Timeline / 1860 to 1880 / GERMANY Date Country Theme 1862 Germany Political Context Otto von Bismarck becomes prime minister of Prussia. 1864 Germany Political Context As a consequence of the Prussian–Danish war, Denmark retracts its demand for Schleswig and Holstein. 1864 Germany Great Inventions Of The 19th Century The chemist Julius Lothar Meyer (1830–95) develops the first periodic table of chemical elements. 1866 Germany Great Inventions Of The 19th Century Werner von Siemens invents the dynamo. 1866 - 1871 Germany Economy And Trade Formation of the North German Confederation in 1866/7 sees a federation of the 22 independent states of northern Germany, with nearly 30 million inhabitants. It was the first modern German nation-state and the basis for the later German Empire (1871–1918). 1870 Germany Economy And Trade The Deutsche Bank is founded by Georg von Siemens. 1871 Germany Political Context The German Empire, a union of sovereign states and free cities, is established under Prussian leadership. 1871 Germany Cities And Urban Spaces Berlin becomes the imperial capital. From 1871 Germany Economy And Trade The capital market is enlivened by France’s payment of 5 million French francs, paid to Germany as compensation following the war between the two countries (1870–1). 1872 - 1879 Germany Reforms And Social Changes As a consequence of the Kulturkampf the influence of the Catholic Church is limited in Germany. 1873 Germany Rediscovering The Past Date Country Theme The development of Classical Archaeology is strongly influenced by Heinrich Schliemann in the second half of the 18th century when for example he finds the “Gold of Troy”. 1873 Germany Economy And Trade The Krupp Corporation is the largest industrial concern in Europe. 1873 - 1880 Germany Economy And Trade The economic crash known as the Gründerkrise sees companies and banks shut down and a rise in unemployment and social dissatisfaction. 1873 - 1878 Germany International Exhibitions The Moorish Kiosk, built for the World Exhibition in Paris in 1878, was subsequently bought for Linderhof Palace Park by Ludwig II. The Moroccan House, which was actually built in Morocco for the International Exhibition in Vienna in 1873 and acquired by a private individual after the king’s death, was bought by the German state in 1980 and reconstructed in the Palace Park in 1998. 1873 Germany Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion Levi Strauss, a German citizen in exile in America, requests the patent for blue Jeans. 1876 Germany Great Inventions Of The 19th Century Robert Koch discovers bacteriology. 1879 Germany Economy And Trade The German Empire moves from a free-trade system to protective duty. 1879 Germany International Exhibitions The Great Industrial Exposition is held at the Lehrter Bahnhof in Berlin, where one of main attractions is the first electric locomotive from Siemens & Halske. 1880 Germany Travelling The dome of Cologne is completed (construction began in 1248). It is the tallest church building in the world at the time..