131-521: The term Prussian state railways (German: Preußische Staatseisenbahnen ) encompasses those railway organisations that were owned or managed by the State of Prussia . The words "state railways" are not capitalized because Prussia did not have an independent railway administration; rather the individual railway organisations were under the control of the Ministry for Trade and Commerce or its later offshoot,
262-729: 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
393-691: A Russian broad gauge track was laid next to the standard gauge track; this has been dismantled between Elbląg and Bogaczewo. This track is still present in Młynary, but unused. Between Chrusciel and Braniewo the ballast is missing and it is not usable. From Tczew to Bogaczewo the line is operated with electric trains. As the line passes through a sparsely populated area, far from urban areas, the Eastern Railway here only carries minor traffic. The short section of line from Kaliningrad to Kybartai in Lithuania
524-548: 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"),
655-551: A bridge to the East Prussian city of Marienwerder . In the summer 1939 timetable four pairs of express trains, twelve D-trains and a pair of long-distance transit trains between Berlin and Königsberg operated on the line. The latter required a travel time of 6 hours and 36 minutes for the 590 kilometre long line from Königsberg to Berlin Silesian station. The railway network of the former East Prussian province in 1937 had
786-540: A clear predominance of tank engines. These were procured in widely varying, sometimes, large quantities totally some 9000 in all. That reflects a structure that largely consisted of unconnected branch lines ( Kleinbahnen ) for which no long-range locomotives – i.e. tender locomotives – had to be built. In terms of pure numbers, goods locomotives dominated, representing some 12,000 out of a total fleet of around 30,000 in Prussian state ownership. According to Hütter and Pieper
917-664: 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
1048-658: 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
1179-455: 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
1310-594: 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
1441-469: 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
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#17327719909251572-550: A largely single-track non-electrified main line, part of the tariff zone of the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (Berlin-Brandenburg Transport Association) and has been operated by Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn since 10 December 2006 with Bombardier Talent diesel multiple units. On 22 December 2006, the line speed was restored to 120 km/h between the 75.0 and 80.7 kilometre points for the first time in 60 years. This did not affect travel times or
1703-525: A length of 4,176 kilometers. On 22 January 1945, the last train ran from Königsberg to Berlin; after that no continuous rail traffic ran on this line. Since 1991 the term Ostbahn (Eastern Railway) has again been used to appeal to the nostalgia of tourists wishing to travel along parts of the former line. Substantial boundary changes were made as a result of the German defeat in World War II, so that
1834-468: 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
1965-583: A separate pair of suburban tracks was laid next to the Frankfurt (Oder) line between the intersection of the long-distance lines at Rummelsburg and the start of the Stadtbahn. This required a grade-separation of the Stadtbahn tracks with the link to the Silesian station. The junction of the Ringbahn with the Stadtbahn and Stralau Rummelsburg station were entirely rebuilt in 1903. The two east–west lines and
2096-599: 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
2227-414: A similar type were to be given the number below. Later further sub-divisions were introduced that had higher numbers. Furthermore, within the classes, running numbers were arranged in clear groups. Nevertheless, the complete designation still included the division name and the running number as well as the class letters and numbers. Classes 1 to 3 mainly comprised the old private railway locomotives, left in
2358-485: 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
2489-455: Is now part of the Poznań – Szczecin railway. In the middle of the line near the village of Lukatz, a railway station was created at a junction of a line to Küstrin . From this same station, the first 145 km long section of the Eastern Railway was built via Schneidemühl to Bromberg ; this was opened on 27 July 1851. The station near Lukatz was later called Kreuz (cross), which, from 1936,
2620-546: Is the only part of the former Eastern Railway that still has an important function, as it is the transit route from Kaliningrad to the Russian heartland. It belongs to the Kaliningrad Railway and has been rebuilt to Russian gauge . The former border station at Chernyshevskoye was completely dismantled after Lithuania was annexed by the Soviet Union and border controls were abolished. Russian Railways now rebuilt
2751-504: Is the use of the abbreviation K.P.E.V. in supposed reference to a mythical " Royal Prussian Railway Administration " ( Königlich Preußischen Eisenbahn-Verwaltung ). No such entity ever existed and Prussian railway cars acquired the K.P.E.V. logo apparently through an error originating in their Cologne division. The first Prussian railways were private concerns, beginning with the Berlin-Potsdam Railway in 1838 and which
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#17327719909252882-568: 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
3013-568: 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
3144-570: 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
3275-639: 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
3406-537: 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
3537-478: 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
3668-609: 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
3799-614: 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
3930-463: 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
4061-545: The Railway division of the Eastern Railway ( Königliche Direktion der Ostbahn ) had been established in Bromberg. Minister von der Heydt then initiated the restart of the construction of the Eastern Railway with funds from the "Railway Fund". In 1848, construction had already been completed of the main line of the private Stargard-Posen Railway Company ( Stargard-Posener Eisenbahn ), between Stargard and Posen . This line
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4192-458: The biggest company in Germany in 1907 . Prussia nationalized its railways in 1880 in an effort both to lower rates on freight service and to equalize those rates among shippers. Instead of lowering rates as far as possible, the government ran the railways as a profitmaking endeavour, and the railway profits became a major source of revenue for the state. The nationalization of the railways slowed
4323-644: 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
4454-518: 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
4585-727: 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 ,
4716-603: 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
4847-611: The 1840s, he had been involved in planning the line and since 1849 he had been in the technical management of the Railway division of the Eastern Railway. One of his successors was Albert von Maybach (1863–1867), previously Chairman of the Board of the Upper Silesian Railway ( Oberschlesische Eisenbahn ). On 1 October 1866, an 18 km of the line was opened towards Berlin from Küstrin to Gusow and, on 1 October 1867,
4978-541: 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
5109-656: 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
5240-729: 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
5371-529: 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
Prussian state railways - Misplaced Pages Continue
5502-562: 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
5633-612: 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
5764-750: 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
5895-447: The Eastern Railway connected at a level junction near Stralau Rummelsburg station . From 1 May 1888, trains could run through the Silesian Station over the Berlin Stadtbahn to the centre of Berlin and the lines to its west. Shortly afterwards another pair of tracks was added to the northern half of the Ringbahn to allow suburban trains to run independently of long-distance traffic. The interweaving of long-distance and suburban tracks at
6026-400: The Eastern Railway in recent years was the D-448/449 night train ( Stanislaw Moniuszko ), linking Berlin-Lichtenberg and Warsaw , which ran on the line as far as Piła Główna until 2009. Additionally, through carriages ran on the line to Gdynia , Kaliningrad and Kraków . The section within the current borders of Germany that connects Berlin with the Polish border near Küstrin-Kietz is now
6157-432: The Eastern Railway project. Only the events of the March Revolution of 1848 and the appointment of banker August von der Heydt as the Prussian Minister of Commerce and Industry—and therefore responsible for railways—led to progress on the issue. In August 1849, Von der Heydt laid before the diet a draft law for the construction of the Eastern Railway, which was adopted on 7 December 1849. Previously, on 5 November 1849,
6288-414: The Eastern Railway was a strategically important route on the basis of its orientation, work continued on this project despite the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1944, the predominantly suburban single-track line to Strausberg was put into operation, but services continued to be operated with steam trains. Electrical operations commenced in 1947–1948 in four stages. The S-Bahn route was later extended on
6419-635: The Eastern Railway. The Eastern Railway itself was also a significant economic factor. Its construction during an economic crisis created jobs on a large scale. At the height of its construction in June 1851, 12,000 workers were employed on building its track. The Royal Railway division of the Eastern Railway in Bromberg ( Bydgoszcz ) established ten operating offices in Berlin, Schneidemühl, Stolp , Danzig, Königsberg , Allenstein , Thorn , Bromberg, Stettin, and Posen. In 1880, its rolling stock included 265 passenger and express locomotives, 320 freight locomotives and 93 tank locomotives . A local railway industry
6550-452: 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
6681-399: 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
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#17327719909256812-429: 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
6943-513: 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
7074-444: 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
7205-451: 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
7336-402: The Marienfelde–Zossen–Jüterbog Military Railway. After the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, various private, commercially oriented lines were brought under Prussian control through annexation, outright purchase or the provision of financial support depending on their situation. Between 1880 and 1889 most of the private lines were nationalised thanks to Prussia's strong financial situation making it
7467-483: The Ministry for Public Works. The official name of the Prussian rail network was Königlich Preußische Staatseisenbahnen (K.P.St.E., "Royal Prussian State Railways") until 1896, Königlich Preußische und Großherzoglich Hessische Staatseisenbahn (K.P.u.G.H.St.E., " Royal Prussian and Grand-Ducal Hessian State Railways ") until the end of the First World War , and Preußische Staatsbahn (P.St.B., "Prussian State Railway") until its nationalization in 1920. A common mistake
7598-405: 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
7729-412: 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
7860-405: The Prussian military urgently sought a railway connection to the Russian border for strategic reasons. The railway was also seen from the early years as a means of developing the underdeveloped areas of East Prussia and Pomerania . A lack of interest from the private sector led King Frederick William IV to initiate in 1845 preparatory work for the construction of the Eastern Railway. Construction
7991-485: The Prussian railway inventory when the ownership of their respective railway organisations was later transferred to the state authorities. This explains their unusually high numbers with about 80 classes and variants, the overwhelming majority of which were constructed between 1877 and 1895. In 1889, Prussian standards were laid down in order that the number of classes could be reduced in the future. The division of locomotives into class variants and different designs showed
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#17327719909258122-452: The Ringbahn were each given a platform for suburban traffic. This development made Stralau-Rummelsburg station one of the biggest stations in Berlin. In 1933 its name was changed to Ostkreuz . In the mid-1920s, extensive electrification began on the Berlin suburban lines. Electrification of the Eastern Railway was completed on 6 November 1928. Operation of a mixture of steam and electric trains continued until January 1929. On 15 December 1930,
8253-414: The Silesian station (Berlin's departure point for the Ostbahn since 1882) and a few hundred yards apart from each other the main workshops for the Royal Berlin Division and the Royal Bromberg Division of the Ostbahn. At the end of the First World War the network of the state-owned Prussian railways had a total length of almost 37,500 kilometres. The history of the Prussian state railways ended in 1920 with
8384-429: 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,
8515-459: 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
8646-527: The authority of the German Empire after 1920 and then went into the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft in 1924. Quite a few of the locomotives formerly ordered by Prussia continued to be supplied until 1926 and were still defined as Prussian locomotive classes in the Reichsbahn fleet until they were eventually renumbered. The following German language links are relevant: Prussia Prussia ( / ˈ p r ʌ ʃ ə / , German : Preußen [ˈpʁɔʏsn̩] ; Old Prussian : Prūsija, Prūsa )
8777-428: 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
8908-404: 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
9039-403: 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
9170-423: 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
9301-435: The border station at Chernyshevskoye because Nesterov station did not provide sufficient capacity. The section from Mamonovo ( Heiligenbeil ) until shortly before Kaliningrad has a main track in Russian broad gauge and formerly had a standard gauge track. While the broad gauge track follows the traditional route from the west to Kaliningrad South Station (formerly Königsberg Hauptbahnhof ), the other track diverted south around
9432-524: The bridge over the Vistula to the south of Danzig near Dirschau Conflicts over the use of the railway during the interwar period were declared by Nazi Germany as part of the causes of World War II . By contrast, the over 1,000 metre-long steel bridge built between 1905 and 1909 over the Vistula near Münsterwalde (Polish: Most w Opaleniu) was dismantled from 1927 to 1929, because the Poles had no use for
9563-534: 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
9694-522: 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
9825-533: The city and reached the station from the east. An important branch of the line was the 290 km long line between Thorn and Insterburg created in 1871–1873 after Thorn was connected with Bromberg in 1861. Founded in 1846, the Stargard-Posen Railway Company ( Stargard-Posener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft , SPE) built a 170 km-long single-track main line, which connected the two provincial capitals of Stettin and Posen. The route crossed
9956-769: The company name was still used in July 1886. Other important lines of the Eastern Railroad were: While the traffic to the east was limited mostly to long-distance services, upgrading of the line began in Berlin. First, the tracks of the Berlin Ringbahn (the circular railway, the eastern section of which opened in 1871), the Lower Silesian-Märkische Railway ( Niederschlesisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft ) from Frankfurt (Oder) and
10087-483: The completion of these sections work began with duplicating the line from Küstrin east. The route from Berlin to Kustrin however, was already duplicated. In addition, there were several sections of line built parallel with the main line over short sections. In 1882, the Silesian station ( Schlesischer Bahnhof ) was opened as the new terminus for the line in Berlin and the old East Station was closed. Once completed to
10218-543: 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 ,
10349-528: 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
10480-540: 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
10611-467: 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
10742-432: 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
10873-484: 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
11004-467: The east, the Eastern Railway line opened up the Prussian provinces from Berlin. Freight traffic exceeded projections by several times. This was mostly made up of agricultural products such as livestock, grain and vegetables. The disruption of river traffic by the frequent low water levels in the Oder , Vistula and Warthe rivers or their freezing in the winter months led to periodic spikes in freight traffic on
11135-422: The economic development of Prussia because the state favoured the relatively backward agricultural areas in its railway building. Moreover, the railway surpluses substituted for the development of an adequate tax system. The individual railways acted as if they were independent operations and developed their own rolling stock. The extent of this independence is illustrated in an 1893 street plan of Berlin that shows
11266-534: 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
11397-408: 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
11528-504: The introduction of a new system in 1906. For express train, passenger train, goods train and tank locomotives the group letters 'S', 'P', 'G' and 'T' were used together with a type number that specified the main classes. So locomotives of average power were allotted to the '3' classes: S3, P3, G3 and T3. Less powerful engines were given lower numbers and more powerful engines higher numbers. In addition, superheated steam engines were to be given an even class number, whereas wet steam engines of
11659-505: The junction of the Lower Silesian-Märkische railway and the Eastern Railway led to increasing congestion. The location of the intersection with the Ringbahn had insufficient space, so a new grade-separated junction was built on the main line from Frankfurt (Oder) 2 km away at Rummelsburg depot . From there a line ran to the northeast to connect with the main line just to the west of Kaulsdorf . An additional platform
11790-426: 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. Prussian Eastern Railway The Prussian Eastern Railway ( German : Preußische Ostbahn )
11921-487: The last 64 km section of the direct line between Berlin and Königsberg was opened from Gusow to Berlin East station ( Berlin Ostbahnhof ) via Strausberg . The line was extended from Königsberg on 6 June 1860 to Insterburg via Gumbinnen , Trakehnen and Stalluponen and extended to Eydtkuhnen on the Russian frontier on 15 August 1860, a total distance of 153 km. Transhipments and transfers took place at
12052-428: The line opened in 1851, reaching Eydtkuhnen in 1860. By March 1880 the total route length reached 2,210 kilometers (1,370 mi), with a main parallel route in the south via Bromberg (now Bydgoszcz , Poland) and Thorn (now Toruń , Poland) to Insterburg (now Chernyakhovsk , Russia). The lines were the first part of the later Prussian State Railways ( German : Preußische Staatseisenbahnen ). From about 1840,
12183-553: The main line of the Eastern Railway at Kreuz station. Because the company's revenue in the early days did not meet expectations, the government took over the SPE in 1851 and placed it in the Royal Railway Division of the Eastern Railroad in Bromberg, then in 1857 it was also temporarily managed by the state-owned Upper Silesian Railway ( Oberschlesischen Eisenbahn ). It was formally nationalised on 1 January 1883, although
12314-614: 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
12445-643: The nationalization and absorption of the various German state railways into the Imperial Railways ( Reichseisenbahn ), later the Deutsche Reichsbahn . For a detailed listing see the List of Prussian locomotives and railbuses For the most part the locomotives listed in the Prussian classification system were not built under state direction, but independently procured by the individual railway companies. In many cases they were only brought into
12576-482: The network to 4,833 route kilometers in 1895. At this time Berlin was served by seven daily long-distance freight trains from eastern Germany and, in long-distance passenger traffic, fifteen trains ran daily to East Prussia. Since 1892, “D-trains” ( D-Züge : long-distance expresses) also ran on the Eastern Railway. After the First World War the Prussian state railways, including the Eastern Railway, along with
12707-417: 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),
12838-468: The only part of the former Eastern Railway to remain in Germany is the section from Berlin to the Oder River near Küstrin. This, along with the sections now located on Polish or Russian territory, is mostly operated as a single-track branch line. Some formerly important international stations, such as Eydtkuhnen, no longer exist or have only a very minor role. The only international long-distance train on
12969-486: The order of the individual divisions. In the lower-numbered classes there were the most varied types of engine sometimes with different wheelbases. So one could not really speak of a standard classification to begin with. It was expected that over time the older locomotives would be paid off so that only the newer standard locomotives would remain, classified in a logical and orderly fashion. The Prussian state railways were, like all other German state railways, subordinated to
13100-505: The original classification system for Prussian locomotives was largely drawn from the Prussian Eastern Railway (Prussian Ostbahn). Under that, the locomotives only had running numbers without class designation. From the locomotive's running number however its purpose could be deduced based on the following allocation of numbers: Because each railway division numbered its locomotives independently using this scheme, there
13231-528: The other German state railways were incorporated into the newly created Deutsche Reichsbahn . Under the Treaty of Versailles the Polish Corridor was created in 1919, separating the Free City of Danzig and East Prussia from Germany , leaving East Prussia as an exclave . The Eastern Railway line became a major transit link between East Prussia and the rest of Germany. This caused a bottleneck at
13362-602: 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
13493-412: 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
13624-546: 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
13755-532: The reorganisation of the Prussian state railways in 1895. The Eastern Railway was at the time one of the major long-distance rail routes in Europe and one of the main axes for east–west traffic. Several international trains ran on it, including the legendary luxury train, the Nord Express , the latter in the "golden age" before the First World War. The development of the main railways and branch lines extended
13886-446: 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
14017-483: 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
14148-533: The station over the border then called Virbalis in Lithuanian (German: Wirballen, Russian: Verzhbolovo, Вержболово, Polish: Wierzbałowo), now called Kybartai . Later the gauge-conversion of carriages on through trains to the broad gauge tracks of the Russian Railways was carried out there. In 1871, the 34 km shorter Schneidemühl–Konitz–Dirschau line was built parallel, bypassing Bromberg. After
14279-607: 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
14410-478: The suburban services were designated as S-Bahn services as far as Mahlsdorf station . The long-distance platform was removed at Kaulsdorf station. The Germania plan of the Nazis envisioned a comprehensive upgrading of the line. The train was to be extended to Strausberg or Rüdersdorf south of the line. Another pair of long-distance tracks would have been built as far as the Berlin city limits at Mahlsdorf. Since
14541-555: The timetable, but the change is considered a sign of an incipient upgrade of the Eastern Railway. The line in Poland from Kostrzyn to Piła is double track except for a short section at the eastern exit of Gorzów station. The line is single track from Piła to Gutowiec . The line is now duplicated again from Gutowiec to Bogaczewo . It is single track from Bogaczewo to the national border with Russia in Braniewo. From Elbląg to Kaliningrad,
14672-593: 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
14803-453: 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
14934-489: 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
15065-732: 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
15196-648: 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
15327-684: Was a locomotive number 120, for example, almost everywhere. As a result, the name of the division was used with the number in order to distinguish them. The full designation for a locomotive with the number '120' went something like "Hannover 120" or "Cöln linksrheinisch 120". However it soon became evident that the numbering structure was too limited, because over time more locomotives entered service than its sequence of numbers had allowed for. In addition, new types of engine were produced, for which no numbers had been allocated, for example four-couplers. This resulted in locomotives being allocated unused numbers outside of their designated sequence. This all led to
15458-462: Was a railway in the Kingdom of Prussia and later Germany until 1918. Its main route, approximately 740 kilometers (460 mi) long, connected the capital, Berlin , with the cities of Danzig (now Gdańsk , Poland) and Königsberg (now Kaliningrad , Russia). At Eydtkuhnen (now Chernyshevskoye , Russia) it reached the German Empire 's border with the Russian Empire . The first part of
15589-463: 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
15720-555: Was established to supply the Eastern Railway. In 1855, the Union-Gießerei (foundry) Königsberg began to build locomotives; the Schichau-Werke (works) of Ferdinand Schichau of Elbing followed its example in 1860. The Königsberg agricultural equipment manufacturer L. Steinfurt built freight wagons and passenger carriages. Further independent railway divisions were created in Bromberg, Danzig, Königsberg and Posen under
15851-571: 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
15982-459: 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
16113-447: Was opened at Kaulsdorf station in 1901 for the traffic on this line, known as the VnK line . “Vn” may have stood for Verbindung nach (connection to) or von und nach (from and to) while K probably stood for Kaulsdorf or Küstrin. The old platform was left on the original line for suburban services to the Ringbahn. To the west of this was the link with the Stadtbahn suburban tracks. In 1903,
16244-560: Was opened on 19 October 1852. It was extended to Königsberg (62 km) on 2 August 1853. After the completion of the railway bridges over the Vistula in September 1857 and over the Nogat on 12 October 1857, the 18 km long Dirschau–Malbork line was completed. At the same time, the 29 km long direct line from Frankfurt (Oder) via Lebus to Küstrin as well as the 105 km line from Küstrin via Landsberg an der Warthe to Kreuz
16375-537: Was opened. Berlin was therefore reached by a shorter route via the Lower Silesian-Märkische Railway ( Niederschlesisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft , NME). The Prussian state railways acquired a stake in the NME and took over its management in 1850 and purchased the remaining shares of the railway in 1852. In 1853, Edward Wiebe was the Director of the Railway division of the Eastern Railway in Bromberg. Already in
16506-574: 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
16637-522: Was stopped, as the members of the provincial diet ( Provinziallandtag ) of East Prussia refused consent for the king to borrow for the project. This vote was confirmed in the United Diet ( Vereinigter Landtag ), the first parliamentary body covering all of Prussia, which was convened in April 1847 and subsequently dissolved. Members voted by a two-thirds majority against authorising a government loan for
16768-419: 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
16899-471: 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
17030-720: Was the official name of the town. It became an important railway junction. It is now called Krzyż Wielkopolski in Polish . The continuation of the first section via Dirschau to Danzig (161 km) was completed on 6 August 1852. During this time, trains between Kreuz and Berlin ran via the Berlin-Stettin railway and the Stargard–Posen line. Beyond the Nogat and Vistula rivers, the railway continued to be built from Marienburg via Elbing to Braunsberg (83.75 km); it
17161-620: Was therefore known as the " Stammbahn " (roughly translates as 'original line'). The state of Prussia first financed railways around 1850. These were the Royal Westphalian Railway Company ( Königlich-Westfälische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft ) and the Prussian Eastern Railway or Prussian Ostbahn ( Preußische Ostbahn ). In 1875 they funded two more important new railways: the Prussian Northern Railway or Prussian Nordbahn ( Preußsische Nordbahn ) and
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