The Ordenspalais ("Palace of the Order [of Saint John] ") was a building on the northern corner of Wilhelmplatz with Wilhelmstraße in Berlin (now in Berlin - Mitte ).
133-626: Erection of the building at Wilhelmplatz No. 7/8 began in 1737 as the residence of the Prussian Major General Karl Ludwig, Count of Waldburg-Capustigall , who died the next year. By command of King Frederick William I of Prussia , the palace was finished by the Order of Saint John (the Johanniterorden ) according to plans by Carl Friedrich Richter, who also designed the neighbouring Palais Schulenburg (later
266-628: A burgrave of the House of Hohenzollern , was granted hereditary control over Brandenburg in 1411. Rebellious landed nobility such as the Quitzow family opposed his appointment, but Frederick overpowered these knights with artillery . Some nobles had their property confiscated, and the Brandenburg estates gave allegiance at Tangermünde on 20 March 1414. Frederick was officially recognized as Margrave and Prince-elector Frederick I of Brandenburg at
399-580: A personal union which came to be known as Brandenburg-Prussia . In this way, the fortuitous marriage of John Sigismund to Anna of Prussia, and the deaths of her maternal uncle in 1609 and her father in 1618 without immediate male heirs, proved to be the key events by which Brandenburg acquired territory both in the Rhineland and on the Baltic coast. Prussia lay outside the Holy Roman Empire and
532-626: A conflict between the neighbouring principalities of Brunswick-Lüneburg , Mecklenburg , Saxe-Wittenberg , Pomerania-Wolgast , Jawor and Żagań , for control of different parts of the Margraviate. The war was periodically fought between various factions due to the alliances formed, such as the Jawor-Pomeranian and Mecklenburg-Saxe-Wittenberg alliances, and kings of Bohemia, Poland and Denmark also entered alliances with various parties. In 1319, Wartislaw IV of Pomerania took control of
665-652: A considerably more moderate policy. Upon Frederick William IV's death in 1861 he succeeded to the Prussian throne as William I . However, shortly after becoming king, he faced a dispute with his parliament over the size of the army. The parliament, dominated by the liberals, balked at William's desire to increase the number of regiments and withheld approval of the budget to pay for its cost. A deadlock ensued, and William seriously considered abdicating in favour of his son, Crown Prince Frederick . Ultimately, he decided to appoint as prime minister Otto von Bismarck , at that time
798-483: A government desperate for funds in the midst of the Napoleonic Wars , and the building thereafter housed several governmental agencies before Prince Charles of Prussia made it his residence in 1829. He had the palace remodeled in a Neoclassical style according to plans by Karl Friedrich Schinkel , with an annex built by Friedrich August Stüler . In 1853, the building, now numbered Wilhelmplatz No. 8/9, saw
931-769: A much more peaceable ruler. Other additions to Prussia in the 18th century were the County of East Frisia (1744), the Principality of Bayreuth (1791) and Principality of Ansbach (1791), the latter two being acquired through purchase from branches of the Hohenzollern dynasty. To the east and south of Prussia, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth had gradually weakened during the 18th century. Alarmed by increasing Russian influences in Polish affairs and by
1064-528: A new lordship. Because he already held the title of margrave, Albert styled himself as Margrave of Brandenburg ( Adelbertus Dei gratia marchio in Brandenborch ) on 3 October 1157, thereby beginning the Margraviate of Brandenburg. The territorial limits of the original margraviate differed from the area of the current Bundesland Brandenburg , consisting merely of the Havelland and Zauche regions. In
1197-686: A number of administrative reforms, among others reorganising the government by way of ministries, which remained formative for the following hundred years. As to religion, reformed Calvinist Frederick William III—as Supreme Governor of the Protestant Churches —asserted his long-cherished project (started in 1798) to unite the Lutheran and the Reformed Church in 1817, (see Prussian Union ). The Calvinist minority, strongly supported by its co-religionist Frederick William III, and
1330-592: A policy of expanding to the east and the northeast with the goal of connecting their territories through Pomerania to the Baltic Sea . This policy brought them into conflict with the Kingdom of Denmark. After the Battle of Bornhöved (1227) , Margrave John I staked his claim to Pomerania, receiving it as a fief from Emperor Frederick II in 1231. The middle of the 13th century was a time of important developments for
1463-523: A possible expansion of the Russian Empire , Frederick was instrumental in initiating the first of the Partitions of Poland between Russia, Prussia, and Austria in 1772 to maintain a balance of power . The Kingdom of Prussia annexed most of the Polish province of Royal Prussia , including Warmia , allowing Frederick to finally adopt the title King of Prussia; the annexed Royal Prussian land
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#17327717988101596-494: 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 the press. Frederick William suffered a stroke in 1857, and his younger brother, Prince William, became regent . William pursued
1729-515: A series of treaties and compromises, culminating in the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle that restored peace and left Prussia in possession of most of Silesia. Humiliated by the cession of Silesia, Austria worked to secure an alliance with France and Russia (the " Diplomatic Revolution "), while Prussia drifted into Great Britain's camp forming the Anglo-Prussian Alliance . When Frederick preemptively invaded Saxony and Bohemia over
1862-585: A serious invasion until October 1760, when the Russian army briefly occupied Berlin and Königsberg . The situation became progressively grimmer, however, until the death in 1762 of Empress Elizabeth of Russia ( Miracle of the House of Brandenburg ). The accession of the Prussophile Peter III relieved the pressure on the eastern front. Sweden also exited the war at about the same time. Defeating
1995-622: A standstill for approximately 150 years, even though the bishopric was retained. Prince Pribislav of the Hevelli came to power at the castle of Brenna ( Brandenburg an der Havel ) in 1127. During Pribislav's reign, in which he cultivated close connections with the German nobility , Germans succeeded in binding to the Holy Roman Empire the Havolane region from Brandenburg an der Havel to Spandau . The disputed eastern border continued between
2128-611: A unified Kleindeutschland nation, and on 18 January 1871 (the 170th anniversary of the coronation of the first Prussian king, Frederick I), the German Empire was proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles outside of Paris , while the French capital was still under siege . King William became the first emperor ( Kaiser ) of a unified Germany. However, the titles of German Emperor and King of Prussia were to be borne by
2261-478: A unified Germany more than they wanted to break the grip of the traditional forces over society. He thus embarked on a drive to form a united Germany under Prussian leadership, and guided Prussia through three wars which ultimately achieved this goal. The first of these wars was the Second War of Schleswig (1864), which Prussia initiated and succeeded in, and in which it gained the assistance of Austria. Denmark
2394-825: Is a low plateau that extends from the Poznań area westward to Brandenburg through Torzym (Sternberg) , the Spree plateau, and the Mittelmark . From southeast to northwest, this plateau is intersected by the lowland of the Leniwa Obra and the Oder River below the confluence of the Lusatian Neisse , the lower Spree Valley, and the Havel Valley. Between these valleys rise a series of hills and plateaus, such as
2527-771: The Baltic Sea . King Henry the Fowler started governing in the region in 928–929, allowing Emperor Otto I to establish the Northern March under Margrave Gero in 936 during the German Ostsiedlung . However, the march and the bishoprics were overthrown by a Slavic rebellion in 983 ; until the collapse of the Liutizian alliance in the middle of the 11th century, the Holy Roman Empire government through bishoprics and marches came nearly to
2660-808: The Barnim , the Teltow , the Semmelberg near Bad Freienwalde (157 m, 515 ft), the Müggelberge in Köpenick (115 m, 377 ft), the Havelberge (97 m, 318 ft), and the Rauen Hills near Fürstenwalde (112 to 152 m, 367 to 499 ft). The region is predominantly marked by dry, sandy soil, wide stretches of which have pine trees and erica plants, or heath. However,
2793-587: The Battle of Stresow on the island of Rügen , as the war had already been practically decided in the 1709 Battle of Poltava . In the Treaty of Stockholm Prussia gained all of Swedish Pomerania east of the River Oder . Sweden would however keep a portion of Pomerania until 1815. The Great Northern War not only marked the end of the Swedish Empire but also elevated Prussia and Russia at the expense of
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#17327717988102926-725: The Brandenburger Gold Coast , and Saint Thomas . The electors succeeded in acquiring full sovereignty over Prussia in the treaties of Wehlau and Bromberg in 1657. The territories of the Hohenzollerns were opened to immigration by Huguenot refugees by the Edict of Potsdam in 1685. In return for aiding Emperor Leopold I during the War of the Spanish Succession , Frederick William's son, Frederick III ,
3059-656: The Congress of Vienna . It regained most of its pre-1806 territory. Notable exceptions included part of the territory annexed in the Second and Third Partitions of Poland, which became Congress Poland under Russian rule (though it did retain Danzig, acquired in the Second Partition). It also did not regain several of its former towns in the south. However, as compensation it picked up some new territory, including 40% of
3192-560: The Council of Constance in 1415. Frederick's formal investiture with the Kurmark , or electoral march, and his appointment as Archchamberlain of the Holy Roman Empire occurred on 18 April 1417, also during the Council of Constance. Frederick made Berlin his residence, although he retired to his Franconian possessions in 1425. He granted governance of Brandenburg to his eldest son John
3325-560: The Crown of Bohemia . The Landbuch ("land book", i.e. estate register) of Charles IV, a source for the history of medieval settlement in Brandenburg, originated during this time. Charles chose the castle of Tangermünde to be the electoral residence. The power of the Luxembourgs in Brandenburg declined during the reign of Charles's nephew Jobst of Moravia . In 1402, the Luxembourgs reached an agreement with Poland , by which Poland
3458-714: The First French Empire , was defeated in the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt (14 October 1806), Frederick William III was forced to temporarily flee to remote Memel . After the Treaties of Tilsit in 1807, Prussia lost about half of its territory, including the land gained from the Second and Third Partitions of Poland (which now fell to the Duchy of Warsaw ) and all land west of the Elbe river. France recaptured Prussian-occupied Hanover, including Bremen-Verden. The remainder of
3591-651: The Free State of Prussia . The palace remained empty until the German government made it the offices of the united press department of the Reichsregierung and the Foreign Office , which held daily press conferences here. In March 1933, the building became the headquarters of the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda led by Joseph Goebbels . During his tenure, the building
3724-678: 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. 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
3857-609: The German Revolution of 1918–1919 , the Kingdom of Prussia was transformed into the Free State of Prussia . Prussia as a whole was abolished in 1947 . The Hohenzollerns were made rulers of the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1518. In 1529, the Hohenzollerns secured the reversion of the Duchy of Pomerania after a series of conflicts , and acquired its eastern part following the Peace of Westphalia . In 1618,
3990-561: The Kingdom of Saxony and much of Westphalia and the Rhineland. Prussia now stretched uninterrupted from the Niemen in the east to the Elbe in the west, and possessed a chain of disconnected territories west of the Elbe. This left Prussia as the only great power with a predominantly German-speaking population. With these gains in territory, the kingdom was reorganized into 10 provinces. Most of
4123-632: The Napoleonic Wars . The Prussian kings, however, continued to use the title "Margrave of Brandenburg" in their formal style. Brandenburg, along with the rest of Prussia, became part of the German Empire in 1871 during the Prussian-led unification of Germany . During the Gleichschaltung of provinces by Nazi Germany during the 1930s, the Province of Brandenburg and the Free State of Prussia lost all practical relevancy. The region
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4256-568: The New March with Torzym Land, the Międzyrzecz castellany, annexed from Greater Poland by Brandenburg in 1297, and northern Lubusz Land , in the north-east, Henry II of Mecklenburg captured Prignitz in the north-west and Uckermark in the north, Rudolf I of Saxe-Wittenberg captured the Mittelmark , Teltow and Barnim , i.e. the central part, Otto the Mild of Brunswick-Lüneburg captured
4389-469: The Old March in the west. In 1320, a large portion of the Lubusz Land passed to Duke Henry I of Jawor , who tried to reclaim it as a region lost by his grandfather Bolesław II the Horned , and afterwards its western outskirts and a portion of the Uckermark were occupied by Rudolf I of Saxe-Wittenberg. In 1320 the allied forces of Pomerania and Jawor clashed with Mecklenburg in the Uckermark, and war between Pomerania and Mecklenburg continued in 1321–1322 on
4522-471: The Orangist stadtholderate against the increasingly rebellious Patriots , who sought to overthrow the House of Orange-Nassau and establish a democratic republic . The direct cause of the invasion was the arrest at Goejanverwellesluis , where Frederick William II's sister Wilhelmina of Prussia , also stadtholder William V of Orange 's wife, was stopped by a band of Patriots who denied her passage to The Hague to reclaim her husband's position. In 1795,
4655-436: The Protestant Reformation in 1539. The population has remained largely Lutheran since, although some later electors converted to Calvinism . The Hohenzollerns of Brandenburg sought to expand their power base from their relatively meager possessions, although this brought them into conflict with neighboring states. John William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg died childless in 1609. His eldest niece, Anna, Duchess of Prussia ,
4788-535: The Province of Hohenzollern . During the half-century that followed the Congress of Vienna, a conflict of ideals took place within the German Confederation between the formation of a single German nation and the conservation of the current collection of smaller German states and kingdoms. The main debate centered around whether Prussia or the Austrian Empire should be the leading member of any unified Germany. Those advocating for Prussian leadership contended that Austria had far too many non-German interests to work for
4921-457: The Province of Pomerania , uniting the kingdom's eastern territories. After Frederick died in 1786, his nephew Fredrick William II continued the partitions, gaining a large part of western Poland in 1793; Thorn (Toruń) and Danzig (Gdańsk), which had remained part of Poland after the first partition, were incorporated into West Prussia, while the remainder became the province of South Prussia . In 1787, Prussia invaded Holland to restore
5054-492: The Slavic Wends . It derived one of its names from this inheritance, the March of Brandenburg ( Mark Brandenburg ). Its ruling margraves were established as prestigious prince-electors in the Golden Bull of 1356 , allowing them to vote in the election of the Holy Roman Emperor . The state thus became additionally known as Electoral Brandenburg or the Electorate of Brandenburg ( Kurbrandenburg or Kurfürstentum Brandenburg ). The House of Hohenzollern came to
5187-418: The Thirty Years' War in 1648, Brandenburg-Prussia acquired Farther Pomerania and made it the Province of Pomerania by the Treaty of Stettin (1653) . In the second half of the 17th century, Frederick William , the "Great Elector", developed Brandenburg-Prussia into a major power. The state constructed Brandenburg's first navy ( Kurbrandenburgische Marine ), leading to short-lived colonies at Arguin ,
5320-413: The War of the Spanish Succession , the Great Elector's son, Frederick III, was allowed to elevate Prussia to a kingdom in the Crown Treaty of 16 November 1700. Frederick crowned himself " King in Prussia " as Frederick I on 18 January 1701. Legally, no kingdoms could exist in the Holy Roman Empire except for Bohemia and Italy . However, Frederick took the line that since Prussia had never been part of
5453-408: The Wittelsbach Emperor Louis IV , an uncle of Henry II, formally granted Brandenburg to his oldest son, Louis I (the "Brandenburger") in 1323, although various portions of the margraviate were still controlled by various neighbouring principalities. The emergence of a new powerful rival prompted the previously warring parties to make peace with each other and cooperate. Bavarian forces soon entered
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5586-410: The defeat of Napoleon in Russia in 1812, Prussia quit the alliance 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 in the Battle of Waterloo of 1815 to the final victory over Napoleon. Prussia's reward for its part in France's defeat came at
5719-434: The "Soldier-King", modernized the Prussian Army , while his son Frederick the Great achieved glory and infamy with the Silesian Wars and Partitions of Poland . The feudal designation of the Margraviate of Brandenburg ended with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, which made the Hohenzollerns de jure as well as de facto sovereigns over it. It was replaced with the Province of Brandenburg in 1815 following
5852-454: The Alchemist , while retaining the electoral dignity for himself. The next elector, Frederick II , forced the submission of Berlin and Cölln , setting an example for the other towns of Brandenburg. He reacquired the Neumark from the Teutonic Knights by the Treaties of Cölln and Mewe and began its rebuilding. Years of warfare with the Duchy of Pomerania were ended by the treaties of Prenzlau (1448, 1472, and 1479). Brandenburg accepted
5985-468: The Ascanian House, as it won Stettin (Szczecin) and the Uckermark (1250), although the former was later lost to the Duchy of Pomerania . Also around 1250 it took over Lubusz Land from then-fragmented Poland and subsequently conquered northwestern parts of the Duchy of Greater Poland in the late 13th century, moving the border east of the Oder river. Henry II , the last Ascanian margrave, died in 1320. The death of Magrave Waldemar in 1319 sparked
6118-422: The Ascanian's first son, Otto , and gave the boy the Zauche region as a christening present in 1134. In the same year, Emperor Lothair III named Albert margrave of the Northern March and raised Pribislav to the status of king, although that was later rescinded. Also in 1134, Albert succeeded in securing for the Ascanians the inheritance of the childless Pribislav. After the latter's death in 1150, Albert received
6251-429: The Ascanians protected the country by settling knights in villages; castles fortified with knights were mostly located in the border region of the Neumark. After a 14th-century decline in imperial power, however, knights began constructing castles throughout the principality, granting them more independence. After Albert's death in 1170, his son succeeded him as Otto I, Margrave of Brandenburg . The Ascanians pursued
6384-460: The Austrian army at the Battle of Burkersdorf and relying on continuing British success against France in the war's colonial theatres, Prussia was finally able to force a status quo ante bellum on the continent. This result confirmed Prussia's major role within the German states and established the country as a European great power . Frederick, appalled by the near-defeat of Prussia and the economic devastation of his kingdom, lived out his days as
6517-408: The Bundesrat, with 17 votes out of 58 (17 out of 61 after 1911); no other state had more than six votes. As before, it could effectively control the proceedings with the support of its allies in the secondary states. As mentioned above, Bismarck served as foreign minister of Prussia for almost his entire career, and in that role instructed the Prussian deputies to the Bundesrat. The Imperial German Army
6650-426: The Empire, they were still legally only electors under the overlordship of the emperor. However, by this time the emperor's authority was only nominal. The rulers of the empire's various territories acted largely as the rulers of sovereign states , and only acknowledged the emperor's suzerainty in a formal way. In addition, the duchy was only the eastern bulk of the region of Prussia; the westernmost fragment constituted
6783-470: The First French Republic and Prussia had stipulated that the latter would ensure the Holy Roman Empire's neutrality in all the latter's territories north of the demarcation line of the River Main , including the British continental dominions of the Electorate of Hanover and the Duchies of Bremen-Verden . To this end, Hanover (including Bremen-Verden) also had to provide troops for the so-called demarcation army maintaining this state of armed neutrality . In
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#17327717988106916-409: The German Reich Chancellery ). From 1738, the palace was the principal residence of the Herrenmeister ("Master of the Knights"), chief of the Order, and housed the Berlin legation of the Order. The palace later was renamed for Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia , who was Herrenmeister from 1763 to 1811. The Kingdom of Prussia took over the building in 1811, upon the dissolution of the Order by
7049-429: The German Empire. The German Empire successfully unified all of the German states aside from Austria and Switzerland under Prussian hegemony 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
7182-410: The German alliances put in place after the Austro-Prussian War, the German states, aside from Austria, came together and swiftly defeated France, even managing to take Napoleon III prisoner (2 September 1870). Even before then, Bismarck was able to complete the work of unifying Germany under Prussian leadership. The patriotic fervour aroused by the war against France overwhelmed the remaining opponents of
7315-444: The German state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. 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 . Although it took its name from the region called Prussia , it was based in the Margraviate of Brandenburg . Its capital was Berlin . The kings of Prussia were from the House of Hohenzollern . Brandenburg-Prussia , predecessor of
7448-407: The German states, as well as establishing the country as a European great power through the victories of the powerful Prussian Army . 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
7581-405: The German states. In 1848, actions taken by Denmark towards the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein led to the First War of Schleswig (1848–51) between Denmark and the German Confederation, resulting in a Danish victory. Frederick William issued Prussia's first constitution by his own authority in 1848, modifying it in the Constitution of 1850 . These documents—moderate by the standards of
7714-478: The Great . After the middle of the 14th century, Emperor Charles IV attempted to secure Brandenburg for the House of Luxembourg . Control over the electoral vote of Brandenburg would help assure the Luxembourgs of election to the imperial throne, as they already held the vote of Bohemia . Charles succeeded in purchasing Brandenburg from Margrave Otto for 500,000 guilders in 1373 and, at a Landtag in Guben , he attached (but did not incorporate) Brandenburg to
7847-427: The Great) came to the throne. Using the pretext of a 1537 treaty (vetoed by Emperor Ferdinand I ) by which parts of Silesia were to pass to Brandenburg after the extinction of its ruling Piast dynasty , Frederick invaded Silesia, thereby beginning the War of the Austrian Succession . After rapidly occupying Silesia, Frederick offered to protect Queen Maria Theresa if the province were turned over to him. The offer
7980-399: The Havolane residence of Brenna. The Ascanians also began to build the castle of Spandau . In contrast to their leaders who had accepted Christianity, the Havolane population still worshipped old Slavic deities and opposed Albert's assumption of power. Jaxa of Köpenick , a possible relative of Pribislav and a claim-holder to Brandenburg, controlled Brandenburg with Polish help, and ruled
8113-399: The Hevelli and the Sprewane, recognized as the Havel-Nuthe line. Prince Jaxa of Köpenick ( Jaxa de Copnic ) of the Sprewane lived in Köpenick east of the dividing line. During the second phase of the German Ostsiedlung , Albert the Bear began the expansionary eastern policy of the Ascanians . From 1123 to 1125 Albert developed contacts with Pribislav, who served as the godfather for
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#17327717988108246-399: The Międzyrzecz castellany was ultimately reintegrated with Poland. From 1328 onwards, Louis was in war against Pomerania which he claimed as a fiefdom and the conflict did not end before 1333. The rule of Margrave Louis I was rejected by the domestic nobility of Brandenburg, and, after the death of Emperor Louis IV in 1347, the margrave was confronted with the False Waldemar , an imposter of
8379-401: The Oder River and in Mecklenburg. By February 1322, eastern outskirts of the Lubusz Land with Torzym and Sulęcin and the Międzyrzecz castellany were controlled by Duke Henry IV the Faithful of Żagań. After heavy fights between Pomerania and Saxe-Wittenberg around Kostrzyn nad Odrą in 1322–1323, a peace between the two parties was signed in December 1323. Having defeated the Habsburgs ,
8512-406: The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ceased to exist and a large area (including Warsaw ) to the south and east of East Prussia became part of Prussia. Most of the new territories (and the part of South Prussia north of the Vistula ) were organised into the province of New East Prussia ; South Prussia gained the area immediately south of the Vistula, Narew and Bug , including Warsaw; a small area to
8645-412: The Prussian ambassador to France. Bismarck took office on 23 September 1862. Although Bismarck had a reputation as an unyielding conservative, he initially inclined to seek a compromise over the budget issue. However, William refused to consider it; he viewed defence issues as the crown's personal province. Forced into a policy of confrontation, Bismarck came up with a novel theory. Under the constitution,
8778-406: The Prussian state, ultimately boosting their national self-awareness and eliciting their national resistance against Prussian rule. Following the French Revolution and the Execution of Louis XVI , Prussia declared war on the French First Republic . When Prussian troops attempted to invade France, they were beaten back and the Treaty of Basel (1795) ended the War of the First Coalition . In it,
8911-409: The Roman forced the False Waldemar to renounce his claims to Brandenburg and succeeded in establishing the Margraves of Brandenburg as prince-electors in the Golden Bull of 1356 . Brandenburg therefore became a Kurfürstentum (literally "electoral principality" or "electorate") of the Holy Roman Empire and had a vote in the election of the Holy Roman Emperor . The Margrave of Brandenburg also held
9044-443: The bare and dry Fläming . The southern depression is generally to the north of this ridge and appears strikingly in the Spreewald (between Baruth/Mark and Plaue an der Havel ). The northern depression, lying almost directly south of the Baltic uplands, is defined by the lowlands of the Noteć and Warta Rivers, the Oderbruch , the valley of the Finow , the Havelland moor , and the Oder River . Between these two depressions
9177-539: The capital Berlin , which was only 80 km (50 mi) away. The Great Northern War was the first major conflict in which the Kingdom of Prussia was involved. Starting in 1700, the war involved a coalition led by Tsarist Russia against the dominant North European power at the time, the Swedish Empire . Crown Prince Frederick William tried in 1705 to get Prussia involved in the war, stating "best Prussia has her own army and makes her own decisions." His views, however, were not considered acceptable by his father, and
9310-454: The ceremonial title of Arch-Chamberlain of the Empire ( Latin : Archi-Camerarius Imperii ). When Louis the Roman died in 1365, Otto took over the rule of Brandenburg, although he quickly neglected the march. He sold Lower Lusatia , which he had already pledged to the Wettin dynasty, to Emperor Charles IV in 1367. A year later he lost the town Deutsch Krone (Wałcz) , annexed from Greater Poland by Brandenburg in 1296, to Polish King Casimir
9443-445: The course of a few months in 1756–1757, he began a Third Silesian War and initiated the Seven Years' War . This war was a desperate struggle for the Prussian Army, and the fact that it managed to fight much of Europe to a draw bears witness to Frederick's military skills. Facing Austria, Russia , France, and Sweden simultaneously, and with only Hanover (and the non-continental British) as notable allies, Frederick managed to prevent
9576-580: The course of the War of the Second Coalition against France (1799–1802), Napoleon Bonaparte urged Prussia to occupy Hanover. In 1801, 24,000 Prussian soldiers invaded, surprising Hanover, which surrendered without a fight. In April 1801 the Prussian troops arrived in Bremen-Verden's capital Stade and stayed there until October that year. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland first ignored Prussia's hostility, but when it joined
9709-436: The crown of a united Germany. Frederick William refused the offer on the grounds that revolutionary assemblies could not grant royal titles. But he also refused for two other reasons: to do so would have done little to end the internal power-struggle between Austria and Prussia, and all Prussian kings (up to and including William I ) feared that the formation of a German Empire would mean the end of Prussia's independence within
9842-521: The deceased Margrave Waldemar . The pretender was recognized as Margrave of Brandenburg on 2 October 1348 by the new emperor, Charles IV of Luxembourg , but was exposed as a fraud after a peace between the Wittelsbachs and Luxembourgs at Eltville . In 1351 Louis gave the Mark to his younger half-brothers Louis II (the "Roman") and Otto V in exchange for the sole rule over Upper Bavaria . Louis
9975-531: The declining Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as new powers in Europe. The Great Elector had incorporated the Junkers , the landed aristocracy, into the kingdom's bureaucracy and military machine, giving them a vested interest in the Prussian Army and compulsory education . King Frederick William I inaugurated the Prussian compulsory conscription system in 1717. In 1740, King Frederick II (Frederick
10108-517: The districts of Cottbus , Frankfurt (Oder) , Potsdam , Schwerin , and Neubrandenburg Berlin was divided between East Berlin and West Berlin . This division of Brandenburg continued until the German reunification in 1990. The GDR districts were dissolved and replaced with the state of Brandenburg with its capital in Potsdam. The 850th anniversary of the foundation of the March of Brandenburg
10241-459: The dominant state in this new entity, with four-fifths of its territory and population—more than the other members of the confederation combined. Its near-total control was cemented in a constitution written by Bismarck. Executive power was vested in a president —a hereditary office of the rulers of Prussia. He was assisted by a chancellor responsible only to the president. There was also a bicameral parliament. The lower house, or Reichstag (Diet),
10374-551: 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 . 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
10507-592: The eighth century, Slavic Wends , such as the Sprewane and Hevelli (Havolane or Stodorans), started to move into the Brandenburg area. They intermarried with Saxons and Bohemians. The Bishoprics of Brandenburg and Havelberg were established at the beginning of the tenth century (in 928 and 948, respectively). They were suffragan to the Archbishopric of Mainz ; the Bishopric of Brandenburg reached to
10640-472: The electors of Brandenburg also inherited the Duchy of Prussia , since 1511 ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hohenzollern. In 1525, Albrecht of Brandenburg , the last grand master of the Teutonic Order , secularized his territory and converted it into a duchy. It was ruled in a personal union with Brandenburg, known as " Brandenburg-Prussia ". A full union was not possible, since Brandenburg
10773-481: The electors of Brandenburg held it as a fief of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , to which the electors paid homage. The electors of Brandenburg spent the next two centuries attempting to gain lands to unite their separate territories (the Mark Brandenburg, the territories in the Rhineland and Westphalia, and Ducal Prussia) to form one geographically contiguous domain. In the Peace of Westphalia ending
10906-449: The empire acted more or less as de facto sovereign states, and only acknowledged the emperor's overlordship over them in a formal way. Thus, Brandenburg came to be treated as de facto part of the Prussian kingdom rather than a separate entity. From 1701 to 1946, Brandenburg's history was largely that of the state of Prussia, which established itself as a major power in Europe during the 18th century. King Frederick William I of Prussia ,
11039-488: The empire and the Hohenzollerns were fully sovereign over it, he could elevate Prussia to a kingdom. Emperor Leopold I , keen to secure Frederick's support in the impending War of the Spanish Succession , acquiesced. The style "King in Prussia" was adopted to acknowledge the legal fiction that the Hohenzollerns were legally kings only in their former duchy. In Brandenburg and the portions of their domains that were within
11172-524: The empire, they continued to use the additional title of Elector of Brandenburg until the empire was dissolved. It was not until 1772 that the title "King of Prussia" was adopted, following the acquisition of Royal Prussia in the First Partition of Poland . The Kingdom of Prussia was still recovering from the devastation of the Thirty Years' War and poor in natural resources. Its territory
11305-495: The federal state Brandenburg is sometimes identified as the Mark or Mark Brandenburg. The region was formed during the ice age , and characterized by moraines , glacial valleys, and numerous lakes. The territory is known as a Mark or march because it was a border county of the Holy Roman Empire (see also Margraviate of Meissen ). The Mark is defined by two uplands and two depressions. The depressions are taken up by rivers and chains of lakes with marsh and boggy soil along
11438-691: The following 150 years the Ascanians succeeded in winning the Uckermark , Teltow , and Barnim regions east of the Havel and Nuthe, thereby extending the Mark to the Oder River . The Neumark ("New March") east of the Oder was acquired gradually through purchases, marriages, and aid to the Piast dynasty of Poland . Because of the sandy soil prevalent in Brandenburg, the agriculturally meager principality
11571-408: The fundamental law of the kingdom. However, Bismarck's real plan was an accommodation with liberalism. Although he had opposed German unification earlier in his career, he had now come to believe it inevitable. To his mind, the conservative forces had to take the lead in the drive toward creating a unified nation in order to keep from being eclipsed. He also believed that the middle-class liberals wanted
11704-643: The greater good of Germany. They argued that Prussia, as by far the most powerful state with a majority of German-speakers, was best suited to lead the new nation. The establishment of the German Customs Union ( Zollverein ) in 1834, which excluded Austria, increased Prussian influence over the member states. In the wake of the Revolutions of 1848 , the Frankfurt Parliament in 1849 offered King Frederick William IV of Prussia
11837-402: The idea. While Bismarck wanted Austria to play no future role in German affairs, he foresaw that Austria could be a valuable future ally. With these gains in territory, the Prussian possessions in the Rhineland and Westphalia became geographically connected to the rest of the kingdom for the first time. Counting the de facto annexation of Saxe-Lauenburg, Prussia now stretched uninterrupted across
11970-422: The imperial chancellor was, except for two periods (January–November 1873 and 1892–94) also prime minister of Prussia, this meant that for most of the empire's existence, the king/emperor and prime minister/chancellor had to seek majorities from legislatures elected by two completely different franchises. Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg (German: Markgrafschaft Brandenburg )
12103-611: The inheritance, comprising the Duchy of Cleves in the Rhineland and the Counties of Mark and Ravensberg in Westphalia . These territories, which were more than 100 kilometers from the borders of Brandenburg, formed the nucleus of the later Prussian Rhineland . When Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia , died without a son in 1618, his son-in-law John Sigismund inherited the Duchy of Prussia . He then ruled both territories in
12236-526: The king and the parliament were responsible for agreeing on the budget. Bismarck argued that since they had failed to come to an agreement, there was a "hole" in the constitution, and the government had to continue to collect taxes and disburse funds in accordance with the old budget in order to keep functioning. The government thus operated without a new budget from 1862 to 1866, allowing Bismarck to implement William's military reforms. The liberals violently denounced Bismarck for what they saw as his disregard for
12369-732: The kingdom was occupied by French troops (at Prussia's expense) and the king was obliged to make an alliance with France and join the Continental System . The Prussian reforms were a reaction to the Prussian defeat in 1806 and the Treaties of Tilsit. It describes a series of constitutional, administrative, social and economic reforms of the kingdom of Prussia. They are sometimes known as the Stein-Hardenberg Reforms after Karl Freiherr vom Stein and Karl August Fürst von Hardenberg , their main instigators. After
12502-462: The kingdom, aside from the provinces of East Prussia , West Prussia , and the autonomous Grand Duchy of Posen but including the formerly Polish Lauenburg and Bütow Land and the Draheim territory , became part of the new German Confederation , a confederacy of 39 sovereign states (including Austria and Bohemia) replacing the defunct Holy Roman Empire. Frederick William III submitted Prussia to
12635-542: The kingdom, became a military power under Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg , known as "The Great Elector". As a kingdom, Prussia continued its rise to power, especially during the reign of Frederick II "the Great" . 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
12768-521: The land of the Stodorans. Older historical research dates this conquest to 1153, although there are no definite sources for the date. More recent researchers (such as Lutz Partenheimer) date it to spring 1157, as it is doubtful that Albert would not have responded to Jaxa's actions for four years. With bloody victories on 11 June 1157, Albert the Bear was able to reconquer Brandenburg, exile Jaxa, and found
12901-519: The majority of the present-day German states of Brandenburg and Berlin, the Altmark (the northern third of Saxony-Anhalt ), and the Neumark (now divided between Poland's Lubusz and West Pomeranian Voivodeships ). Parts of the present-day federal state Brandenburg, such as Lower Lusatia and territory which had been Saxon until 1815, were not parts of the Mark. Colloquially but not accurately,
13034-475: 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 all but assured dominance by the more well-to-do men of the population. The upper house, later renamed the Herrenhaus ("House of Lords"), was appointed by the king. He retained full executive authority, and ministers were responsible only to him. As
13167-459: The northern two-thirds of Germany. It would remain at this size until the overthrow of the monarchy in 1918. Bismarck used this opportunity to end the budget dispute with parliament. He proposed a bill of indemnity granting him retroactive approval for governing without a legal budget. He guessed, correctly as it turned out, that this would lead to a split between his liberal adversaries. While some of them argued that there could be no compromise with
13300-485: The part of Royal Prussia east of Vistula, held along with the title King of Prussia by the King of Poland . While the personal union between Brandenburg and Prussia legally continued until the end of the empire in 1806, from 1701 onward, Brandenburg was de facto treated as an integral part of the kingdom. Since the Hohenzollerns were nominally still subjects of the emperor within the parts of their domains that were part of
13433-639: The partially reluctant Lutheran majority formed the united Protestant Evangelical Church in Prussia . However, ensuing quarrels causing a permanent schism among the Lutherans into united and Old Lutherans by 1830. As a consequence of the Revolutions of 1848 , the Principalities of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and Hohenzollern-Hechingen (ruled by a Catholic cadet branch of the House of Hohenzollern) were annexed by Prussia in 1850, later united as
13566-536: The predecessor of the Kingdom of Prussia , which became a leading German state during the 18th century. Although the electors' highest title was " King in/of Prussia ", their power base remained in Brandenburg and its capital Berlin . The Margraviate of Brandenburg ended with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. It was replaced after the Napoleonic Wars with the Prussian Province of Brandenburg in 1815. The Hohenzollern Kingdom of Prussia
13699-708: The principle of constitutional government, most of the liberals decided to support the bill in hopes of winning more freedom in the future. The German Confederation was dissolved as part of the war. In its place, Prussia cajoled the 21 states north of the Main into forming the North German Confederation in 1866. Prussia entered the Confederation as a whole (including the East Prussian cradle of its statehood, as well as its share of dismembered Poland consisting of Province of Posen and West Prussia ), thus becoming
13832-529: The pro-French Second League of Armed Neutrality alongside Denmark–Norway and Russia, Britain started to capture Prussian sea vessels. After the Battle of Copenhagen the coalition fell apart and Prussia again withdrew its troops. At Napoleon's instigation, Prussia recaptured British Hanover and Bremen-Verden in early 1806. On 6 August that year the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved as a result of Napoleon's victories over Austria . The title of Kurfürst ( Prince-elector ) of Brandenburg became meaningless, and
13965-473: The region, but in October 1323 Pope John XXII called Louis IV to annul the grant of Brandenburg to Louis V, declaring it unlawful. As a consequence of the murder of Provost Nikolaus von Bernau in 1325, Brandenburg was punished with a papal interdict . Bavarian forces gradually seized the margraviate. King Władysław I Łokietek of Poland actively joined the ongoing war, invading Frankfurt (Oder) in 1326, and
14098-565: The same man until the end of the monarchy. Bismarck's new empire was the most powerful state on the Continent. Prussia's dominance over the new empire was almost as absolute as it was with the North German Confederation. It included two-thirds of the empire's territory and three-fifths of its population. The imperial crown was a hereditary office of the House of Hohenzollern. Prussia also had a large plurality of seats in
14231-585: The shores; once used for peat collection, the riverbanks are now mostly drained and dry. The Northern or Baltic Uplands of the Mecklenburg Lake Plateau have only minor extensions into Brandenburg. The approximately 230 km-long range of hills in the Mark's south begins in the Lusatian Highlands (near Żary (Sorau) ) and continues past Trzebiel (Triebel) and Spremberg , then to the northwest through Calau , and ends in
14364-510: The soil is loamy in the uplands and plateaus and, when farmed appropriately, can be agriculturally productive. Mark Brandenburg has a cool, continental climate, with temperatures averaging near 0 °C (32 °F) in January and February and near 18 °C (64 °F) in July and August. Precipitation averages between 500 mm and 600 mm annually, with a modest summer maximum. By
14497-474: The solemn restoration of the Johanniterorden and Prince Charles's installation as the new Herrenmeister . After his death in 1883, the palace remained the residence of Prince Charles's descendants Princes Frederick Charles and Friedrich Leopold of Prussia . After World War I and the fall of the Prussian monarchy , the palace became the subject of a lengthy lawsuit between the House of Hohenzollern and
14630-585: The south of South Prussia became New Silesia . With the Polish-Lithuanian state gone Prussia now shared its eastern borders with the Habsburg monarchy ( West Galicia ) and Russia ( Russian partition ). The Partitions were facilitated by the fact that they occurred just before the 19th-century rise of nationalism in Europe, and the national self-awareness was yet to be developed in most European peoples, especially among commoners. The Kingdom of Prussia
14763-399: The throne of Brandenburg in 1415. In 1417, Frederick I moved its capital from Brandenburg an der Havel to Berlin . By 1535, the electorate had an area of some 10,000 square miles (26,000 km ) and a population of 400,000. Under Hohenzollern leadership, Brandenburg grew rapidly in power during the 17th century and inherited the Duchy of Prussia . The resulting Brandenburg-Prussia was
14896-525: The time but conservative by today's—provided for a two-chamber parliament, the Landtag . The lower house, later known as the Abgeordnetenhaus , was elected by all males over the age of 25 using the Prussian three-class franchise . Voters 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
15029-412: Was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1815 that, having electoral status although being quite poor, grew rapidly in importance after inheriting the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 and then came to play a pivotal role in the history of Germany and that of Central Europe as core of the Prussian kingdom . Brandenburg developed out of the Northern March founded in the territory of
15162-644: Was able to instruct the Prussian delegates to the Bundesrat. The southern German states (except Austria) were forced to accept military alliances with Prussia, and Prussia began steps to merge them with the North German Confederation. Bismarck's planned Kleindeutschland unification of Germany had come considerably closer to realisation. The final act came with the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871), where Bismarck maneuvered Emperor Napoleon III of France into declaring war on Prussia. Activating
15295-823: Was administered as the Gau March of Brandenburg . The state of Prussia was de jure abolished in 1947 after the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II; the Gau March of Brandenburg was replaced with the Land Brandenburg. Brandenburg west of the Oder–Neisse line lay in the Soviet occupation zone ; it became part of the German Democratic Republic . In 1952 the region was divided among
15428-833: Was again enlarged, with Stüler's annex extended and rebuilt until 1940. The Ordenspalais itself was destroyed in the last months of World War II . The annex, renumbered Wilhelmstraße No. 49, survived and from 1947 was the seat of the East German National Front organization. Since 1999, the building has held the main offices of the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs . 52°30′45″N 13°23′01″E / 52.51250°N 13.38361°E / 52.51250; 13.38361 Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia ( German : Königreich Preußen , pronounced [ˈkøːnɪkʁaɪç ˈpʁɔʏsn̩] ) constituted
15561-496: Was allowed to elevate Prussia to the status of a kingdom. On 18 January 1701, Frederick crowned himself Frederick I, King in Prussia . Prussia, unlike Brandenburg, lay outside the Holy Roman Empire, within which only the emperor and the ruler of Bohemia could call themselves king. As king was a more prestigious title than prince-elector , the territories of the Hohenzollerns became known as the Kingdom of Prussia , although their power base remained in Brandenburg. Legally, Brandenburg
15694-594: Was crushed, and Prussia annexed four of its smaller allies—the Kingdom of Hanover , the Electorate of Hesse , the Duchy of Nassau and the Free City of Frankfurt . Prussia also annexed Schleswig and Holstein, and also effectively annexed Saxe-Lauenburg by forcing it into a personal union with Prussia (which was turned into a full union in 1876). King William initially wanted to take territory from Austria itself and annex Saxony, but Bismarck persuaded him to abandon
15827-711: Was denigrated as "the sandbox of the Holy Roman Empire ". Albert invited colonists to settle the new territory , many of whom came from the Altmark ("Old March", a later name for the original Northern March), the Harz , Flanders (hence the Fläming region), and the Rhineland . After the capture of territory along the Elbe and Havel Rivers in the 1160s, Flemish and Dutch settlers from flooded regions in Holland used their expertise to build dikes in Brandenburg. Initially,
15960-637: Was disjointed, stretching 1,200 km (750 mi) from the lands of the Duchy of Prussia on the south-east coast of the Baltic Sea to the Hohenzollern heartland of Brandenburg , with the exclaves of Cleves , Mark and Ravensberg in the Rhineland . In 1708 about one third of the population of East Prussia died during the Great Northern War plague outbreak . The bubonic plague reached Prenzlau in August 1710 but receded before it could reach
16093-486: Was dropped. Nonetheless, King Frederick William III was now de jure as well as de facto sovereign of all of the Hohenzollern domains. Before this time, the Hohenzollern sovereign had held many titles and crowns, from Supreme Governor of the Protestant Churches ( summus episcopus ) to King, Elector, Grand Duke, Duke for the various regions and realms under his rule. After 1806 he was simply King of Prussia and summus episcopus . But when Prussia, after it turned against
16226-476: 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. For all intents and purposes, Bismarck dominated the new grouping. He served as his own foreign minister for virtually his entire tenure as prime minister of Prussia, and in that capacity
16359-570: Was essentially an enlarged Prussian army, and the embassies of the new empire were mostly old Prussian embassies. The Constitution of the German Empire was essentially an amended version of the constitution of the North German Confederation. However, the seeds for future problems lay in a gross disparity between the imperial and Prussian systems. The empire granted the vote to all men over 25, although Prussia retained its three-class franchise , in which votes were weighted by taxes paid. Since
16492-403: Was not until 1713 that Frederick William ascended to the throne. Therefore, in 1715, Prussia, led by Frederick William, joined the coalition for various reasons, including the danger of being attacked from both her rear and the sea; her claims on Pomerania ; and the fact that if she stood aside and Sweden lost, she would not get a share of the territory. Prussia only participated in one battle,
16625-599: Was organised the following year into the Province of West Prussia ; most of the rest became the originally separate Netze District , which was attached to West Prussia in 1775. The boundary between West Prussia and the territory previously known as the Duchy of Prussia, now the Province of East Prussia was also adjusted, transferring Marienwerder to West Prussia (which became its capital) and Warmia (the Heilsberg and Braunsberg [ de ] districts) to East Prussia. The annexed territory connected East Prussia with
16758-526: Was perceived in Poland more as a nationality-neutral personal holding of the ruling House of Hohenzollern , rather than a German nation-state, and any anxiety concerned predominantly freedom to practice religion rather than rights to maintain national identity. The onset of Germanisation in the following decades, later joined by the Kulturkampf , quickly changed this benign picture and alienated Poles from
16891-441: Was rejected, but Austria faced several other opponents in a desperate struggle for survival, and Frederick was eventually able to gain formal cession with the Treaty of Berlin in 1742. To the surprise of many, Austria managed to renew the war successfully. In 1744 Frederick invaded again to forestall reprisals and to claim, this time, the Kingdom of Bohemia . He failed, but French pressure on Austria's ally Great Britain led to
17024-524: Was soundly defeated and surrendered both Schleswig and Holstein, to Prussia and Austria respectively. The divided administration of Schleswig and Holstein then became the trigger for the Austro-Prussian War of 1866—also known as the Seven Weeks' War. Prussia, allied with the Kingdom of Italy and various northern German states, declared war on the Austrian Empire. The Austrian-led coalition
17157-532: Was still legally part of the Holy Roman Empire and the Duchy of Prussia was a fief of Poland . The Teutonic Order had paid homage to Poland since 1466, and the Hohenzollerns continued to pay homage after secularizing Ducal Prussia. In the course of the Second Northern War , the treaties of Labiau and Wehlau-Bromberg granted the Hohenzollerns full sovereignty over the Prussian duchy by September 1657. In return for an alliance against France in
17290-406: Was still part of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by the Hohenzollerns in personal union with the Prussian kingdom over which they were fully sovereign. For this reason, the Hohenzollerns continued to use the additional title of Elector of Brandenburg for the remainder of the empire's run. However, by this time the emperor's authority over the empire had become merely nominal. The various territories of
17423-563: Was the primary driving force behind the unification of Germany . The Prussian-dominated North German Confederation later transformed in 1871 into the German Empire ; it was the legal predecessor of the united German Reich of 1871–1945, and as such a direct ancestor of the present-day Federal Republic of Germany , The territory of the former margraviate, commonly known as the Mark Brandenburg , lies in present-day eastern Germany and western Poland. Geographically it encompassed
17556-405: Was the wife of John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg , who promptly claimed the inheritance and sent troops to take hold of some of John William's holdings in the Rhineland . Unfortunately for John Sigismund, this effort became tied up with the Thirty Years' War and the disputed succession of Jülich. At the end of the war in 1648, Brandenburg was recognized as the possessor of approximately half
17689-621: Was to purchase and reincorporate the New March , which it previously lost to Brandenburg in the 13th century, however in the same year the Luxembourgs pawned the region to the Teutonic Knights , who neglected the border region. Under the Wittelsbach and Luxembourg margraves, Brandenburg fell increasingly under the control of the local nobility as central authority declined. In return for supporting Sigismund as Holy Roman Emperor at Frankfurt in 1410, Frederick VI of Nuremberg ,
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