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Zollverein

American  
[tsawl-fer-ahyn, tsawl-fuh-rahyn] / ˈtsɔl fɛrˌaɪn, ˈtsɔl fəˌraɪn /

noun

  1. (in the 19th century) a union of German states for the maintenance of a uniform tariff on imports from other countries, and of free trading among themselves.

  2. any similar union or arrangement between a number of states; customs union.


Zollverein British  
/ ˈtsɔlfɛrˌain /

noun

  1. the customs union of German states organized in the early 1830s under Prussian auspices

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Zollverein

1835–45; < German, equivalent to Zoll custom, duty, tariff + Verein union

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

After the failure of the Frankfurt Assembly, momentum for German unification resumed with the mounting success of the Zollverein, a customs union formed by Prussia in 1834.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

Built at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the Zollverein mine cemented Germany’s place as a coal behemoth.

From Scientific American • Jan. 4, 2022

In the German lands, it was not until the establishment of the Zollverein, a customs union, in 1834 that trade could flow freely enough to encourage industrial growth in earnest.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2020

At Zollverein, the viewing platform offers a 360-degree view of the physical change the transformation has brought about.

From Scientific American • Sep. 5, 2017

Men brawl over jobs outside the Zollverein gates, and chicken eggs sell for two million reichsmarks apiece, and rheumatic fever stalks Children’s House like a wolf.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

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