Prussian Navy
| Preußische Marine | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1701–1867 |
| Country |
 Kingdom of Prussia
|
| Type | Navy |
| Engagements |
Pomeranian War, Napoleonic Wars, First Schleswig War, Austro-Prussian War |
| Insignia | |
| Naval Ensign (1819–1850) |  |
| Naval Ensign (1816–1819) | .svg) |
The Prussian Navy (German: Preußische Marine), was the naval force of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was created from the former Brandenburg Navy, following the elevation of the Duke of Prussia to King in Prussia in 1701. At that time, Brandenburg and Prussia formed a double state ruled in personal union by the House of Hohenzollern. The Prussian Navy existed, without any long interruption, until the founding of the North German Confederation in 1867, at which point the Prussian Navy was absorbed into the Norddeutsche Bundesmarine (North German Federal Navy).
Throughout the centuries, Prussia’s military consistently concentrated on its land power, and never sought a similar power at sea. Yet historically there were always Prussian naval forces, beginning in the days when "Prussia" meant only the Margraviate of Brandenburg.
The Electorate of Brandenburg, the predecessor of the Kingdom of Prussia, possessed its own naval forces from the 16th century onwards. Beginning around the year 1657, under Elector Frederick William (the "Great Elector"), these developed into an offensive naval force. The Elector designated navigation and commerce as the noblest undertakings of a state, and strove energetically to develop colonies overseas. Frederick William’s descendants had, however, little interest in such overseas adventures and on developing their own naval power. His son Frederick I, from 1701 the King in Prussia, was glad to sell colonial possessions to the Netherlands. At the time of Brandenburg’s elevation to the Kingdom of Prussia, the decline of the Brandenburg Navy had already begun; her end finally arrived with the sale of the colonies.
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