Surely many of you have heard of Prussia, probably because it is a name that appears very frequently in history books, especially related to more recent history. And it is that Prussia was a key state for the formation of Germany and Europe, a kingdom that was, between the 17th and 18th centuries, one of the most important states in Europe. Today in Sobrehistoria we know more about Prussiaits origin, its history and everything related to this kingdom.
Origin of Prussia
Although its period of greatest splendor dates from the sixteenth century, Prussia as such has existed since the thirteenth centurytime when it was called teutonic prussia and was dominated by the Teutons since their victory in the Baltic Crusades.
It was in the year 1415 when the emperor asked a rich family in southern Germany for money, the Hohenzollern, who in return received the territory of Brandenburg. These began to be increasingly rich and have more and more land. Years later they inherited the Duchy of Prussia and the time of the Brandenburg-Prussia union began. It was also during this time that Prussia began to build a really powerful army.
The Prussian territory continued to increase, especially as a result of its participation in the 30 Years’ War, thanks to which it would also receive Eastern Pomerania and more territories near the Elbe, Wesser and Rhine rivers. Also for having fought in the war, Frederick William I was named King of Prussia, thus giving rise to the Kingdom of Prussia.
Also very soon, a city stood out above the others as the center of the kingdom and the main focus of development: Berlin, which would end up establishing itself as the capital.
kingdom of prussia
At the end of the War of Spanish Succession, the great European powers signed the Treaty of Utrecht in which the existence of Prussia as a Kingdom was recognized, in 1713. kingdom of prussiawhich in a few years would achieve significant development thanks to the work of Frederick William I The Sergeant King (he was the main creator of the powerful Prussian army), and Frederick II the Great.
Under Frederick II the Great, Prussia continued to grow in power and wealth. It was he who brought Prussia into War of succession against Austria, a war raised by the greed of the Prussian monarch who, however, achieved his goal of seizing numerous territories of the kingdom of Austria. Also, Prussia was, in 1770, one of the states that participated in the attacks and looting of Polandwhich ended up practically erasing it from the map.
In 1773 the regions of East Prussia and West Prussia would be created, which from the year 1829 would have a real union (that is, they shared a monarch or laws), giving rise to the province of Prussia, germ of what would be the German Empire. This unification would come to an end in the year 1878, when Prussia would again be divided into the eastern region and the western region.
Recent history of Prussia
The recent history of Prussia is mainly marked by the role of the German Chancellor Otto Von Bismarckwhich included Prussia in what he considered to be the concept of Greater Germany, and made Prussia the epicenter of the German empire (1871). the so-called iron chancellor he launched a powerful and organized army to carry out his plans for German unification. Thus, he managed to recover in a very short time the territories of Lauenburg, Schleswig, Holstein, Hesse, Frankfurt, Hannover, Nassau or Bavaria. He is known as one of the fathers of today’s Germany for a reason. He was also one of the leaders of the triple alliance, formed together with Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in order to isolate France.
From this point on, the history of Prussia is intertwined with the history of Germany, as Prussia becomes the main kingdom of the new state. With the defeat of Germany in World War I, the Kaiser William II abdicates and goes into exile, and many of the Prussian territories are awarded to Poland in the Treaty of Versailles. The abdication of Guillermo II supposes the loss of the power of the monarchy and the formation of the first social-democratic state in the territory, the Free State of Prussia, during the time that is called the Weimar Republic (1918 – 1933).
With the coming to power of Hitler and National Socialism, the recovery of the territories lost by Prussia during the Treaty of Versailles became one of the main objectives and obsessions of the Nazi party. However, as we already know, with the end of World War II the German National Socialist apparatus fell, which meant the definitive end of Prussia.
A part of what was Prussia became part of Pomerania, Polish territory, while other territories were annexed by the USSR. By decision of the victorious allied countries in the 2nd GM, Prussia was dissolved in 1947. In 1949 some territories that were part of what was Prussia became part of East Germany: Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, which months later would be joined by North Rhine-Westphalia (RNW), Lower Saxony, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Schleswig-Holstein, and Baden-Württemberg. However, the history of Prussia, one of the great protagonists on the European stage for more than two centuries, had come to an end forever.
To finish, we leave you with a video and some links that you might find interesting to complete the information in the article.
Video: Prussian Anthem
After knowing everything about its formation, its history and the importance it had within Europe, we end the article with a curiosity, the anthem of the old state of Prussia.
Links of interest
In Overstory we have many other articles that you may find very interesting:
And if you liked the article, do not hesitate to share it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter and Google +.