Europe · Reformation to revolution
Kingdom of Prussia
1701–1918
The Duchy of Prussia (established by the Prussian Homage, 10 April 1525, when the Teutonic Grand Master Albert secularized the Order's state as a Polish fief; capital Königsberg) was inherited by the Hohenzollern electors of Brandenburg in 1618, forming Brandenburg-Prussia (personal union from 27 August 1618). Frederick William, the "Great Elector" (r. 1640–1688), won full sovereignty over the duchy by the Treaties of Wehlau (1657) and Oliva (1660).
- Existed
- 1701–1918
- Shown on the map
- 1702–1808, 1815–1847, 1863 (3 periods)
- Peak area
- 347k km²
- Region
- Europe
Overview
The Duchy of Prussia (established by the Prussian Homage, 10 April 1525, when the Teutonic Grand Master Albert secularized the Order's state as a Polish fief; capital Königsberg) was inherited by the Hohenzollern electors of Brandenburg in 1618, forming Brandenburg-Prussia (personal union from 27 August 1618). Frederick William, the "Great Elector" (r. 1640–1688), won full sovereignty over the duchy by the Treaties of Wehlau (1657) and Oliva (1660). His son Frederick III elevated Prussia to a kingdom: crowned Frederick I, King in Prussia, at Königsberg on 18 January 1701, in exchange for supporting Emperor Leopold I in the War of the Spanish Succession (Crown Treaty, 16 November 1700). Frederick William I (the "Soldier-King") built the army and bureaucracy; Frederick II "the Great" (r. 1740–1786) seized Silesia in the Silesian Wars and made Prussia a great power, styling himself King of Prussia after acquiring West Prussia in the First Partition of Poland (1772). Prussia collapsed after Jena-Auerstedt (1806) but recovered through the Stein-Hardenberg reforms and the Wars of Liberation. Under Bismarck it defeated Denmark (1864), Austria (1866), and France (1870–1871), unifying Germany under Prussian leadership; the Prussian king became German Emperor. Prussia ended as a monarchy with Wilhelm II's abdication in 1918 (Free State of Prussia proclaimed 9 November 1918).
Common questions
- What was the Kingdom of Prussia?
- The Duchy of Prussia (established by the Prussian Homage, 10 April 1525, when the Teutonic Grand Master Albert secularized the Order's state as a Polish fief; capital Königsberg) was inherited by the Hohenzollern electors of Brandenburg in 1618, forming Brandenburg-Prussia (personal union from 27 August 1618). Frederick William, the "Great Elector" (r. 1640–1688), won full sovereignty over the duchy by the Treaties of Wehlau (1657) and Oliva (1660).
- When did the Kingdom of Prussia exist?
- The Kingdom of Prussia existed 1701–1918. On this map it is drawn 1702–1808, 1815–1847, 1863.
- How large was the Kingdom of Prussia?
- At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the Kingdom of Prussia covered about 347,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
Sources
This compendium cites its sources once for the whole document rather than per territory. Its bibliography names the English Wikipedia articles for each territory as the primary basis, with Encyclopædia Britannica, the World History Encyclopedia, German History in Documents and Images, national institutions such as the Swiss Federal Council and the National Museum of Denmark, and the scholarship of Peter H. Wilson and Joachim Whaley on the Holy Roman Empire. The article this entry is anchored on:
- Wikipedia — Kingdom of Prussia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Prussia
This entry was last updated .
This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made
Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.
Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).
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