History of Berlin - Kingdom of Prussia

Kingdom of Prussia

In 1701, Elector Frederick III (1688–1701) crowned himself as Frederick I (1701–1713), King in Prussia. He was mostly interested in decorum: he ordered the building of the castle Charlottenburg in the west of the city. He made Berlin the capital of the new kingdom of Prussia.

• 1709: Berlin counted 55,000 inhabitants, of whom 5,000 served in the Prussian Army. Cölln and Berlin were finally unified under the name of Berlin, including the suburbs of Friedrichswerder, Dorotheenstadt, and Friedrichstadt, with 60,000 inhabitants. Berlin and Cölln are on both sides of the river Spree, in today's Mitte borough.

On 1 January 1710, the cities of Berlin, Cölln, Friedrichswerder, Dorotheenstadt, and Friedrichstadt were united as the “Royal Capital and Residence of Berlin”.

• 1713: Frederick I was succeed by his son, Frederick William I (1713–1740). He, in contrast, was a sparing man, who made Prussia an important military power. Furthermore, Frederick William built a wooden wall around the city with 14 gates, known as Zoll- und Akzisemauer.

• 1740: Frederick II, known as Frederick the Great (1740–1786), came to power. Berlin became, under the rule of the enlightened monarch, a center of Enlightenment thinkers like Moses Mendelssohn.
• 1755: Berlin had 100,000 inhabitants, of whom 26,000 served in the army.
• 1760: Berlin was briefly occupied by the Russian Army in the Raid on Berlin during the Seven Years' War.
• 1786: Stagnation followed under the rule of Frederick William II. He was an adversary of the Enlightenment and practiced censorship and repression. However, he rebuilt Frederick William I's city wall in stone, commissioning an improved Brandenburg Gate (Brandenburger Tor) at the end of the 18th century - this gate is now widely recognized as a symbol of Berlin.

• 1806: French troops marched into Berlin. Berlin was granted self-government and a far reaching military reform was started.
• 1809: The first elections for the Berlin parliament took place, in which only the well-to-do could vote.
• 1810: The Berlin University (now the Humboldt University) was founded. Its first rector was the philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte.
• 1812: Jews were allowed to practice all occupations.
• 1814: The French were defeated in the Sixth Coalition. Economically the city was in good shape. The population grew from 200,000 to 400,000 in the first half of the 19th century, making Berlin the fourth-largest city in Europe.
• 1815: Battle of Waterloo with Prussian troops from Potsdam and Berlin participating. Berlin becomes part of the Province of Brandenburg.
• 1827: Berlin is the capital of the Province of Brandenburg from 1827-1843.
• 1848: As in other European cities, 1848 was a revolutionary year in Berlin. Frederick William IV (1840–1861) managed to suppress the revolution. One of his reactions was to raise the income condition to partake in the elections, with the result that only 5% of the citizens could vote. This system would stay in place until 1918.
• 1861: Wilhelm I (1861–1888) became the new king. In the beginning of his reign there was hope for liberalization. He appointed liberal ministers and built the city hall, Das Rote Rathaus. The appointment of Otto von Bismarck ended these hopes.
• 19th century: The Industrial Revolution transformed Berlin; the city's economy and population expanded dramatically, and it became the main rail hub and economic center of Germany. Additional suburbs soon developed and increased the area and population of Berlin. In 1861, outlying suburbs including Wedding, Moabit, and several others were incorporated into Berlin.
• 1870: France defeated by Prussia and alliance of German states in the Franco-Prussian War.
• 1871: Berlin became capital of the newly-founded German Empire after the unification of Germany.