Prussia

The word Prussia (German: Preu?en, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Pr?sai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings:

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• The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia and north-eastern Poland);
• The Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights;
• Part of the lands of the Polish Crown called Royal Prussia;
• A Polish fief ruled by the Hohenzollern dynasty and called Ducal Prussia;
• The entire Hohenzollern realm, whether within or outside Germany proper;
• An independent state, from the 17th century until 1871;
• The largest territorial unit within Germany from 1871 to 1945.

Prussia as a state was de facto abolished by the Nazis in 1934, de jure by the Allied Powers in 1947. Since then, the term's relevance has been limited to historical, geographical or cultural usages.

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The name Prussia derives from the Prussians, a Baltic people related to the Lithuanians. Ducal Prussia was a dependency of the Kingdom of Poland until 1660, and Royal Prussia remained a part of Poland until 1772. With the growth of German cultural nationalism in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, most German-speaking Prussians came to consider themselves to be part of the German nation, often underlining what were seen as the Prussian virtues: perfect organization, sacrifice, the rule of law. From the late 18th century the expanded Prussia dominated North Germany politically, economically and in terms of population size, and was the core of the unified German Empire formed in 1871.

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Prussia: Geography ►



 

German: German may mean:...

Polish: Polish () may refer to:...

Lithuanian: The term Lithuanian can mean:...




Prussia related Images and Photos (experimental)

Frederick William Ii of Prussia C.1770	GLEEK SNEAK 3D Movie Tickets: UA King Of Prussia 16 - King of Prussia, PA	Frederick Ii the Great of Prussia C.1770	King Frederick II of Prussia Reviewing the Troops in 1778
Sophia Dorothea Queen of Prussia Engraved by John Smith 1706	Friedrich Wilhelm IV King of Prussia Depicted Here as Crown Prince	Kaiser Wilhelm I King of Prussia and Emperor of Germany	Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) Receiving Queen Louisa of Prussia (1776-1810) at Tilsit
King Frederick II of Prussia and the Marquis of Argens Inspecting the Construction of Sanssouci	Frederick William III King of Prussia	The Smoking Council of Frederick William I of Prussia C.1737/8	Napoleon Receiving the Queen of Prussia Tilsit