republic · Germany and Central Europe

Cisrhenian Republic

1797 CE – 1797 CE

Brief project for a Rhineland sister republic of France, proclaimed in 1797 but abandoned within months.

Origins

After French armies occupied the left bank of the Rhine, local supporters of the Revolution in towns such as Bonn, Koblenz, Cologne and Aachen proclaimed a Cisrhenian Republic in September 1797, with the encouragement of General Lazare Hoche, who favoured a separate state allied to France.

Rule and society

The republic never had a functioning government or capital; it consisted of declarations, liberty trees and a movement led by young intellectuals, among them Joseph Görres in Koblenz. Its supporters wanted independence from the princes and from direct French rule, but most of the population showed little support.

Decline and legacy

Hoche died in September 1797, and the Treaty of Campo Formio the following month opened the way for French annexation. The left bank was organised into French departments from 1798, ending the project; Görres later became a leading German Catholic publicist.

Lineage

Cisrhenian RepublicFrench First Republic 1792 CE – 1804 CE

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Cisrhenian Republic. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/cisrhenian-republic
MLA
“Cisrhenian Republic.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/cisrhenian-republic. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Cisrhenian Republic.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/cisrhenian-republic.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Cisrhenian Republic’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/cisrhenian-republic (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻