeck, was subsequently elected president of the small territory. Pnischeck headed the Bottleneck's administration for all of its existence, which even oversaw the production of its own stamps and currency.
There were no roads connecting the Bottleneck to unoccupied Germany, trains were not permitted to stop there, and air or river transportation was impossible. The movement of goods and post to and from the state was only made possible by [smuggling](/source/smuggling). Once, a French train loaded with coal from the [Ruhr valley](/source/Ruhr_valley) was hijacked from neighbouring [Rüdesheim am Rhein](/source/R%C3%BCdesheim_am_Rhein) and taken to the Bottleneck, where the coal was distributed among the populace for heating purposes.[{{Cite web |url=http://www.freistaat-flaschenhals.de/eng/index.htm |title="Official" website of the Free State of Bottleneck |access-date=2007-05-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207042733/http://www.freistaat-flaschenhals.de/eng/index.htm |archive-date=2012-02-07 |url-status=dead }}]
==Foreign relations==
The state issued passports to its citizens, and had plans to establish an embassy in [Berlin](/source/Berlin). Furthermore, it was intended to establish diplomatic relations with other countries, but the state was dissolved before these plans were realised.[{{in lang|de}} [http://www.hr-online.de/website/fernsehen/sendungen/index.jsp?rubrik=3036&key=standard_document_1908900 Lebendige Geschichte: Vor 80 Jahren: der Freistaat Flaschenhals] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20060305173144/http://www.hr-online.de/website/fernsehen/sendungen/index.jsp?rubrik=3036&key=standard_document_1908900 |date=2006-03-05 }} [Hessischer Rundfunk](/source/Hessischer_Rundfunk)]
==Abolition==
After four years of existence, the Free State of Bottleneck was abolished on 23 February 1923 following the French [Occupation of the Ruhr](/source/Occupation_of_the_Ruhr). The Bottleneck was eventually reincorporated with the [Prussia](/source/Free_State_of_Prussia)n province of [Hesse-Nassau](/source/Province_of_Hesse-Nassau).
==The Bottleneck today==
The former territory of the Bottleneck is now part of the [Rhine Gorge](/source/Rhine_Gorge) [UNESCO](/source/UNESCO) [World Heritage Site](/source/World_Heritage_Site). The history of the Bottleneck is now a tourist attraction in the area, particularly in the former Free State's major towns of [Kaub](/source/Kaub) and [Lorch](/source/Lorch_(Rheingau)).
Bottleneck stamps and currency are now sought-after rarities. Wine that was smuggled in from occupied Germany and stored in Lorch and Kaub can also fetch high prices.
==See also==
*[Free Republic of Schwarzenberg](/source/Free_Republic_of_Schwarzenberg)
==References==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
*[http://www.freistaat-flaschenhals.de Official website of the Free State of Bottleneck] (German language)
{{States of the Weimar Republic}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:1919 establishments in Germany
Category:1923 disestablishments in Germany
Category:Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis
Category:Middle Rhine
Bottleneck
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Category:Rheingau
Category:Former republics
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Free State of Bottleneck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_State_of_Bottleneck) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_State_of_Bottleneck?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.