Kingdom of Prussia

State · 1702–1863 CE · at its largest around 1806 CE

A German kingdom ruled by the Hohenzollerns from Berlin, which rose to great-power status under Frederick the Great and led the unification of Germany in 1871.

Its battles, in Battle View

Battle of Waterloo (1815 CE)

On its lands while it lasted

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 CE – 1750 CE): German composer and organist, cantor of St Thomas Church in Leipzig from 1723. His works, including the Brandenburg Concertos and St Matthew Passion, are summits of Baroque music.
Hanover (c. 1709 CE): Capital of Electorate of Hanover (1709–1802), Kingdom of Hanover (1814–1865).
Frederick the Great (1712 CE – 1786 CE): King of Prussia from 1740 to 1786, a military commander and patron of the Enlightenment who seized Silesia and made Prussia a great power. He lived at Sanssouci in Potsdam.
Immanuel Kant (1724 CE – 1804 CE): Prussian philosopher who spent his whole life in Königsberg. His critical philosophy on knowledge, ethics and aesthetics made him a central figure of the Enlightenment.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 CE – 1832 CE): German poet, playwright, novelist and scientist who lived in Weimar from 1775. Author of Faust and The Sorrows of Young Werther.
Seven Years' War (1756–1763 CE): A global conflict from 1756 to 1763; in Europe, Prussia and Britain fought Austria, France and Russia. Prussia kept Silesia, and Britain emerged as the leading colonial power.
Partitions of Poland (1772–1795 CE): In three partitions in 1772, 1793 and 1795, Russia, Prussia and Austria divided the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among themselves, ending its independent existence for 123 years.
Constitution of 3 May 1791 (1791 CE): Adopted by the Great Sejm in Warsaw, this was Europe's first modern codified national constitution. It was overturned after Russia intervened in 1792.
Altenburg (c. 1806 CE): Capital of Saxe-Altenburg (1806–1870).
Lübeck (c. 1806 CE): Capital of Free City of Lübeck (1806–1870).
Oldenburg (c. 1806 CE): Capital of Duchy of Oldenburg (1806–1870).
Würzburg (c. 1806 CE): Capital of Grand Duchy of Würzburg (1806–1814).
Gera (c. 1806 CE): Capital of Principality of Reuss-Gera (1806–1870).
Detmold (c. 1806 CE): Capital of Principality of Lippe (1806–1870).
Max Planck (1858 CE – 1947 CE): German theoretical physicist in Berlin whose 1900 hypothesis that energy is emitted in discrete quanta founded quantum theory. He won the 1918 Nobel Prize in Physics.