Saint Petersburg in Russia (detail, special marker)

The Treaty of Saint Petersburg was concluded on 5 May 1762, and ended the fighting in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

between

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 em ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. The treaty followed the accession of Emperor Peter III, who admired the Prussian king

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

. It allowed the latter to concentrate on his other enemies,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, in what became known as the "

Miracle of the House of Brandenburg The Miracle of the House of Brandenburg is the name given by Frederick II of Prussia to the failure of Russia and Austria to follow up their victory over him at the Battle of Kunersdorf on 12 August 1759 during the Seven Years' War. The name is s ...

." The treaty was signed on by Chancellor

Vorontsov Vorontsov (russian: Воронцо́в), also Woroncow and de Woroncow-Wojtkowicz,is the name of a Russian noble family whose members attained the dignity of Counts of the Holy Roman Empire in 1744 and became Princes of the Russian Empire in ...

for Russia and for Prussia by its envoy, Baron . Russia pledged to assist in concluding peace among the individual participants in the Seven Years' War and to return to Prussia all lands occupied by Russian troops during the war. The intent to return the land was made known before the signing of the treaty; on 23 February Russia declared "that there ought to be Peace with this King of Prussia; that Her Tsarish Majesty, for their own part, is resolved on the thing; gives up East Prussia and the so-called conquests made; Russian participation in such a War has ceased." Furthermore, it was agreed that Russia would help Prussia in negotiating a peace with Sweden. Frederick II (1712-1786) was so overjoyed, that he "ordered

Te Deum The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Chur ...

and fêtes (festivals)" after the signing of the Treaty on 5 May. His reason for rejoicing was well merited, "for the Tsar promised him assistance of a token force of 18,000 men" to be used against the Austrian army. The subsequent

Treaty of Hubertusburg The Treaty of Hubertusburg (german: Frieden von Hubertusburg) was signed on 15 February 1763 at Hubertusburg Castle by Prussia, Austria and Saxony to end the Third Silesian War. Together with the Treaty of Paris, signed five days earlier, it marke ...

made peace between Prussia, Austria and Saxony, but "though it restored the prewar status quo, marked the ascendancy of Prussia as a leading European power." Two years after the treaty, Prussia and Russia would enter into a defensive alliance.

References

See also