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Kingdom of Prussia
Königreich Preußen(German)
1701–1918
State flag (1803–1892)
Coat of arms (1701–1871)
Anthem: Borussia "Prussia" (1820–1830) Preußenlied "Song of Prussia" (1830–1840)
Royal anthem: Heil dir im Siegerkranz "Hail to thee in the Victor's Crown" (1795–1918)
The Kingdom of Prussia within the Holy Roman Empire in 1714
The Kingdom of Prussia within the Holy Roman Empire in 1797
The Kingdom of Prussia within the German Confederation in 1815
The Kingdom of Prussia within the North German Confederation in 1870
The Kingdom of Prussia within the German Empire in 1871
Status
Kingdom[note 1]
Capital
Berlin
Königsberg (1806–07)
Common languages
Official: German Neo-Latin (until 1806) Polish (only in GD of Posen, 1815–1848)
Minorities:
Low German
Danish
East Frisian
North Frisian
Polish
Kashubian
Slovincian
Silesian
Czech
Moravian
Upper Sorbian
Lower Sorbian
Polabian
Lithuanian
Old Prussian (until 18th century)
Kursenieki
Yiddish
French
Dutch
Religion
Statewide majority: Protestantism[1] (Lutheran and Calvinist; Prussian United after 1817 (state religion)) Majority in some territories: Catholicism[note 2] Other minorities:
Judaism
Demonym(s)
Prussian
Government
Absolute monarchy (until 1848)
Semi-constitutional monarchy (from 1848)
King
• 1701–1713 (first)
Frederick I
• 1888–1918 (last)
Wilhelm II
Minister-Presidenta
• 1848 (first)
A. H. von Arnim-Boitzenburg
• 1918 (last)
Max von Baden
Legislature
Landtag
• Upper house
Herrenhaus
• Lower house
Abgeordnetenhaus
Historical era
New Imperialism
World War I
• Coronation of Frederick I
18 January 1701
• Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire
6 August 1806
• Formation of German Confederation
8 June 1815
• Constitution adopted
5 December 1848
• North German Confederation Treaty
18 August 1866
• German Empire proclaimed
18 January 1871
• Free State of Prussia proclaimed
9 November 1918
• Abdication of Wilhelm IIb
28 November 1918
Area
1871[2]
348,779 km2 (134,664 sq mi)
Population
• 1756[3]
4,500,000
• 1816[2]
10,349,031
• 1871[2]
24,689,000
• 1910[4]
40,169,219
Currency
1701–1750Reichsthaler
1750–1857Thaler
1857–1873Vereinsthaler
1873–1914Goldmark
1914–1918Papiermark
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Margraviate of Brandenburg
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Duchy of Prussia
Brandenburg-Prussia
Principality of Neuchâtel
Royal Prussia
Swedish Pomerania
Free City of Danzig
Duchy of Warsaw
Electorate of Hesse
Free City of Frankfurt
Duchy of Nassau
Kingdom of Hanover
Duchy of Holstein
Duchy of Schleswig
Saxe-Lauenburg
Lands of the Bohemian Crown
Duchies of Silesia
County of Kladsko
Free City of Danzig
Duchy of Warsaw
Canton of Neuchâtel
Free State of Prussia
Free City of Danzig
Second Polish Republic
First Czechoslovak Republic
Belgium
Denmark
Klaipėda Region
Territory of the Saar Basin
Today part of
Germany Poland Russia
^a During the North German Confederation (1866–1871) and German Empire (1871–1918), the Minister-President of Prussia was also the Chancellor of Germany.
^b Statement of Abdication of William II
^
Sovereign kingdom (former Ducal Prussia only 1701–1772; East Prussia, West Prussia, South Prussia, Netze District, New East Prussia, Lauenburg and Bütow Land and Starostwo of Draheim 1795–1806; East Prussia, West Prussia, Grand Duchy of Posen 1815–1866)
Vassal semi-independent of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1701–1772, Lauenburg and Bütow Land and Starostwo of Draheim only)
Associate of the Swiss Confederation (1707–1806, County of Neuchatel only)
Vassal of the Holy Roman Empire (1701–1806, all territories except those listed above)
State of the Continental System under occupation by the First French Empire (1806–1813, without the lost County of Neuchâtel and territories ceded to the Duchy of Warsaw or the Free City of Danzig)
Member of the Swiss Confederation (1814–1848; County of Neuchatel 1814–1857)
Federated state of the German Confederation (1815–1866, only territories previously in the Holy Roman Empire, as well as Lauenburg and Bütow Land and Starostwo of Draheim)
Federated state of the North German Confederation (1866–1871, as a whole, king holding the Bundespräsidium)
Federated state of the German Empire (1871–1918, as a whole, king holding the Bundespräsidium as the German Emperor)
^
Ermland
West Prussia
South Prussia
Netze District
New East Prussia
Grand Duchy of Posen
Province of Posen
Lauenburg and Bütow Land
Starostwo of Draheim
Rhine Province
Province of Westphalia
Upper Silesia
County of Glatz
History of Brandenburg and Prussia
Northern March (965 – 983)
Lutician federation (983 – 12th century)
Old Prussians (pre – 13th century)
Margraviate of Brandenburg (1157–1618)
Teutonic Order (1224 – 1525)
Elector of Brandenburg (1356 – 1806)
Duchy of Prussia (1525 – 1618)
Malbork Voivodeship and Prince-Bishopric of Warmia within Royal (Polish) Prussia (Poland 1454/1466 – 1772)
Brandenburg-Prussia (1618 – 1701)
Kingdom of Prussia (1701 – 1918)
Free State of Prussia (1918 – 1947)
Present
Działdowo area (from 1918)
Klaipėda Region (1920–1939, from 1945)
Warmia, Masuria within Recovered Territories (from 1945)
Kaliningrad Oblast (from 1945)
Berlin and Brandenburg (1947–1952, from 1990)
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The Kingdom of Prussia[a] (German: Königreich Preußen, pronounced[ˈkøːnɪkʁaɪçˈpʁɔʏsn̩]ⓘ) constituted the German state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.[5] It was the driving force behind the unification of Germany in 1866 and was the leading state of the German Empire until its dissolution in 1918.[5] Although it took its name from the region called Prussia, it was based in the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Its capital was Berlin.[6]
The kings of Prussia were from the House of Hohenzollern. Brandenburg-Prussia, predecessor of the kingdom, became a military power under Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, known as "The Great Elector".[7][8][9][10] As a kingdom, Prussia continued its rise to power, especially during the reign of Frederick II "the Great".[11] Frederick the Great was instrumental in starting the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), holding his own against Austria, Russia, France and Sweden and establishing Prussia's dominant role among the German states, as well as establishing the country as a European great power through the victories of the powerful Prussian Army.[12][13] Prussia made attempts to unify all the German states (excluding the German cantons in Switzerland) under its rule, and whether Austria would be included in such a unified German domain became an ongoing question. After the Napoleonic Wars led to the creation of the German Confederation, the issue of unifying the German states caused the German revolutions of 1848–1849, with representatives from all states attempting to unify under their own constitution.[5] Attempts to create a federation remained unsuccessful and the German Confederation collapsed in 1866 when the Austro-Prussian War ensued between its two most powerful member states.
Prussia was subsequently the driving force behind establishing in 1866 the North German Confederation, transformed in 1871 into the unified German Empire and considered the earliest continual legal predecessor of today's Federal Republic of Germany.[5] The North German Confederation was seen as more of an alliance of military strength in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War but many of its laws were later used in the German Empire. The German Empire successfully unified all of the German states aside from Austria and Switzerland under Prussian hegemony[5] due to the defeat of Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. The war united all the German states against a common enemy, and with the victory came an overwhelming wave of nationalism which changed the opinions of some of those who had been against unification.
With the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Kingdom of Prussia was transformed into the Free State of Prussia.
^E. Alvis, Robert (2005). Religion and the Rise of Nationalism: A Profile of an East-Central European City. Syracuse University Press. p. 133. ISBN 9780815630814.
^ ab"Königreich Preußen (1701–1918)" (in German). Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2007.
^Ernest John Knapton. "Revolutionary and Imperial France, 1750–1815." Scribner: 1971. Page 12.
^"German Empire: administrative subdivision and municipalities, 1900 to 1910" (in German). Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2007.
^ abcdeMarriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946.
^"Prussia | History, Maps, & Definition". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
^Fueter, Eduard (1922). World history, 1815–1920. United States of America: Harcourt, Brace and Company. pp. 25–28, 36–44. ISBN 1-58477-077-5.
^Danilovic, Vesna. "When the Stakes Are High—Deterrence and Conflict among Major Powers", University of Michigan Press (2002), p 27, p225–228
^[1][dead link] Aping the Great Powers: Frederick the Great and the Defence of Prussia's International Position 1763–86, Pp. 286–307.
^[2] The Rise of Prussia Archived June 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
^Horn, D. B. "The Youth of Frederick the Great 1712–30." In Frederick the Great and the Rise of Prussia, 9–10. 3rd ed. London: English Universities Press, 1964.
^Horn, D. B. "The Seven Years' War." In Frederick the Great and the Rise of Prussia, pp. 81–101. 3rd ed. London: English Universities Press, 1964.
^Atkinson, C. T. A History of Germany, 1715–1815. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1969.
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