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History of Prussia

Prussia
Preußen (Preussen)
1525–1947
Flag (1892–1918) Coat of arms (1866–1918)
Motto
Gott mit uns  (High German)
"God with us"
Prussia (blue), at its peak, the leading state of the German Empire
Capital Königsberg (1525–1701)
Berlin (1701–1947)
Languages German (official)
Religion Majority:
Protestant (Lutheran and Reformed; since 1817 Prussian United)
Demonym Prussian
Government Monarchy (until 1918), Republic
Duke1
 •  1525–1568 Albert I (first)
 •  1688–1701 Frederick III (last)
King1
 •  1701–1713 Frederick I (first)
 •  1888–1918 Wilhelm II (last)
Prime Minister1, 2
 •  1918 Friedrich Ebert (first)
 •  1933–1945 Hermann Göring (last)
Historical era Early modern Europe to Contemporary
 •  Duchy of Prussia 10 April 1525
 •  Union with Brandenburg 27 August 1618
 •  Kingdom of Prussia 18 January 1701
 •  Free State of Prussia 9 November 1918
 •  Abolition (loss of independence) 30 January 1934
 •  Abolition (de jure) 25 February 1947
Area
 •  1907 348,702 km² (134,635 sq mi)
 •  1939 297,007 km² (114,675 sq mi)
Population
 •  1816 est. 10,349,0003 
 •  1871 est. 24,689,000 
 •  1939 est. 41,915,040 
     Density 141.1 /km²  (365.5 /sq mi)
Currency Reichsthaler
German gold mark (1873–1914)
German Papiermark (1914–1923)
Reichsmark (since 1924)
Today part of Germany
Poland
Russia
Lithuania
Denmark
Belgium
Czech Republic
Switzerland
1 The heads of state listed here are the first and last to hold each title over time. For more information, see individual Prussian state articles (links in above History section).
2 The position of Ministerpräsident was introduced in 1792 when Prussia was a Kingdom; the prime ministers shown here are the heads of the Prussian republic.
3 Population estimates:
Wappen Mark Brandenburg.png
Wappen Preußen.png

History of Brandenburg and Prussia
Northern March
pre–12th century
Old Prussians
pre–13th century
Margraviate of Brandenburg
1157–1618 (1806)
Teutonic Order
1224–1525
Duchy of Prussia
1525–1618
Royal (Polish) Prussia
1466–1772
Brandenburg-Prussia
1618–1701
Kingdom in Prussia
1701–1772
Kingdom of Prussia
1772–1918
Free State of Prussia
1918–1947
Klaipėda Region
(Lithuania)
1920–1939 / 1945–present
Brandenburg
(Germany)
1947–1952 / 1990–present
Recovered Territories
(Poland)
1918/1945–present
Kaliningrad Oblast
(Russia)
1945–present

Prussia (German: About this sound Preußen ) was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg, and centred on the region of Prussia. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organised and effective army. Prussia, with its capital in Königsberg and from 1701 in Berlin, shaped the history of Germany. In 1871, German states united to create the German Empire under Prussian leadership. In November 1918, the monarchies were abolished and the nobility lost its political power during the German Revolution of 1918–19. The Kingdom of Prussia was thus abolished in favour of a republic—the Free State of Prussia, a state of Germany from 1918 until 1933. From 1933, Prussia lost its independence as a result of the Prussian coup, when the Nazi regime was successfully establishing its Gleichschaltung laws in pursuit of a unitary state. With the end of the Nazi regime, the division of Germany into allied-occupation zones and the separation of its territories east of the Oder–Neisse line, which were incorporated into Poland and the Soviet Union, the State of Prussia ceased to exist de facto in 1945. Prussia existed de jure until its formal liquidation by the Allied Control Council Enactment No. 46 of 25 February 1947.


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