This article is about the specific polity Kingdom of Prussia and therefore only includes events related to its territory and not to its possessions or colonies. If you are interested in the possession, this is the link to the article about the nation which includes all possessions as well as all the different incarnations of the nation.
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Frederick I (who was prince-elector of Brandenburg and duke of Prussia) 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. However, Frederick took the line that since Prussia had never been part of the empire and the Hohenzollerns were fully sovereign over it, he could elevate Prussia to a kingdom. Prussia ceased to exist as an independent kingdom after the unification of Germany in 1871. However, it continued to exist as Kingdom in the German Empire until 1918 and then as a Free State until the Free State was subordinated to the Reich government and deprived of its independence in 1932. It was formally abolished in 1947.
Summary
The roots of Prussia can be traced back to the Holy Roman Empire and the rise of the Hohenzollern dynasty. During the Middle Ages, Germany was highly fragmented, with power divided among hundreds of sovereign territories. The Hohenzollerns, originally from the region of Franconia, steadily built up their holdings and influence, first as Electors of Brandenburg and eventually as Kings of Prussia.
The Hohenzollerns were distinguished by their strong commitment to the state and military power. Under leaders like Frederick William, the "Great Elector" (1640-1688), and Frederick the Great (1740-1786), Prussia developed into a major European power. They built up an efficient bureaucracy and a formidable army, making Prussia a model of administrative centralization and military strength.
In the 19th century, Prussia played a pivotal role in the unification of Germany. Under the leadership of Otto von Bismarck, Prussia defeated Austria in 1866 and established the North German Confederation, paving the way for the creation of the German Empire in 1871. Bismarck maneuvered Prussia into a position of dominance, making King William I the first German Emperor.
Bismarck's success in unifying Germany under Prussian leadership was a double-edged sword. On one hand, it fulfilled the long-held dream of German nationalists. On the other, it perpetuated the authoritarian, militaristic tendencies of the Prussian state, which would have lasting consequences for the future of Germany.
The Prussian model was characterized by a strong central government, a powerful civil service, and a formidable military. Bismarck consolidated the Prussian system at the national level, creating a German Empire that was essentially an enlarged Prussia.
The Prussian state was dominated by the landed aristocracy, the Junkers, who wielded tremendous political and economic influence. The Junkers formed the officer corps of the Prussian army and occupied key positions in the government bureaucracy. This landed elite was highly conservative, resistant to democratic reforms, and committed to the preservation of their privileges.
Bismarck was the architect of German unification and the dominant figure in the new German Empire. As chancellor, he pursued a Realpolitik approach focused on advancing Prussian/German interests through pragmatic, sometimes ruthless means. He outmaneuvered rival powers, fought the Catholic Church, and suppressed socialist movements, all in the name of strengthening the state.
Bismarck's success came at a price, however. His authoritarian tendencies and hostility to democratic forces laid the groundwork for future political instability in Germany. The Reichstag (parliament) was relatively weak, with the emperor and chancellor wielding most of the real power. This imbalance would have grave consequences as Germany moved into the 20th century.
The unification of Germany under Prussian leadership ushered in the period of the Second Reich, or German Empire, which lasted from 1871 to 1918.
Establishment
January 1701: On 17 January 1701, Frederick dedicated the royal coat of arms, the Prussian black eagle, and motto, "suum cuique". On 18 January, he crowned himself and his wife Sophie Charlotte in a baroque ceremony in Königsberg Castle.
Chronology
Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation
The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Philip of Anjou and Charles of Austria, and their respective supporters. It was a global war, with fighting taking place in Europe, Asia, and America. At the end of the war, Philip II, who was the successor chosen by Charles II as a descendant of Charles' paternal half-sister Maria Theresa, became King of Spain and of its overseas empire. The Spanish possessions in Europe were partitioned between various European Monarchies.
1.1.Dutch and German Theatre (War of the Spanish Succession)
Was the theatre of war of the War of the Spanish Succession in Germany and the Low Countries.
July 1703: Rheinberg and Bonn fell early to the Allied forces led by France.
1.2.Treaty of Utrecht
Were a series of treaties to end the War of the Spanish Succession.
April 1713: In 1713, the region of Upper Gelderland, known as Overkwartier, was divided between Prussia. This included Gelderland, Viersen, Horst, and Venray. The transfer of territory was part of the Treaty of Utrecht, which ended the War of the Spanish Succession.
1.3.Treaty of Baden
Was a treaty between France and the Holy Roman Empire, to end the War of the Spanish Succession.
September 1714: In the Treaty of Baden the French and their allies returned the east bank of the Rhine River (the Breisgau) to Austria.
A series of wars fought in northern and northeastern Europe from the 16th to the 18th century.
2.1.Great Northern War
Was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe.
2.1.1.Phase 2: Sweden Defending itself
Was the second phase of the Great Northern War. It consisted in the counterattack of all the countries that Sweden had invaded during the first phase of the war.
2.1.1.1.North German Front of the Great Northern War
Was the theatre of war of northern Germany in the second phase of the Great Northern War.
October 1713: A few days after the handover, the Allies agreed with Prussia in the Treaty of Schwedt, which was to take over the city as a neutral occupying power and was allowed to keep it in the future for a payment of 400,000 Reichstaler. After paying this sum, Prussian troops marched into Stettin on October 6, 1713.
2.1.2.Peace Treaties of the Great Northern War
Were the peace treaties that ended the Great Northern War.
2.1.2.1.Peace of Stockholm (1720)
Two treaties signed in 1719 and 1720 that ended the war between Sweden and an alliance of Hanover and Prussia.
February 1720: In 1720, the Kingdom of Prussia acquired Stettin, Western Pomerania up to the Peene River, and the islands of Usedom and Wollin from Sweden. This territorial exchange was part of the Treaty of Stockholm, negotiated by Swedish diplomat Johan Gyllenstierna and Prussian envoy Friedrich Wilhelm von Grumbkow. The payment of two million thalers was made to Sweden as part of the agreement.
Were a series of wars between the Habsburg Domains and Prussia for the control of Silesia. The war started during the War of the Austrian Succession, when Frederick the Great of Prussia invaded Habsburg-held Silesia.
3.1.First Silesian War
Was the first of three wars between Austria and Prussia for the control of Silesia. It was part of the War of the Austrian Succession. The war started when Prussia invaded Silesia. The possession of the region by Prussia was aknowledged by Austria at the end of the war.
3.1.1.Silesian Theatre (First War)
Was the Silesian theatre of the First Silesian War.
June 1742: The Treaty of Breslau was a preliminary peace agreement signed in 1742 between Maria Theresa of Austria and Frederick II of Prussia, ending the First Silesian War. The treaty ceded the territory of Silesia to the Kingdom of Prussia.
Was a global conflict that involved most of the European great powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. At the end of the war the main winner was Great Britain, that obtained territories in North America, the Caribbean and India, becoming the most powerful maritime and colonial of the European powers.
4.1.Third Silesian War
Was the last of three wars between Austria and Prussia for the control of Silesia. It was also part of the Seven Years' War.
4.1.1.Russian invasion of Brandenburg (Third Silesian War)
Was the Russian invasion of Brandenburg during the Third Silesian War.
October 1757: Cavalrymen of the Holy Roman Empire attacked and briefly occupied Berlin, the capital of Prussia.
October 1757: The Holy Roman Empire army leaves Berlin.
July 1758: The Russians continued to press into Neumark. On 23 July the new Russian commander, Count Pyotr Saltykov, led 47,000 men in defeating 26,000 Prussians commanded by General Carl Heinrich von Wedel at the Battle of Kay.
August 1758: Advancing Russians, who had by then reached the borders of Brandenburg, besieged and burned Küstrin.
August 1758: Russian Field Marshal Saltykov reached and occupied Frankfurt an der Oder.
October 1758: Despite the coalition's overwhelming superiority of force in Brandenburg, Russia withdrew from Prussian territory (but not from East Prussia).
October 1760: With Prussian forces concentrated in Silesia and Saxony, Brandenburg was left largely undefended. In early October a Russian corps under General Gottlob Heinrich Tottleben advanced through Neumark and joined Lacy's Austrians in briefly occupying Berlin.
October 1760: A rumour that Frederick the Great was marching to the rescue of Berlin with his superior forces prompted the commanders to withdraw from the city as they had completed their major objectives. The occupiers withdrew from the city on 12 October. he Russians rejoined their main army in the vicinity of Frankfurt.
December 1761: The town of Kolberg, located in modern-day Poland, was besieged by Russian forces in 1761 during the Seven Years' War. The Prussian garrison, led by Lieutenant Colonel August von Gneisenau, was forced to surrender due to the town's weakened defenses.
4.1.2.Russia switches sided
On 5 January 1762 the ailing Russian Empress Elizabeth died. Her nephew and successor, Tsar Peter III, was an ardent admirer of Frederick the Great of Prussia, and he reversed Russia's foreign policy and ordered a ceasefire with Prussia. Peter agreed to an armistice with Prussia in March and lifted the Russian occupation of East Prussia and Pomerania.
April 1762: On January 5, 1762, Russian Empress Elizabeth passed away. Her nephew and successor, Tsar Peter III, an ardent admirer of Prussian King Frederick, immediately reversed Elizabeth's foreign policy and ordered a ceasefire with Prussia. In March, Peter agreed to an armistice with Prussia and lifted the Russian occupation of East Prussia and Pomerania.
July 1762: Since France had never formally declared war on Prussia, he agreed to a ceasefire with Frederick and evacuated Prussia's territories in the Rhineland, ending France's involvement in the war in Germany.
4.1.3.Treaty of Hubertusburg
Was the treaty that ended the Third Silesian War, and, together with the Treaty of Paris (1763) it ended also the Seven Years' War.
February 1763: At the end of the Third Silesian War, the warring parties agreed restore the status quo ante bellum. Austria withdrew from Glatz, restoring full Prussian control of Silesia, in exchange for Prussia's evacuation of Saxony.
4.2.Central German Theatre
Was the theatre of war in central Germany of the Seven Years' War.
4.2.1.French Invasion (German Theatre of the Seven Years' War)
Was a French large-scale invasion of Germany during the Seven Years' War.
July 1757: The Prussian port of Emden fell to the French.
August 1757: Under Richelieu the French continued their drive, taking Minden.
August 1757: During the Seven Years' War, French Marshal Louis Charles César Le Tellier led the siege of Geldern, which was defended by Prussian General von Spörcken. The prolonged siege resulted in the French army being delayed in their campaign.
November 1757: French marshal Louis François Armand de Richelieu moved his forces to take up winter quarters around Halberstadt.
4.2.2.Rhineland Theatre (Seven Years' War)
Was the theatre of War in the Rhineland during the Seven Years' War.
August 1759: On 1 August 1759, the Anglo-German army of Ferdinand Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg, routed the French during the Battle of Minden.
4.3.Pomeranian War
Was a theatre of war of the Seven Years' War. The term is used to describe the fighting between Sweden and Prussia between 1757 and 1762 in Swedish Pomerania, Prussian Pomerania, northern Brandenburg and eastern Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
September 1757: Swedish Major Carl Constantin De Carnall was able to reach Fehrbellin with 800 men to defend it from about 5,000 Prussians at a battle fought there on 28 September.
October 1757: After the failure of the Austrian invasion of Saxony, Hamilton left Neuruppin on 10 October and headed for the River Oder, in the hopes of joining up with the Russians. He failed in this and the Swedish force had to go into winter quarters, with Hamilton returning to Swedish Pomerania. .
October 1759: The Swedish army captured Usedom and Wollin.
December 1759: In 1759, during the Seven Years' War, Russian Field Marshal Stepan Fyodorovich Apraksin was unable to besiege Stettin due to lack of cooperation from his allies. As a result, he withdrew into Swedish Pomerania, specifically in Usedom and Wollin, which then became part of the Kingdom of Prussia.
January 1760: Swedish troops penetrated as far as Anklam.
September 1760: However, despite these successes and despite the Prussian army's attention mainly being elsewhere, Lantingshausen and his 15,000 troops were under-supplied and only able to invade Prussia in August, mainly in order to find supplies. He pushed forward to Prenzlow (now Prenzlau) in Brandenburg with his main force of 6,000 troops, leaving Augustin Ehrensvard with a detachment in Pasewalk.
December 1760: Then many officers left to participate in parliament and the resulting shortage of officers forced Lantingshausen to return to Swedish Pomerania, where he remained for the whole winter without being attacked by the Prussians.
Was a war fought between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth on one side, and the Targowica Confederation (conservative nobility of the Commonwealth opposed to the new Constitution of 3 May 1791) and the Russian Empire under Catherine the Great on the other.
5.1.Second Partition of Poland
The second of three partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth happened in the aftermath of the Polish-Russian War of 1792. Polish-Lithuanian territories were acquired by Prussia and Russia.
January 1793: Russian and Prussian troops entered the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth again and the Second Partition was signed on January 23, 1793. Austria did not participate in the Second Partition.
5.2.First Partition of Poland
Was the first of the three partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. At the time the country was occupied by Russia. The first partition saw Polish-Lithuanian territories taken by Austria, Russia and Prussia.
Were a series of conflicts between France and several European monarchies between 1792 and 1815. They encompass first the French Revolutionary Wars against the newly declared French Republic and from 1803 onwards the Napoleonic Wars against First Consul and later Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. They include the Coalition Wars as a subset: seven wars waged by various military alliances of great European powers, known as Coalitions, against Revolutionary France - later the First French Empire - and its allies.
January 1803: In 1802, the territory of Mühlhausen (Thuringia) was transferred to the Kingdom of Prussia. This decision was made as part of the territorial reorganization following the Napoleonic Wars.
January 1803: Salm was created in 1802 as a state of the Holy Roman Empire in order to compensate the princes of Salm-Kyrburg and Salm-Salm, who had lost their states to France in 1793-1795. The new territory was not near most of the old territories of the princes, but instead extended the County of Anholt, which had been a minor possession of the prince of Salm-Salm. Most of the area was taken from the dissolved Bishopric of Münster.
January 1803: Several exclaves of the Mainz Archibishopric, including Erfurt, are given to the Kingdom of Prussia.
January 1803: In 1802, the territory of Paderborn was transferred to the Kingdom of Prussia. This decision was made as part of the secularization process in the Holy Roman Empire, which aimed to redistribute ecclesiastical lands to secular rulers.
February 1803: Reichsdeputationsschluss: the Imperial Recess of 1803, was a resolution passed by the Reichstag (Imperial Diet) of the Holy Roman Empire. The law secularized nearly 70 ecclesiastical states and abolished 45 imperial cities to compensate numerous German princes for territories to the west of the Rhine that had been annexed by France as a result of the French Revolutionary Wars.
February 1803: By the German Mediatisation of 1803, Oldenburg acquired the Oldenburg Münsterland and the Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck.
January 1804: The Hildesheim Prince-Bishopric is acquired by the Kingdom of Prussia.
January 1804: The Imperial City of Goslar is acquired by the Kingdom of Prussia.
January 1804: The Werden Abbey is acquired by the Kingdom of Prussia.
October 1804: In 1804 Weißenburg in Bayern was annexed by Prussia.
March 1806: On 15 March 1806, the French emperor created the Granduchy of Berg and put it under the rule of his brother-in-law Joachim Murat. The Grand Duchy was a Napoleonic creation on territories formally part of several German states. Its capital was Düsseldorf.
October 1806: In September 1802, the city of Nuremberg lost its imperial freedom and came under the control of Electoral Bavaria. In 1804, it was transferred to Prussia before finally becoming part of the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1806.
January 1807: In 1806, during the Napoleonic Wars, the Kingdom of Prussia annexed the territory of Hannover. This decision was made as a result of the Treaty of Tilsit.
January 1807: Ostfriesland and Ravenstein are annexed by Holland.
January 1807: Establishment of the Kingdom of Westphalia.
January 1808: In 1806, in the reorganization of Germany occasioned by the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, Maximilian I Joseph, now King of Bavaria, ceded Berg to Napoleon in return for the Principality of Ansbach.
January 1809: The Kingdom of Westphalia was created received territories ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia in the Peace of Tilsit, among them the region of the Duchy of Magdeburg west of the Elbe River, the Brunswick-Lüneburg territories of Hanover and Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, and the Electorate of Hesse.
6.1.War of the First Coalition
Were a series of wars between the Kingdom of France (later the French Republic) and several European Monarchies. The French Revolution had deteriorated the relations of France with the other European countries, that tried several times to invade France in order to crash the revolutionary government.
January 1795: The French armies drove the Austrians, British, and Dutch beyond the Rhine, occupying Belgium, the Rhineland, and the south of the Netherlands.
6.1.1.Flanders Campaign
Was a French military campaign in the Flanders.
December 1794: By 28 December the French had occupied the Bommelwaard and the Lands of Altena.
January 1795: On 10 January French general Pichegru ordered a general advance across the frozen river between Zaltbommel and Nijmegen and the allies were forced to retreat behind the Lower Rhine.
6.1.2.Peace of Basel
Were a series of Treaties between the French Republic and Prussia, Spain and Hesse-Kassel that ended the War of the First Coalition with these countries.
April 1795: The Peace of Basel of 1795 consisted of three peace treaties involving France during the French Revolution. The first was with Prussia (represented by Karl August von Hardenberg) on 5 April. France returned all of the lands east of the Rhine captured during the war.
April 1795: Peace of Basel of 1795 at the end of the War of the First Coalition between the Kingdom of Prussia and the French Republic. France gained the left bank of the Rhine.
6.1.3.Rhine campaign of 1800
Was one of a series of battles in the Rhineland during the War of the First Coalition.
October 1796: The French retreated across the rivers Rhine and Elz, destroying all the bridges.
6.1.4.Treaty of Campo Formio
Was a treaty between France and Austria that ended the War of the First Coalition.
January 1798: The Treaty of Campo Formio was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI). The treaty transferred the Austrian Netherlands to France. The territories of Venice were partitioned, most were acquired by Austria. Austria recognized the Cisalpine Republic and the newly created Ligurian Republic. Extension of the borders of France up to the Rhine, the Nette, and the Roer.
6.2.War of the Second Coalition
Was the second war that saw revolutionary France against most of the European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria, and Russia, and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, Naples, and various German monarchies. Prussia did not join this coalition, and Spain supported France.
6.2.1.Suvorov Swiss campaign
Was a military campaign led by Russian general Alexander Suvorov against France that took place in Switzlerand.
October 1799: The Russian troops were forced by the French to abandon their hold on the left bank of the Rhine.
6.2.2.Treaty of Lunéville
Was a treaty between the French Republic and the Holy Roman Empire that formally ended the partecipation of Austria and the Holy Roman Empire in the War of the Second Coalition.
February 1801: The Treaty of Lunéville was signed in the Treaty House of Lunéville between the French Republic and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II. Certain Austrian holdings within the borders of the Holy Roman Empire were relinquished, and French control was extended to the left bank of the Rhine, "in complete sovereignty" but France renounced any claim to territories east of the Rhine. Contested boundaries in Italy were set. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was awarded to the French.
6.3.War of the Third Coalition
Was a European conflict spanning the years 1805 to 1806. During the war, France and its client states under Napoleon I opposed an alliance, the Third Coalition, made up of the United Kingdom, the Holy Roman Empire, the Russian Empire, Naples, Sicily, and Sweden. Prussia remained neutral during the war.
February 1806: The assignment treaties of Paris in 1806 involved Napoleon Bonaparte and King Frederick William III of Prussia. As a result of these treaties, the territory of Neuchatel Principality was transferred from Prussia to Napoleon's control.
February 1806: The assignment treaties of Paris in 1806 involved the transfer of territory to the Grand Duchy of Berg.
6.4.War of the Fourth Coalition
Was a war between the French Empire and a coalition of European monarchies, mainly Prussia and Russia.
6.4.1.Prussian Campaign (War of the Fourth Coalition)
Was a French military campaign in Prussia during the War of the Fourth Coalition.
October 1806: French Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte defeated Eugene Frederick Henry, Duke of Württemberg, at the Battle of Halle and chased his forces across the Elbe River.
October 1806: Napoleon entered Berlin on 27 October 1806.
6.4.2.Polish, Russian and Swedish campaigns (War of the Fourth Coalition)
Was the theatre of war in Poland, Russia and Sweden during the War of the Fourth Coalition.
February 1807: The Battle of Eylau was fought between Napoleon's Grande Armée and the Imperial Russian Army led by General Levin August von Bennigsen. It was one of the bloodiest battles of the Napoleonic Wars, with heavy casualties on both sides. The battle ended inconclusively, with neither side achieving a decisive victory.
June 1807: In 1807, Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the Russian army at the Battle of Friedland. This victory led to the Treaty of Tilsit, where Russia ceded territory to France and solidified Napoleon's dominance in Europe.
6.4.3.Peace of Tilsit
Were a series of treaties that ended the War of the Fourth Coalition.
July 1807: The Duchy of Warsaw was a Polish state established by Napoleon in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit.
July 1807: The second of the Treaties of Tilsit was signed by France with Prussia on 9 July 1807 and awarded the left bank of the Elbe to the newly created Kingdom of Westphalia.
July 1807: The treaty signed between Prussia and France at Tilsit, following the War of the Fourth Coalition, was highly disadvantageous to Prussia. As a result of this agreement, the Kingdom lost most of its Polish territories to the newly created Duchy of Warsaw. Additionally, it ceded most of its territories in central Germany and the Rhineland to France, the Grand Duchy of Berg, and the Kingdom of Westphalia. The remnant territories occupied by France in Germany were evacuated.
July 1807: Peace of Tilsit.
July 1807: The Peace of Tilsit was signed in 1807 between Emperor Napoleon I of France and Tsar Alexander I of Russia. The treaty divided Europe into spheres of influence, with the Duchy of Warsaw being created out of Prussian territory as a French client state.
July 1807: Towards the end of 1806, the French entered Poland and Napoleon created a new Duchy of Warsaw.
July 1807: After the defeat of King Frederick William III of Prussia at the 1806 Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, according to the Franco-Prussian Treaty of Tilsit of 9 July 1807, the territory of the free state was carved out from lands that made up part of the West Prussia province.
July 1807: With the second Treaty signed in Tilsit, Prussia lost Cottbus to Saxony.
6.5.War of the Sixth Coalition
Was a war between France and a a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, and a number of German States. The coalition emerged after the decimation of the French army in the French invasion of Russia. The coalition ultimately invaded France and forced Napoleon to abdicate and go into exile.
April 1813: On 5 April, in the Battle of Möckern, combined Prusso-Russian forces defeated French troops. The French withdrew to Magdeburg.
October 1813: Napoleon is defeated in Leipzig by the Coalition forces. The French Army is forced to leave Germany.
October 1813: The Grand Duchy's short existence came to an end when the French forces pulled back in the course of the 1813 Battle of Leipzig. The territory was then administered by Prussia, which officially incorporated the former Grand Duchy according to the Final Act of the 1815 Congress of Vienna.
January 1814: Ostfriesland is annexed by Russia.
January 1814: Cottbus is ccupied by Prussia and later added to the Province of Brandenburg.
January 1814: Dortmund, Ostfriesland, Gleichenstein, Goslar, Halberstadt, Mark, Nordhausen, Paderborn, Tecklenburg are annexed by Prussia.
6.5.1.Treaty of Paris (1814)
Was the treaty that ended the war between France and the Sixth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars.
May 1814: Lingen and Ravensberg are acquired by the Kingdom of Prussia.
6.6.Congress of Vienna
Was a series of international diplomatic meetings after the end of the Napoleonic wars whose aim was a long-term peace plan for Europe. It redraw the borders of Europe and partially restored the Monarchies of the pre-revolutionary period.
September 1814: On September 12, 1814, Neuchâtel became the capital of the 21st canton, but also remained a Prussian principality.
October 1814: The "Electorate of Hanover" (the core duchy) was enlarged with the addition of other lands and became the kingdom of Hanover in 1814 at the peace conferences (Congress of Vienna) settling the future shape of Europe in the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars.
January 1815: In 1814 the Kingdom of Hanover bartered Saxe-Lauenburg against Prussian East Frisia.
June 1815: In the 1815 Congress of Vienna, Poland was formally partitioned between Russia, Prussia and Austria.
June 1815: With the Congress of Vienna, the Kingdom of prussia acquired a large territory in the Rhineland which formed the Grand Duchy of the Lower Rhine, a new province of the Kingdom of Prussia.
June 1815: Prussia received three-fifths of Saxony with the Congress of Vienna.
June 1815: Lingen fell to Hanover with the Congress of Vienna.
June 1815: Territories awarded to the Kingdom of Saxony by the Congress of Vienna.
June 1815: After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the territory of Nain went to the Kingdom of Prussia, specifically outside the German Confederation. This decision was made by the European powers to reorganize the political landscape of Europe after the Napoleonic Wars.
June 1815: Territories awarded to the Duchy of Anhalt by the Congress of Vienna.
June 1815: Based on Gustav Droysen's Map of the Germany during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods.
October 1815: Prussia agreed to exchange Swedish Pomerania with the cession of the duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg to Denmark and assumed the Danish war debt to Sweden. The delivery via the Swedish governor to the Prussian plenipotentiary minister took place in October 1815.
The dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire occurred de facto on 6 August 1806, when the last Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, abdicated his title and released all imperial states and officials from their oaths and obligations to the Empire.
August 1806: In 1806, the Holy Roman Empire came to an end in the city of nan. This marked the dissolution of a political entity that had existed for over a thousand years. The territory was then absorbed into the Kingdom of Prussia under the leadership of King Frederick William III.
Were a series of wars that resulted in the creation of the German Empire under Prussian leadership in 1871.
8.1.Second Schleswig War
Was a war caused by the status of the duchies of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg, that were Dnish possession but at the same also part of the German confederation. When the Danish King died without an heir acceptable to the German Confederation, Prussian and Austrian troops invaded and occupied the duchies.
8.1.1.Gastein Convention
Was an agreement between Prussia and Austria over the occupied duchies of Schleswig, Holstein and Saxe-Lauenburg. .
8.2.Austro-Prussian War
Was a war between the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire over the dominance of the German states. The war resulted in a Prussian victory. The German confederation was abolished and in 1871 Prussia united all the German states but Austria in the German Empire.
8.2.1.Front in Hannover (Austro-Prussian War)
Was the Hannoverian front of the Austro-Prussian War.
June 1866: On June 29, 1866, Hanover's army capitulates due to military exhaustion, Hanover is annexed by Prussia.
8.2.2.Peace Treaties (Austro-Prussian War)
Were a series of treaties that ended the Austro-Prussian War. Prussia annexed the Austro-Prussian condominium of Schleswig and Holstein and several other territories. The German Confederation was dissolved, and a Prussian domained Northern German Confederation, that excluded the southern German states, was created.
August 1866: Peace of Prague: renunciation of rights to the condominium in Schleswig and Holstein; Recognition of Prussian supremacy in northern Germany.
September 1866: Hessen-Kassel was annexed by Prussia in 1866 following the Austro-Prussian War.
September 1866: Annexation of Nassau by Prussian law.
September 1866: Prussia annexed Frankfurt.
September 1866: In 1866, Hesse-Homburg was inherited by the grand-duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, Louis III. Meisenheim, on the other hand, fell to Prussia as part of the territorial changes resulting from the Austro-Prussian War.
8.3.Franco-Prussian War
Was a war that saw the Second French Empire fight against an alliance of German states led by the Kingdom of Prussia. The war was caused by the struggle over dominance in continental Europe between Prussia and France. The German states were victorious and in 1871 merged to form the German Empire. France was occupied and forced to cede Alsace-Lorraine to Germany.
8.3.1.French Army incursion
Was a French military operation at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War.
August 1870: Battle of Saarbrücken.
8.3.2.German Invasion (Franco-Prussian War)
Was the invasion of the Second French Empire by an alliance of German states during the Franco-Prussian War. The French defeat at Sédan (1870) caused the fall of the French Empire.
August 1870: Upon learning from captured Prussian soldiers and a local area police chief that the Prussian Crown Prince's Third Army was just 48 km north from Saarbrücken near the Rhine river town Wissembourg, General Le Bœuf and Napoleon III decided to retreat to defensive positions. General Frossard, without instructions, hastily withdrew his elements of the Army of the Rhine in Saarbrücken back across the river to Spicheren and Forbach.
8.3.3.Unification of Germany (1871)
Was the unification of 25 German states into the German Empire under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, officially proclaimed on 18 January 1871, in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles in France.
January 1871: Unification of Germany into a German Empire with tight political and administrative integration, replacing the decentralized German Confederation and Holy Roman Empire, was officially proclaimed on 18 January 1871, in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles in France.
January 1703: The Lingen County is acquired by the Kingdom of Prussia.
June 1707: In 1707, following the death of Marie de Nemours, Duchess of Nemours and Princess of Neuchâtel, the city, which was on the border of the Swiss Confederation, had to choose her successor from among fifteen claimants.the Protestant cantons of the Swiss Confederation encouraged Neuchâtel to select the Protestant King Frederick I of Prussia.
January 1708: Tecklenburg County is sold to Prussia.
January 1743: The southern part of the duchy and the town of Jägerndorf itself remained with Bohemia and were added to the newly created Austrian Silesia.
January 1745: The Principality of Ostfriesland is acquired by the Kingdom of Prussia.
December 1777: Electoral Palatinate-Bavaria came into being in 1777 when Elector Karl Theodor took over the inheritance of the Bavarian line of his house (Electorate of Bavaria), which had died out in the male line.
January 1781: In 1780, the dynasty of Mansfeld became extinct. The Saxon portion of Mansfeld went to the Electorate of Saxony (Albertines), while the Magdeburgian portion went to Magdeburg (which was part of Prussia).
January 1787: Based on Gustav Droysen's Map of the Holy Roman Empire in the XVIII century.
January 1788: Based on Gustav Droysen's Map of the Holy Roman Empire in the XVIII century.
January 1792: On 2 December 1791, the reigning Prince and Margrave of Ansbach, Charles Alexander, who had also succeeded to Bayreuth, sold the sovereignty of his principalities to King Frederick William II of Prussia. Ansbach was formally annexed on 28 January 1792.
June 1816: Moresnet was a mall Belgian-Prussian condominium in central-western Europe that existed from 1816 (Aachen Agreement) to 1920 and was jointly administered by the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (Belgium after its independence in 1830) and the Kingdom of Prussia.
January 1817: On 7 June 1815, after 14 months under its rule, Prussia granted Saxe-Lauenburg to Sweden, receiving in return former Swedish Pomerania, however, additionally paying 2.6 million Taler to Denmark, in order to compensate Denmark for the loss of Norway. Denmark gained that ducal territory north of the Elbe, now ruled in personal union by the Danish House of Oldenburg, from Sweden, which thus again compensated Danish claims to Swedish Pomerania. On 6 December 1815 Frederick VI of Denmark issued his Asseveration Act (Versicherungsacte) affirming the given laws, the constitution and the Ritter- und Landschaft of Saxe-Lauenburg.
January 1835: Lichtenberg was ceded to Prussia.
January 1849: In 1848-1851, the eastern provinces of Prussia and - subject to a regulation for the Polish population - Poznań, became part of the German Confederation as a result of a Bundestag decision by Prussia.
March 1850: The democratic Revolution of 1848 was relatively successful in Hohenzollern, and on 16 May 1848, the Prince was forced to accept the establishment of a constitution. However, the conflict between monarch and democrats continued, and on 6 August 1849, Hohenzollern was occupied by Prussian forces. On 7 December 1849, Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Konstantin sold the country to his relative, King Frederick William IV of Prussia. On 12 March 1850, Hohenzollern-Hechingen officially became part of Prussia.
April 1850: Its ruler, Charles, was deposed in the revolutions of 1848. His son, Karl Anton, succeeded him, and turned to Prussia for aid. Prussian troops arrived in August 1849, and in a treaty signed in December Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was annexed by Prussia, effective in March 1850.
January 1852: From 1848 to 1851, Prussia's eastern provinces, Prussia and Posen (subject to a settlement for the Polish population), were included in the German Confederation due to a Bundestag decision. In 1851, Prussia reversed this inclusion to emphasize its status as an independent great power with territories outside the Confederation.
August 1866: In 1866, the German Confederation was dissolved following the Austro-Prussian War.
Disestablishment
January 1871: Unification of Germany into a German Empire with tight political and administrative integration, replacing the decentralized German Confederation and Holy Roman Empire, was officially proclaimed on 18 January 1871, in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles in France.
Selected Sources
Addington, L. (1994): The Patterns of War Since the Eighteenth Century, Bloomington (USA), p.24
Alison, A. (1835): History of Europe, W. Blackwood and Sons, pp. 86-90.
Articles secrets et convention additionelle du traité de Campo Formio. Retrieved on March, 24th 2024 on https://books.google.de/books?id=SStJAAAAcAAJ&dq=Trait%C3%A9%20de%20paix%20de%20Campo%20Formio&hl=de&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q=Trait%C3%A9%20de%20paix%20de%20Campo%20Formio&f=false
Droysen, G. (1886): Historischer Handatlas, Bielefeld and Leipzig (Germany), p. 48
Droysen, G. (1886): Historischer Handatlas, Bielefeld and Leipzig (Germany), pp. 46-47
Droysen, G. (1886): Historischer Handatlas, Bielefeld and Leipzig (Germany), pp. 48-49.
Frieden von Campoformio. Retrieved on March, 24th 2014 on https://books.google.de/books?id=UbGMtENHaBIC&pg=PA9#v=onepage&q&f=false
Gagliardo, J. (1980): Reich and Nation: The Holy Roman Empire as Idea and Reality, 1763–1806, Bloomington (USA), p. 192
Graf von Moltke, H. (2022): The Franco-German War of 1870-71, Good Press, pp.2, 4
Guthrie, W. (1798): A New geographical, historical and commercial grammar and present state of the several kingdoms of the world, printed for Charles Dilly and G.G. and J. Robinson, p. 473
Jorio, M. (2002): Basel, Frieden von (1795). Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz. https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/044887/2002-05-01/
Köbler, G. (2014) Historische Enzyklopädie der Länder der Deutschen, C.H. Beck München, pp. 28-31
O'Mahony, C. I. (2013). War within the Walls: Conflict and Citizenship in the Murals of the Hôtel de Ville, Paris. Journal of War & Culture Studies, 6(1), 6-23.
Poole, R.L. (1902): Historical Atlas of Modern Europe, Oxford (United Kingdom), Plate XI
Swiss campaign of Suvorov and his wonder-heroes. Top War. 30 September 2011. https://en.topwar.ru/7227-shveycarskiy-pohod-suvorova-i-ego-chudo-bogatyrey.html
Tucker, S.C. (2011) Battles that changed History - An Encyclopedia of World Conflict, ABC-CLIO, p.302
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Kingdom of Prussia
