Reichsmarineamt
| Reichsmarineamt | |
 |
|
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | April 1, 1889 |
| Dissolved | July 15, 1919 |
| Superseding agency |
|
| Jurisdiction | Reich Chancellery |
| Headquarters |
Leipziger Platz (until 1914)/ Bendlerblock, Berlin |
| Agency executive |
|
The Imperial Naval Office (German: Reichsmarineamt) was a government agency of the German Empire. It was established in April 1889, when the German Imperial Admiralty was abolished and its duties divided among three new entities: the Imperial Naval High Command (Kaiserliches Oberkommando der Marine), the Imperial Naval Cabinet (Kaiserliches Marinekabinett) and the Imperial Naval Office performing the functions of a ministry for the Imperial German Navy.
According to the 1871 Constitution of the German Empire, the federal states were responsible for the German land forces and the imperial government for the navy. So while there were Prussian, Bavarian, Saxon and Württemberg armies, there was a single Imperial Navy, the only formation under the direct authority of the German Reich beside the colonial Schutztruppe forces.
The head of the Naval Office was a Secretary of State who reported directly to the Imperial Chancellor (Reichskanzler). While the operational management of the Navy was the responsibility of the Imperial Naval High Command and under the direct command of Emperor Wilhelm II from 1899, the tasks of the Office were mainly administrative, such as planning naval construction and maintenance programs, directing the procurement of naval supplies, and advising the Reichstag parliament on naval matters. It also ran the Imperial shipyards in Danzig, Kiel and Wilhelmshaven, several educational institutions, and the Seewarte meteorological institute in Hamburg.
...
Wikipedia