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111-584: A district called Hameln was established in 1885 within the Prussian Province of Hanover . At that time the city of Pyrmont was part of the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont . In 1921 Pyrmont decided in a plebiscite to leave Waldeck-Pyrmont and to join Prussia. The Prussian administration assigned the city to the district of Hameln, which was renamed to Hameln-Pyrmont. In 1923 Hameln became

222-729: A fiefdom to the Teutonic Knights , a German military order of crusading knights, headquartered in the Kingdom of Jerusalem at Acre . In 1225 he expelled them, and they transferred their operations to the Baltic Sea area. Konrad I , the Polish Duke of Masovia , had unsuccessfully attempted to conquer pagan Prussia in crusades in 1219 and 1222. In 1226 Duke Konrad invited the Teutonic Knights to conquer

333-737: A province of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland , which was annexed following the imposed Second Peace of Toruń (1466) from territory in Pomerelia and western Prussia which had been part of the State of the Teutonic Order . Royal Prussia retained its autonomy , governing itself and maintaining its own laws, customs, rights and German language for the German minority and Polish language for

444-548: A black cross with gold insert and black imperial eagle. The combination of the black and white colours with the white and red Hanseatic colours of the free cities Bremen , Hamburg and Lübeck , as well as of Brandenburg , resulted in the black-white-red commercial flag of the North German Confederation , which became the flag of the German Empire in 1871. Suum cuique ("to each, his own"),

555-664: A coalition of Hanseatic cities of western Prussia, rebelled against the Order and requested help from the Polish king, Casimir IV Jagiellon . The Teutonic Knights were forced to acknowledge the sovereignty of, and to pay tribute to Casimir IV in the Second Peace of Thorn (1466) , losing western Prussia ( Royal Prussia ) to Poland in the process. Pursuant to the Second Peace of Thorn, two Prussian states were established. During

666-658: A continental great power and Prussia satisfied its desire for merging the once separate territories and gaining strong economic and strategic power, particularly from the full access to the resources of the Ruhr. Bismarck desired Austria as an ally in the future, and so he declined to annex any Austrian territory. But in the Peace of Prague in 1866, Prussia annexed four of Austria's allies in northern and central Germany – Hanover, Hesse-Kassel , Nassau and Frankfurt . Prussia also won full control of Schleswig-Holstein . As

777-455: A crown from a revolutionary assembly without the sanction of Germany's other monarchs. The Frankfurt Parliament was forced to dissolve in 1849, and Frederick William issued a constitution by his own authority in 1850. This conservative document provided for a two-house parliament, the Landtag of Prussia . The lower house, or Prussian House of Representatives was elected by all males over

888-594: A crown placed around its neck as a symbol of submission to Poland. Albert I, a member of a cadet branch of the House of Hohenzollern became a Lutheran Protestant and secularized the Order's Prussian territories. This was the area east of the mouth of the Vistula river, later sometimes called "Prussia proper". For the first time, these lands came into the hands of a branch of the Hohenzollern family, who already ruled

999-469: A desire for German unification in this period was the Burschenschaft student movement, by students who encouraged the use of the black-red-gold flag, discussions of a unified German nation, and a progressive, liberal political system. Because of Prussia's size and economic importance, smaller states began to join its free trade area in the 1820s. Prussia benefited greatly from the creation in 1834 of

1110-478: A district-free city and was not part of the district until 1973, when it was reincorporated. Further enlargements of the district's territory took place in 1974 and 1977, when the cities of Bad Münder and Hessisch Oldendorf joined the district. The district is located in the northern part of the Weserbergland mountains. The Weser River enters the district in the south, runs through Hameln and leaves in

1221-576: A monetary union was established between Royal Prussia and Ducal Prussia and the rest of the kingdom. From 1537 summons to the Sejm were continuously sent to the Prussian sejmiks. The Prussian nobility appeared permanently at the Sejm as observers. In 1548, after the death of King Sigismund the Old , for the first time, a delegation of both Prussian chambers went to the Sejm as deputies and senators. In 1569, as

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1332-592: A result of the Union of Lublin , which created the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth , Royal Prussia was integrated fully into the Kingdom of Poland , and its parliament reduced to the status of a provincial assembly, also other separate Prussian institutions were dissolved. Before the conclusion of the Union of Lublin, the Polish chancellor openly admitted that this act breached law by violation of

1443-468: A result of these territorial gains, Prussia now stretched uninterrupted across the northern two-thirds of Germany and contained two-thirds of Germany's population. The German Confederation was dissolved, and Prussia impelled the 21 states north of the Main river into forming the North German Confederation . Prussia was the dominant state in the new confederation, as the kingdom comprised almost four-fifths of

1554-599: A significant part of Prussia lost the majority of their German population after 1945 as the Polish People's Republic and the Soviet Union both absorbed these territories and had most of its German inhabitants expelled by 1950. Prussia, deemed "a bearer of militarism and reaction" by the Allies , was officially abolished by an Allied declaration in 1947. The international status of the former eastern territories of

1665-621: A similar oath from the citizens of Elbląg (Elbing) and Królewiec (Königsberg) was taken. The war also included major cities from the eastern part of the Order's lands, such as Kneiphof , later a part of Königsberg. Though the Knights were victorious at the Battle of Chojnice in 1454, they were not able to finance more knights in order to reconquer the castles occupied by the insurgents. Thirteen years of attrition warfare ended in October 1466 with

1776-415: A supreme tribunal was established for the Prussian courts, excluding the courts of Danzig, which denied the right of appeal to the Prussian court and decided cases internally. It sometimes resorted to royal and parliamentary courts. Closer ties with the rest of the kingdom found support primarily among the ordinary nobility, for whom the Polish political and legal solutions were more favourable. In particular,

1887-485: A territory free of any feudal obligations, which constituted the basis for their later elevation to kings. Frederick William I succeeded in organizing the electorate by establishing an absolute monarchy in Brandenburg-Prussia, an achievement for which he became known as the "Great Elector". Above all, he emphasised the importance of a powerful military to protect the state's disconnected territories, while

1998-458: A whole by a mixed population; it is estimated that there were about 200 000 Germans in the state altogether, followed by 140 000 native Prussians located in the Prussia proper (east of Vistula), as well about 140 000 Poles in Pomerelia and Masuria . The burden of taxation and the arbitrary way of governing caused resistance among the people of Prussia. The burghers of the great Prussian cities began to organize themselves. The first organized body

2109-568: The Junker class of landed aristocrats in the East who dominated first Prussia and then the German Empire. The main coat of arms of Prussia , as well as the flag of Prussia , depicted a black eagle on a white background. The black and white national colours were already used by the Teutonic Knights and by the Hohenzollern dynasty . The Teutonic Order wore a white coat embroidered with

2220-568: The Prussian House of Lords , was appointed by the king. He retained full executive authority, and ministers were responsible only to him. As a result, the grip of the landowning classes, the Junkers, remained unbroken, especially in the eastern provinces. The constitution nevertheless contained a number of liberal elements such as the introduction of jury courts and a catalog of fundamental rights that included freedom of religion, speech and

2331-518: The Battle of Jena-Auerstedt , leading Frederick William III and his family to flee temporarily to Memel . Under the Treaties of Tilsit in 1807, the state lost about one-third of its area, including the areas gained from the second and third Partitions of Poland , which now fell to the Duchy of Warsaw . Beyond that, the king was obliged to pay a large indemnity, to cap his army at 42,000 men, and to let

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2442-639: The Congress of Vienna was the recovery of her lost territories, as well as the whole of the Rhineland , Westphalia , 40% of Saxony and some other territories. These western lands were of vital importance because they included the Ruhr region, the centre of Germany's fledgling industrialisation, especially in the arms industry. These territorial gains also meant the doubling of Prussia's population. In exchange, Prussia withdrew from areas of central Poland to allow

2553-551: The Duchy of Prussia , allowing its later elevation to Kingdom in Prussia . The independent Duchy of Pomerelia is mentioned in 1227. It was, however, invaded by Poland by 1282, but retained some autonomy. During the rule of Władysław I the Elbow-high of Poland, the Margraviate of Brandenburg challenged his rule over the territory in 1308, leading Władysław to request assistance from the Teutonic Knights , who ousted

2664-537: The Edict of Potsdam (1685) opened Brandenburg-Prussia for the immigration of Protestant refugees (especially Huguenots ), and he established a bureaucracy to carry out state administration efficiently. On 18 January 1701, Frederick William's son, Elector Frederick III, elevated Prussia from a duchy to a kingdom and crowned himself King Frederick I . In the Crown Treaty of 16 November 1700, Leopold I , emperor of

2775-478: The Free State of Prussia lost nearly all of its legal and political importance following the 1932 coup led by Franz von Papen. Subsequently, it was effectively dismantled into Nazi German Gaue in 1935. Nevertheless, some Prussian ministries were kept and Hermann Göring remained in his role as Minister President of Prussia until the end of World War II . Former eastern territories of Germany that made up

2886-554: The Holy Roman Empire , allowed Frederick only to title himself " King in Prussia ", not " King of Prussia ". The state of Brandenburg-Prussia became commonly known as "Prussia", although most of its territory, in Brandenburg, Pomerania, and western Germany, lay outside Prussia proper. The Prussian state grew in splendour during the reign of Frederick I, who sponsored the arts at the expense of the treasury. Frederick I

2997-555: The Margraviate of Brandenburg , since the 15th century. Furthermore, with his renunciation of the Order, Albert could now marry and produce legitimate heirs. Brandenburg and Prussia united two generations later. In 1594 Duchess Anna of Prussia , granddaughter of Albert I and daughter of Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia (reigned 1568–1618), married her cousin Elector John Sigismund of Brandenburg. When Albert Frederick died in 1618 without male heirs, John Sigismund

3108-463: The Old Prussians ; in the 13th century, the Teutonic Knights  – an organized Catholic medieval military order of German crusaders  – conquered the lands inhabited by them. In 1308, the Teutonic Knights conquered the region of Pomerelia with Danzig . Their monastic state was mostly Germanised through immigration from central and western Germany , and, in

3219-644: The defeat of Napoleon in Russia , Prussia quit its alliance with France and took part in the Sixth Coalition during the "Wars of Liberation" ( Befreiungskriege ) against the French occupation. Prussian troops under Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher contributed crucially (alongside the British and Dutch) to the final victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo of June 1815. Prussia's reward in 1815 at

3330-405: The main square of the Polish capital Kraków , Albert I resigned his position as Grand Master of the Teutonic Order and received the title "Duke of Prussia" from King Zygmunt I the Old of Poland. As a symbol of vassalage, Albert received a standard with the Prussian coat of arms from the Polish king. The black Prussian eagle on the flag was augmented with a letter "S" (for Sigismundus) and had

3441-621: The papacy and to the Holy Roman Emperor . Their initially close relationship with the Polish Crown deteriorated after they conquered Polish-controlled Pomerelia and Danzig in 1308. Eventually, Poland and Lithuania, allied through the Union of Krewo (1385), defeated the Knights in the Battle of Grunwald (Tannenberg) in 1410. The Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466) began when the Prussian Confederation ,

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3552-603: The (compulsory) protection of Prussia. Additionally, mutual defence treaties were concluded. However, the existence of these treaties was kept secret until Bismarck made them public in 1867 when France tried to acquire Luxembourg . The controversy with the Second French Empire over the candidacy of Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern to the Spanish throne was escalated both by France and Bismarck. With his Ems Dispatch , Bismarck took advantage of an incident in which

3663-541: The 19th century. Frederick the Great (reigned 1740–1786) practised enlightened absolutism . He built the world's best army, and usually won his many wars. He introduced a general civil code, abolished torture and established the principle that the Crown would not interfere in matters of justice. He also promoted an advanced secondary education, the forerunner of today's German gymnasium (grammar school) system, which prepares

3774-656: The Austrian Army at the Battle of Mollwitz on 10 April 1741, Frederick succeeded in conquering Lower Silesia (the northwestern half of Silesia). In the next year, 1742, he conquered Upper Silesia (the southeastern half). Furthermore, in the Third Silesian War (part of the Seven Years' War ) Frederick won a victory over Austria at the Battle of Lobositz on 1 October 1756. In spite of some victories afterward, his situation became far less comfortable

3885-729: The Baltic Prussian tribes on his borders. During 60 years of struggles against the Old Prussians , the Order established an independent state that came to control Prūsa. After the Livonian Brothers of the Sword joined the Teutonic Order in 1237, the Order also controlled Livonia (now Latvia and Estonia ). Around 1252 they finished the conquest of the northernmost Prussian tribe of the Skalvians as well as of

3996-529: The Baltic Sea for foreign countries. In the course of the Ostsiedlung (German eastward expansion) process, settlers were invited , bringing changes in the ethnic composition as well as in language, culture, and law of the eastern borders of the German lands. As a majority of these settlers were Germans, Low German became the dominant language. The Knights of the Teutonic Order were subordinate to

4107-562: The Brandenburg territories with those of Prussia proper. The partition also added Polish Royal Prussia to the kingdom, allowing Frederick to re-style himself King of Prussia. During this period, he also opened Prussia's borders to immigrants fleeing from religious persecution in other parts of Europe, such as the Huguenots . Prussia became a safe haven in much the same way that the United States welcomed immigrants seeking freedom in

4218-564: The Brandenburgers, but then seized Pomerelia for themselves and incorporated it into the Teutonic Order state in 1309 ( Teutonic takeover of Danzig (Gdańsk) and Treaty of Soldin ( Myślibórz )). The papal court in 1320 and 1333 ruled in favour of Poland , however, the Teutonic Knights did not comply and continued to occupy the region. At the beginning of the 15th century, the lands held by the Teutonic Knights were inhabited as

4329-667: The Danes, who surrendered both territories. In the resulting Gastein Convention of 1865 Prussia took over the administration of Schleswig while Austria assumed that of Holstein. Bismarck realised that the dual administration of Schleswig and Holstein was only a temporary solution, and tensions rose between Prussia and Austria. The struggle for supremacy in Germany then led to the Austro-Prussian War (1866), triggered by

4440-750: The Duchy of Prussia, which was still held in fief from the Polish crown. In January 1656, during the first phase of the Second Northern War (1654–1660), he received the duchy as a fief from the Swedish king who later granted him full sovereignty in the Treaty of Labiau (November 1656). In 1657 the Polish king renewed this grant in the treaties of Wehlau and Bromberg . With Prussia, the Brandenburg Hohenzollern dynasty now held

4551-522: The French ambassador had approached William. The government of Napoleon III , expecting another civil war among the German states, declared war against Prussia, continuing Franco-German enmity . However, honouring their treaties, the German states joined forces and quickly defeated France in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. Following victory under Bismarck's and Prussia's leadership, Baden , Württemberg and Bavaria, which had remained outside

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4662-459: The French garrison troops throughout Prussia, effectively making the kingdom a French satellite. In response to this defeat, reformers such as Stein and Hardenberg set about modernising the Prussian state. Among their reforms were the liberation of peasants from serfdom , the Emancipation of Jews and making full citizens of them. The school system was rearranged, and in 1818 free trade

4773-572: The German Customs Union ( Zollverein ), which included most German states but excluded Austria. In 1848, the liberals saw an opportunity when revolutions broke out across Europe . Alarmed, King Frederick William IV agreed to convene a National Assembly and grant a constitution . When the Frankfurt Parliament offered Frederick William the crown of a united Germany, he refused on the grounds that he would not accept

4884-593: The German Empire was a version of the North German Confederation's constitution. Officially, the German Empire was a federal state. In practice, Prussia overshadowed the rest of the empire. Prussia included three-fifths of the German territory and two-thirds of its population. The Imperial German Army was, in practice, an enlarged Prussian army, although the other kingdoms ( Bavaria , Saxony and Württemberg ) retained their own small armies, coming under Imperial control in wartime. The imperial crown

4995-444: The Hanseatic League) until the decline of the League in about 1500. The expansion of Prussia based on its connection with the Hanseatic League cut both Poland and Lithuania off from the coast of the Baltic Sea and trade abroad. This meant that Poland and Lithuania would be traditional enemies of Prussia, which was still called the Teutonic Knights. In 1211, King Andrew II of Hungary granted Burzenland in Transylvania as

5106-451: The Kingdom of Prussia was disputed until the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany in 1990, but its return to Germany remains a cause among far-right politicians, the Federation of Expellees and various political revanchists and irredentists . The terms "Prussian" and " Prussianism " have often been used, especially outside Germany, to denote the militarism, military professionalism, aggressiveness, and conservatism of

5217-405: The North German Confederation, accepted incorporation into a united German Empire . The empire was a "Lesser German" solution (in German, " kleindeutsche Lösung ") to the question of uniting all German-speaking peoples into one state, because it excluded Austria, which remained connected to Hungary and whose territories included non-German populations. On 18 January 1871 (the 170th anniversary of

5328-474: The Order's subjects the right to throw off its sovereignty if it violated them. In 1440, as the tax burden rose, the nobles and various cities established the Prussian Confederation at Marienwerder (Kwidzyn) in resistance of the Order's domestic and financial policies. Confederation formed a self-governing bicameral institution, representing nobles and burghers of the province, which took decisions unanimously. Many further nobles and cities and towns soon joined

5439-462: The Polish kingdom. At the same time Royal Prussia was granted a considerable degree of autonomy. Already instituted law codes were retained, only Prussians could be appointed on public offices ( ius indigenatus ), borders of the province had to remain intact and all decisions regarding Prussia had to be consulted with the Prussian council. Thorn and Danzig retained the right to mint coins. The Polish model of political and administrative organisation

5550-450: The Polish majority. In 1569, Royal Prussia was fully integrated into the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and its autonomy was largely abolished. As a result, the Royal Prussian parliament was incorporated into the Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . In 1772 and 1793, after the first and second partition of Poland , the former territory of Royal Prussia was recovered by the Kingdom of Prussia and subsequently re-organized into

5661-412: The Prussian government to German Chancellor Franz von Papen in 1932 and de jure by an Allied decree in 1947. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, expanding its size with the Prussian Army . Prussia, with its capital at Königsberg and then, when it became the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701, Berlin , decisively shaped the history of Germany . The name Prussia derives from

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5772-467: The Prussian lands as subjects, incorporated Prussia to the Polish kingdom and granted them a large autonomy. The Prussian estates received confirmation of their rights and privileges, were exempted from paying the Pfundzoll  [ de ] , received the ius indigenatus , the right to decide on Prussian affairs at their own estate assemblies and a guarantee of the freedom of trade. Thorn, Elbing, Königsberg and Danzig ( Danzig law ) were to retain

5883-409: The Second Peace of Thorn (1466), which provided for the Order's cession to the Polish Crown of its rights over Pomerelia, and the western half of Prussia , including the districts of Elbląg and Malbork (Marienburg). According to the 1454 treaty signed by King Casimir IV, Royal Prussia was incorporated into the Kingdom of Poland and their elites enjoyed the same rights and privileges as the elites of

5994-433: The Teutonic Order's rule and for incorporation of their homeland into the Kingdom of Poland. In this treaty, Prussian delegates declared the Polish king the only true sovereign of their lands, justified by the historical fact that the king of Poland had earlier ruled them. After lengthy negotiation, on 6 March 1454, the Royal Chancellery issued the Incorporation Act by which king Kazimierz Jagiellończyk accepted inhabitants of

6105-429: The age of 25. They were divided into three classes whose votes were weighted according to the amount of taxes paid. In one typical election, the first class (with those who paid the most in taxes) included 4% of voters and the third class (with those who paid the least) had 82%, yet each group chose the same number of electors. The system but assured dominance by the more well-to-do men of the population. The upper house,

6216-459: The army in relation to the total population, Mirabeau said later: "Prussia, is not a state with an army, but an army with a state." Frederick William also settled more than 20,000 Protestant refugees from Salzburg in thinly populated East Prussia, which was eventually extended to the west bank of the Neman river, and other regions. In the Treaty of Stockholm (1720), he acquired half of Swedish Pomerania . Frederick William I died in 1740 and

6327-428: The back of this wheat production included: Stettin in Pomerania (now Szczecin , Poland); Danzig in Prussia (now Gdańsk , Poland); Riga in Livonia (now Riga, Latvia); Königsberg in Prussia (now Kaliningrad , Russia); and Memel in Prussia (now Klaipėda , Lithuania). Wheat production and trade brought Prussia into a close relationship with the Hanseatic League during the period of time from 1356 (official founding of

6438-404: The battleground against Austria and other powers proved Prussia's status as one of the great powers of Europe. The Silesian Wars began more than a century of rivalry and conflict between Prussia and Austria as the two most powerful states operating within the Holy Roman Empire (although both had extensive territory outside the empire). In 1744, the County of East Frisia fell to Prussia following

6549-403: The beginning of three Silesian Wars (1740–1763). The First Silesian War (1740–1742) and the Second Silesian War (1744–1745) have, historically, been grouped together with the general European war called the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI had died on 20 October 1740. He was succeeded to the throne by his daughter, Maria Theresa . By defeating

6660-427: The big cities. Albrecht decreed that Luther's Catechism was to be translated into the Old Prussian language , Polish , and Lithuanian , so that the creed could unite the people of both the Duchy of Prussia and Royal Prussia. Cultural unity between the two parts of Prussian was threatened by the Polish strive to unite Royal Prussia with Poland proper. The Polish king attempted to stop spread of Protestantism, but it

6771-423: The border regions. Before its abolition, the territory of the Free State of Prussia included the provinces of East Prussia ; Brandenburg ; Saxony (including much of the present-day state of Saxony-Anhalt and parts of the state of Thuringia in Germany); Pomerania ; Rhineland ; Westphalia ; Silesia (without Austrian Silesia ); Schleswig-Holstein ; Hanover ; Hesse-Nassau ; and a small detached area in

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6882-404: The brightest pupils for university studies. The Prussian education system was emulated in various countries, including the United States. During the reign of King Frederick William II (1786–1797), Prussia annexed additional Polish territory through the Second Partition of Poland in 1793 and the Third Partition of Poland in 1795. His successor, Frederick William III (1797–1840), announced

6993-406: The burghers. They also demanded the right to send one deputy from each province to the Polish Sejm. In 1526 the Prussian Landtag , headed by the king, established sejmiks , local assemblies of noblemen, who elected deputies to the Prussian parliament, where they sat together with representatives of 27 smaller towns. The Prussian council formed the upper house – the senate – of this assembly. In 1529

7104-467: The circumstances that fell into place. Bismarck curried support from large sections of the people by promising to lead the fight for greater German unification. He successfully guided Prussia through three wars, which unified Germany and brought William the position of German Emperor . The Kingdom of Denmark was at the time in personal union with the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein , both of which had close ties with each other, although only Holstein

7215-425: The consent of the commons, the gathering of all estates shortly emerged, at first known as Ständetage and later as Landtag . In years 1512-1526 it developed into a bicameral Prussian parliament. At first, the bishop of Warmia claimed that his principality was independent and subordinate only to the Pope. After a short war — the so-called " priests' war " — the matter was settled in the king's favour; in 1479 Warmia

7326-412: The core of the North German Confederation in 1867, and then of the German Empire in 1871. The Kingdom of Prussia was now so large and so dominant in the new Germany that Junkers and other Prussian élites identified more and more as Germans and less as Prussians. The Kingdom ended in 1918 along with other German monarchies that were terminated by the German Revolution . In the Weimar Republic ,

7437-415: The coronation of King Frederick I ), William was proclaimed "German Emperor " (not "Emperor of Germany") in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles outside Paris, while the French capital was still under siege . The two decades after the unification of Germany were the peak of Prussia's fortunes, but the seeds for potential strife were built into the Prusso-German political system. The Constitution of

7548-469: The creation of Congress Poland under Russian sovereignty. In 1815 Prussia became part of the German Confederation . The first half of the 19th century saw a prolonged struggle in Germany between liberals, who wanted a united, federal Germany under a democratic constitution, and conservatives , who wanted to maintain Germany as a patchwork of independent, monarchical states with Prussia and Austria competing for influence. One small movement that signalled

7659-415: The crucial victory at the Battle of Königgrätz under Helmuth von Moltke the Elder . The century-long struggle between Berlin and Vienna for the dominance of Germany was now over. As a sideshow in this war, Prussia defeated Hanover in the Battle of Langensalza (1866) . While Hanover hoped in vain for help from Britain (as they had previously been in personal union), Britain stayed out of a confrontation with

7770-432: The disconnected Hohenzollern lands, especially the occupying Swedes . The ineffective and militarily weak Elector George William (1619–1640) fled from Berlin to Königsberg , the historic capital of the Duchy of Prussia, in 1637. His successor, Frederick William I (1640–1688), reformed the army to defend the lands. Frederick William I went to Warsaw in 1641 to render homage to King Władysław IV Vasa of Poland for

7881-428: The dispute over Schleswig and Holstein, with Bismarck using proposed injustices as the reason for war . On the Austrian side stood the south German states (including Bavaria and Württemberg ), some central German states (including Saxony ), and Hanover in the north. On the side of Prussia were Italy , most north German states, and some smaller central German states. Eventually, the better-armed Prussian troops won

7992-534: The extinction of its ruling Cirksena dynasty. In the last 23 years of his reign until 1786, Frederick II, who understood himself as the "first servant of the state", promoted the development of Prussian areas such as the Oderbruch . At the same time he built up Prussia's military power and participated in the First Partition of Poland with Austria and Russia in 1772, an act that geographically connected

8103-408: The following years, as he failed in his attempts to knock Austria out of the war and was gradually reduced to a desperate defensive war. However, he never gave up and on 3 November 1760 the Prussian king won another battle, the hard-fought Battle of Torgau . Despite being several times on the verge of defeat Frederick, allied with Great Britain , Hanover and Hesse-Kassel , was finally able to hold

8214-534: The inheritance rules applied under Kulm law , which guaranteed inheritance also in the female line, resulted in the fragmentation of estates. In years 1519-1521 Albrecht von Hohenzollern lost the Order's last war against Poland . As a result Order's state was secularised and became a fief of the Polish crown, held by Albrecht and his direct heirs as "dukes in Prussia". Albrecht ruled as a Lutheran ruler. Lutheranism also spread in Royal Prussia, especially in

8325-596: The king/emperor and prime minister/chancellor to seek majorities from legislatures elected by two different franchises. In both the kingdom and the empire, the original constituencies were never redrawn to reflect changes in population, meaning that rural areas were grossly overrepresented by the turn of the 20th century. Royal Prussia Royal Prussia ( Polish : Prusy Królewskie ; German : Königlich-Preußen or Preußen Königlichen Anteils , Kashubian : Królewsczé Prësë ) or Polish Prussia (Polish: Prusy Polskie ; German: Polnisch-Preußen ) became

8436-614: The motto of the Order of the Black Eagle created by King Frederick I in 1701, was often associated with the whole of Prussia. The Iron Cross , a military decoration created by King Frederick William III in 1813, was also commonly associated with the country. The region, originally populated by Baltic Old Prussians who were Christianised, became a favoured location for immigration by (later mainly Protestant) Germans ( see Ostsiedlung ), as well as Poles and Lithuanians along

8547-417: The new state's territory and population. Prussia's near-total control over the confederation was secured in the constitution drafted for it by Bismarck in 1867. Executive power was held by a president , assisted by a chancellor responsible only to him. The presidency was a hereditary office of the Hohenzollern rulers of Prussia. There was also a two-house parliament. The lower house, or Reichstag (Diet),

8658-579: The northwest towards Rinteln . The lion is the heraldic animal of the County of Everstein, which ruled over the territory until 1429. The red cross in the lion's hands was the symbol of Pyrmont. [REDACTED] Media related to Landkreis Hameln-Pyrmont at Wikimedia Commons 52°05′N 9°20′E  /  52.08°N 9.33°E  / 52.08; 9.33 Prussia Prussia ( / ˈ p r ʌ ʃ ə / , German : Preußen [ˈpʁɔʏsn̩] ; Old Prussian : Prūsija, Prūsa )

8769-675: The organization. The Confederation was led by the citizens of Danzig, Elbing, and Thorn. The gentry from Chełmno Land and Pomerelia participated as well. After the monastic knights complained to the Emperor and Council of Basel , the Prussian parliament had to dissolve itself in 1449, but immediately resumed its clandestine activities. In turn, in February 1454, the Confederation sent a delegation, under Jan Bażyński , to King Casimir IV Jagiellon of Poland, to ask him for support against

8880-602: The period of the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights, mercenaries from the Holy Roman Empire were granted lands by the Order and gradually formed a new landed Prussian nobility, from which the Junkers would evolve to take a major role in the militarization of Prussia and, later, Germany. On 10 April 1525, after signing of the Treaty of Kraków , which officially ended the Polish–Teutonic War (1519–21) , in

8991-424: The position of governor, which was first held by Jan Bażyński , and after his death in 1459 by his brother Stibor . As the governor was elected by the estates and only approved by the king, Casimir abolished this office and appointed Stibor as voivode of Malbork. In 1472, the king introduced in Prussia the office of starosta general  [ pl ] , who was solely dependent on the king. Son of Stibor Nicholaus

9102-412: The press. In 1862, King Wilhelm I appointed Otto von Bismarck as Minister President of Prussia . Bismarck was determined to defeat both the liberals and conservatives and increase Prussian supremacy and influence among the German states. There has been much debate as to whether Bismarck actually planned to create a united Germany when he set out on this journey, or whether he simply took advantage of

9213-456: The privileges granted in 1454. The former territory was subsequently governed as Pomeranian Voivodeship , Chełmno Voivodeship , Malbork Voivodeship , and Prince-Bishopric of Warmia . At the same time as the 1772 and 1793 ( first and second partition of Poland ), the former lands of Royal Prussia were annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia , the successor state of the Teutonic Order. In 1510, after several attempts to install another governor,

9324-835: The province of West Prussia . This occurred at the time of the First Partition of Poland , with other parts of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth being annexed by the Russian Empire and Habsburg Austria . The area consisted of the following territories: In contrast, southern remainder of Pomesania and Pogesania, including Marienwerder (Kwidzyn), Deutsch Eylau (Iława), Riesenburg (Prabuty), Rosenberg (Susz), Bischofswerder (Biskupiec), Saalfeld (Zełwałd, later Zalewo), Freystadt (Kisielice), Mohrungen (Morąg), Preußisch Holland (Pasłęk) and Liebstadt (Libsztat, later Miłakowo), formed Upper Prussia (German: Oberland , Polish: Prusy Górne ) constituting

9435-546: The ranks of the great powers shortly after becoming a kingdom. It became increasingly large and powerful in the 18th and 19th centuries. It had a major voice in European affairs under the reign of Frederick the Great (1740–1786). At the Congress of Vienna (1814–15), which redrew the map of Europe following Napoleon's defeat, Prussia acquired rich new territories, including the coal-rich Ruhr . The country then grew rapidly in influence economically and politically, and became

9546-406: The return of prisoners, which became a financial burden on the citizenry. Facing the opposition the komtur of Danzig ordered to execute the city's mayor Konrad Letzkau along with two councillors and five Chełmno nobles without a trial. In order to protect their rights nobles and burghers created for the first time a joint assembly in 1412. Subsequent peace treaties (1422 and 1435) with Poland gave

9657-671: The right to mint coins during the war, although with the image of the Polish king. After the Prussian Confederation pledged allegiance to Casimir on 6 March 1454, the Thirteen Years' War ("War of the Cities") began. King Casimir IV Jagiellon appointed Bażyński as the first war-time governor of Royal Prussia. On 28 May 1454, the king took an oath of allegiance from the citizens of Chełmno Land, including Toruń (Thorn) in Toruń, and in June

9768-517: The secret council of the Prussian Confederation. Three voivodes , three castellans (of Chełmno, Elbing and Danzig), three chamberlains ( Polish : podkomorzy ) and two delegates from each of the main cities: Thorn, Danzig and Elbing were part of the council. Later bishops of Warmia (1479) and Chełmno (1482) were admitted into a council, which ultimately consisted of 17 members. Since the council wasn't able to impose taxes without

9879-446: The south called Hohenzollern , the ancestral home of the Prussian ruling family. The land that the Teutonic Knights occupied was flat and covered with fertile soil. The area was perfectly suited to the large-scale raising of wheat. The rise of early Prussia was based on the raising and selling of wheat. Teutonic Prussia became known as the "bread basket of Western Europe" (in German, Kornkammer , or granary). The port cities which rose on

9990-432: The south, it was Polonised by settlers from Masovia . The imposed Second Peace of Thorn (1466) split Prussia into the western Royal Prussia , becoming a province of Poland, and the eastern part, called the Duchy of Prussia from 1525, a feudal fief of the Crown of Poland up to 1657. The union of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 led to the proclamation of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701. Prussia entered

10101-544: The status quo. In 1863, Denmark introduced a shared constitution for Denmark and Schleswig. This led to conflict with the German Confederation, which authorised the occupation of Holstein by the Confederation, from which Danish forces withdrew. In 1864, Prussian and Austrian forces crossed the border between Holstein and Schleswig initiating the Second War of Schleswig . The Austro-Prussian forces defeated

10212-469: The title Haupt des Landes , and although he was non-Prussian, he was accepted as such by the Prussian council. A monument of the reapprochement between Prussia and the rest of the kingdom was the Statute of Prussia, promulgated in 1506, in which many Polish legal solutions were introduced into the Prussian legal system. An important achievement was the establishment of a central Prussian treasury. In 1511,

10323-593: The union of the Prussian Lutheran and Reformed churches into one church . Prussia took a leading part in the French Revolutionary Wars , but remained quiet for more than a decade because of the Peace of Basel of 1795, only to go once more to war with France in 1806 as negotiations with that country over the allocation of the spheres of influence in Germany failed. Prussia suffered a devastating defeat against Napoleon 's troops in

10434-453: The western Baltic Curonians , and erected Memel Castle , which developed into the major port city of Memel . The Treaty of Melno defined the final border between Prussia and the adjoining Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1422. The Hanseatic League officially formed in northern Europe in 1356 as a group of trading cities. This League came to hold a monopoly on all trade leaving the interior of Europe and Scandinavia and on all sailing trade in

10545-552: The westernmost part of the Prussian territory left to the Teutonic Knights, known as Teutonic or Monastic Prussia with Königsberg as its capital, later secularized in 1525 to become Ducal Prussia ruled by the Protestant dukes of the Hohenzollern dynasty . From 1618 this area was ruled in personal union with the Electorate of Brandenburg as Brandenburg-Prussia . In 1657 the Treaty of Wehlau granted full independence to

10656-489: The whole of Silesia against a coalition of Saxony , the Habsburg monarchy, France and Russia . Voltaire , a close friend of the king, once described Frederick the Great's Prussia by saying "...it was Sparta in the morning, Athens in the afternoon." Silesia, full of rich soils and prosperous manufacturing towns, became a vital region to Prussia, greatly increasing the nation's area, population, and wealth. Success on

10767-681: Was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order . The Knights had to relocate their headquarters to Mergentheim , but managed to keep land in Livonia until 1561. Prussia formed the German Empire when it united the German states in 1871. It was de facto dissolved by an emergency decree transferring powers of

10878-648: Was a hereditary office of the House of Hohenzollern, the royal house of Prussia. The Minister President of Prussia was, except for two brief periods (January–November 1873 and 1892–94), also imperial chancellor . But the empire itself had no right to collect taxes directly from its subjects; the only incomes fully under federal control were the customs duties, common excise duties, and the revenue from postal and telegraph services. While all men above age 25 were eligible to vote in imperial elections, Prussia retained its restrictive three-class voting system. This effectively required

10989-516: Was appointed voivode of Malbork and administrator of Prussia. In 1485 Nicholaus resigned his office and led the Prussian opposition against the violation of Prussian privileges, above all the ius indigenatus . In response, King Casimir strengthened the position of the Malbork starosta, to whom he always appointed a non-Prussian. In 1485 it was a magnate from Lesser Poland , Zbigniew Tęczyński . The situation changed in 1498 when Frederick of Saxony

11100-578: Was declared the ruling religion in Danzig, Elbing and Thorn (Gdańsk, Elbląg, Toruń) after 1526 (of course, part of the population remained Catholic in these cities). During the war, the Polish General Assembly descended to Toruń in 1519 and to Bydgoszcz in 1520. Some Prussian nobles attended it. In 1522 the Prussian nobility gathered in the Landtag demanded the introduction of the Polish model of inheritance and land ownership, excluding

11211-486: Was elected Grand Master of the Teutonic Order and started a hostile politics against Poland in an attempt to reclaim lost territories in Royal Prussia. As a result, the newly elected bishop of Warmia, Lucas Watzenrode , and Nicholaus von Baysen began to take part in meetings of the royal council. During 1509 Sejm Watzenrode took part in a Senate meeting as the first representative of the Prussian council. Ambroży Pampowski , starosta of Malbork between 1504 and 1510, also bore

11322-463: Was elected by universal male suffrage . The upper house, or Bundesrat (Federal Council) was appointed by the state governments. The Bundesrat was, in practice, the stronger chamber. Prussia had 17 of 43 votes, and could easily control proceedings through alliances with the other states. As a result of the peace negotiations, the states south of the Main remained theoretically independent, but received

11433-451: Was formally incorporated into Poland. The bishop's subjects were given the right to appeal to the king, to whom they swore allegiance. The Bishop of Warmia became, ex officio , a member of the Prussian council. From 1508 the bishop headed the council. The bishopric of Warmia was a suffragan of the archbishopric of Riga until 1566; after that date it was subordinated directly to the Pope. It

11544-571: Was granted the right of succession to the Duchy of Prussia, then still a Polish fief. From this time the Duchy of Prussia was in personal union with the Margraviate of Brandenburg. The resulting state, known as Brandenburg-Prussia , consisted of geographically disconnected territories in Prussia, Brandenburg, and the Rhineland lands of Cleves and Mark . During the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), various armies repeatedly marched across

11655-512: Was introduced into the province. Royal Prussia was divided in 1454 into four voivodeships : Pomeranian , Chełmno , Elbląg (since 1467 Malbork ) and Królewiec ( Königsberg ), which ceased to exist after the Second Peace of Thorn. Voivodeships were divided subsequently into powiats . By the decision of the Polish Sejm in 1467 the main governing body of Royal Prussia was the Prussian council ( German : Landesrat ), which emerged from

11766-459: Was introduced. The process of army reform ended in 1813 with the introduction of compulsory military service for men. By 1813, Prussia could mobilize almost 300,000 soldiers, more than half of which were conscripts of the Landwehr of variable quality. The rest consisted of regular soldiers that were deemed excellent by most observers, and very determined to repair the humiliation of 1806. After

11877-406: Was not part of archdiocese of Gniezno . The Prussian states stood for deep particularism. They were reluctant to participate in the institutions of the kingdom. The members of the council refused to participate in the meetings of the royal council and sent only token delegations to the royal elections in 1492, 1501 and 1506. During the war the king exercised his authority over the province through

11988-645: Was part of the German Confederation . When the Danish government tried to integrate Schleswig, but not Holstein, into the Danish state, Prussia led the German Confederation against Denmark in the First War of Schleswig (1848–1851). Because Russia supported Austria, Prussia also conceded predominance in the German Confederation to Austria in the Punctation of Olmütz in 1850, resulting in a return to

12099-419: Was succeeded by his son, Frederick II , whose accomplishments led to his reputation as "Frederick the Great". As crown prince, Frederick had focused, primarily, on philosophy and the arts. He was an accomplished flute player and composer. In 1740, Prussian troops crossed over the undefended border of Silesia and rapidly conquered the region. Silesia was the richest province of Habsburg Austria . It signalled

12210-524: Was succeeded by his son, Frederick William I (1713–1740), the austere "Soldier King", who did not care for the arts but was thrifty and practical. He was the main creator of the vaunted Prussian bureaucracy and the professionalised standing army, which he developed into one of the most powerful in Europe. His troops only briefly saw action during the Great Northern War . In view of the size of

12321-555: Was the Lizard League founded by the Chelmno Land nobility in 1397. After being defeated at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, the Teutonic Knights's prestige declined, most towns and castles, as well as three Prussian bishops, swore loyalty to the Polish king. Although the Order soon regained control over most of its territory, by the 1411 Peace of Thorn they were forced to pay large compensation of 100,000 kop groszy for

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