In 1848, the serveral small states of the jouger branch of the house of Reuss-Gera were emerged into the Principality Reuß jüngerer Linie. The small state was changed in 1918 into the Freistaat Reuss which was followed up by the Volksstaat Reuss. In 1920 the area was incorporated into the Land Thüringen, which was part of Weimar Germany.