
The state of
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
had its origins in the separate lands of the
Margraviate of Brandenburg and of the
Duchy of Prussia. The Margraviate of Brandenburg developed from the medieval
Northern March of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
, passing to the
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...
in 1415. The Duchy of Prussia originated in 1525 when
Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach, a member of a cadet branch of the Hohenzollerns, secularized the eastern
lands of the
Teutonic Knights as a
Polish fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of f ...
.
Prince-elector
The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the Holy Roman Emperor, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
From the 13th century ...
John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, inherited the Duchy of Prussia in 1618, thus uniting Brandenburg and Prussia under one ruler in a personal union; the Elector's state became known as
Brandenburg-Prussia. The
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) constituted the German state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: ...
formed when Elector Frederick III assumed the title of
Frederick I, King in Prussia, on 18 January 1701.
Hohenzollern monarchical rule of Prussia ceased in 1918 after the fall of the
German Empire in the aftermath of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
; the Kingdom becoming instead the
Free State of Prussia
The Free State of Prussia (german: Freistaat Preußen, ) was one of the constituent states of Germany from 1918 to 1947. The successor to the Kingdom of Prussia after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I, it continued to be the dom ...
. The
Allied Control Council
The Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority (german: Alliierter Kontrollrat) and also referred to as the Four Powers (), was the governing body of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany and Allied-occupied Austria after the end of ...
decreed the formal
abolition of the state of Prussia in 1947 following
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.
Flags
The Prussian national and
merchant flag
A civil ensign is an ensign (maritime flag) used by civilian vessels to denote their nationality. It can be the same or different from the state ensign and the naval ensign (or war ensign). It is also known as the merchant ensign or merchant flag ...
was originally a simple black-white-black flag issued on May 22, 1818, but this was replaced on March 12, 1823, with a new flag. The revised one (3:5) was parted black, white, and black (1:4:1), showing in the white stripe the eagle with a blue
orb
Orb or Orbs may refer to:
* Sphere
* Globus Cruciger Ceremonial Orb
Places and rivers
* Orb (river), in southern France
* Orb (Kinzig), a tributary of the Kinzig river in Germany
* Bad Orb, a town in Hesse, Germany
Literature, radio, film, ...
bound in gold and a
scepter ending in another eagle. On its breast were the intertwined initials ''FR'' for '. The axis of the eagle is at two-fifths of the flag's total length.
The Prussian
war flag (3:5), adopted November 28, 1816, was originally swallow-tailed for one-fifth of the total length; the tail was later abandoned. At two fifths it showed the Prussian eagle (two-thirds of the flag's height). In the canton, the
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia e ...
was placed (one-third of the flag's height).
The
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia e ...
was established in 1813 during the
war against Napoleon I as a decoration for courageous common soldiers. It was renewed in the
Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. It also appeared in the canton of the war flag of the
German Empire.
The royal standard of Prussia showed the Iron Cross charged with the shield and crown of the small state arms surrounded by the collar of the
Order of the Black Eagle. On the blades of the cross is the motto '. Between the arms were Prussian eagles along the edges and a royal crown in carré with them, all on a purple or red background.
After the
German Revolution of 1918–19, the Prussian state was slow to adapt its heraldry to
republican forms. Only July 11, 1921, new arms were decreed by the Prussian prime minister. The 'gothic' eagle made way for the more natural-looking flying one and lost all its garments.
On December 16, 1921, the Ministry of State decreed that the Prussian flag was to be only black and white.
On February 24 and April 23, 1922, the ministry issued a service flag similar to the national flag of the 19th century – black borders above and below, being one-sixth of the total height of the flag, with the new eagle.
The
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team (german: link=no, Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft) represents Germany in men's international Association football, football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football ...
home dress has always been a white jersey and black shorts, the colors of the Prussian flag.
Hesse, Uli. "A colourful history," ESPN.com, Monday, February 17, 2014.
Retrieved July 15, 2018
Gallery
See also
* Coat of arms of Germany
The coat of arms of Germany displays a black eagle with a red beak, a red tongue and red feet on a golden field, which is blazoned: ''Or, an eagle displayed sable beaked langued and membered gules''. This is the ( German for "Federal Eagle"), fo ...
* Coat of arms of Prussia
* Flag of Buenos Aires
The flag of Buenos Aires was originally designed in 1580, but it was officially adopted on October 24, 1995. It shows the coat of arms of the House of Habsburg, as the flag has an eagle on a white background. The use of Habsburg symbols comes from ...
* List of German flags
* Reichskriegsflagge
References
External links
Historical Flags (Prussia, Germany)
at Flags of the World
This gallery of sovereign state flags shows the national or state flags of sovereign states that appear on the list of sovereign states. For other flags, please see flags of active autonomist and secessionist movements, flags of extinct states a ...
{{Polish flags
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
Prussia
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...