Barometer | 4 April 2019

German customs

The original customs union, or Zollverein, was established by Prussia along with 17 other states which make up modern Germany in 1834. Prior to that, traders crossing what is now Germany, were obliged to make multiple declarations and pay taxes as they moved across state borders.
— It had taken 15 years to establish, but achieved a big step towards realisation in 1828 when Prussia formed a union with neighbouring state Hesse-Darmstadt, Bavaria formed its own union with Wurttemberg, and Saxony with Thuringian.
— Not everyone was convinced. Hamburg and Bremen, which conducted much external trade by sea and made a lot of money from import duties, were not persuaded to join until 1888, by which time they had already been part of the German Empire for 17 years. Even then, the actual port of Hamburg remained outside the customs union.

Splits and pieces

How is the country split?