Brandenburg: Quick Facts

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Photos

Sanssouci Palace

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Topics

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Major Events

Painting by Gerard Terborch showing a large group of men in formal 17th-century attire gathered around a green-covered table, witnessing the signing of the Treaty of Munster.

Peace of Westphalia

Jan van Huchtenburg: William III and Maximilian II Emanuel

War of the Grand Alliance

Hendrik Münnichhofen: portrait of Magnus De la Gardie

Scanian War

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Treaty of Wehlau

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First Northern War

Brandenburg Gate

Berlin

national capital, Germany

Map showing the German Empire as it existed from 1871 to 1918, with its borders outlined and regions color-coded. The map highlights the Kingdom of Prussia in green and the full extent of the German Empire in yellow, including regions such as Bavaria, Saxony, Westphalia, and East Prussia. Neighboring countries like France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria-Hungary, and the Russian Empire are also labeled. Major cities such as Berlin, Munich, and Hamburg are marked.

German Empire

historical nation, Germany

Germany

country, Europe

Map of Europe about 800 CE showing the extent of the Frankish kingdom under Charlemagne in light purple, covering much of present-day France, Germany, northern Italy, and neighboring regions. Areas inhabited by Slavic peoples who were tributary to Charlemagne are shaded in a darker purple to the east of the Frankish kingdom, including groups such as the Bohemians, Moravians, and Croats. Major cities, rivers, and neighboring kingdoms are labeled for context.

Holy Roman Empire

historical empire, Europe

Historical map showing the unification of Germany by Prussia in the late 19th century. The map highlights in green the Kingdom of Prussia as of 1866, and in yellow the additional territories that formed the German Empire by 1871-1918, encompassing most of north-central Europe. Neighboring countries such as France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Switzerland are labeled, with major regions and states within the empire clearly marked.

Prussia

historic region, Europe

Key People

Frederick William

Frederick William

elector of Brandenburg

Hechingen: Hohenzollern Castle

Hohenzollern dynasty

European dynasty

Painting by Antoine Pesne showing King Frederick I seated on an ornate silver throne, wearing elaborate royal robes and holding a scepter, with a crown on a table beside him.

Frederick I

king of Prussia

Clauberg, engraving by J. Wielant

Johann Clauberg

German philosopher and theologian

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Johann August Eberhard

German philosopher and theologian

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Ascanian Dynasties

German history

Albert III Achilles, engraving by Peter Rollos, 1628.

Albert III Achilles

elector of Brandenburg

Albert I

Albert I

margrave of Brandenburg

Ancillon, Charles

Charles Ancillon

French lawyer, educator, and historian

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John

margrave of Brandenburg

Joachim II, detail from an oil painting by Lucas Cranach the Younger, c. 1570; in Monbijou Palace, Berlin

Joachim II Hektor

elector of Brandenburg

Albert II Alcibiades, detail from a portrait by an unknown artist

Albert II Alcibiades

margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach

Frederick I

Frederick I

elector of Brandenburg

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Hans Kohlhase

German brigand

Joachim I, detail from an oil painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1529; in Monbijou Palace, Berlin

Joachim I Nestor

elector of Brandenburg

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John Sigismund

elector of Brandenburg

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Joachim Frederick

elector of Brandenburg

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George William

elector of Brandenburg

Albinus, Bernard Siegfried: engraving of human skeleton

Bernard Siegfried Albinus

German anatomist

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John George

elector of Brandenburg