1860s in Prussia

19th-century German Emperor and King of Prussia (1797–1888)

historical federal state in today's Northern Germany (1867–1871)

"Lückentheorie" (, gap theory), is a term proposed by German jurist and politician Friedrich Julius Stahl. It was employed by Otto von Bismarck in order to resolve the constitutional conflict in Prussia from 1862-1866 with the Landtag in the favor of the King. The theory implied that when the Prussian Constitution of 1850 did not come to an agreement on the vote of the budget, there is a legal gap that can be filled by the "monarchical principle". The Lückentheorie affirms the King as the sole one with the power to decide on matters of the Constitution, and that the King could overrule Landtag