Before Bismarck was Bismarck, it went by another name. Just a year later, the city renamed itself the capital city to honor the German Chancellor, "Prince Baron Otto Eduard Leopold Schoenhausen Von Bismarck." Something else you might not know is that Bismarck wasn't originally North Dakota's capital city. It was only after the Dakota Territory split in two that Bismarck became the capital in 1889. 8 Travel Fears in North Dakota There's one thing all North Dakota travelers have in common.