Grand Duchy of Berg

The Grand Duchy of Berg was a short-lived German state created by Napoleon after his victory at Austerlitz. In 1806 Bavaria ceded the duchy of Berg to France in exchange for Ansbach, and Napoleon gave it to his brother-in-law Joachim Murat, who joined the Confederation of the Rhine that July and took the title grand duke. The new state combined the old duchy of Berg with Cleves and other lands east of the Rhine, and its capital was Düsseldorf. Murat's arms joined the red lion of Berg with the Cleves swans; his offices as Grand Admiral and Marshal of the Empire added anchors, batons and the imperial eagle. In 1808 Napoleon made Berg part of the Continental System, and French officials reorganised its administration, abolished serfdom and introduced the Napoleonic Code. After Murat left for Naples in 1808, Napoleon governed Berg directly through commissioners and later gave it to his young nephew Napoleon Louis. The state served as a base for French operations in Germany and supplied troops for the Russian campaign. Prussian and Allied forces occupied Berg in 1813, and the Congress of Vienna assigned its territory to Prussia in 1815.