Preußens Gloria, '' Prussian Army March Collection II'', p. 240, is a well-known military march of the 19th century, composed by

Johann Gottfried Piefke Johann Gottfried Piefke (9 September 1817 – 25 January 1884) was a German band leader, (''Kapellmeister'') and composer of military music. Piefke was born in Schwerin an der Warthe, Prussia (now Skwierzyna, Poland). In the 1850s, he was band ...

(1817–1884). "Preußens Gloria" ("The Glory of Prussia" or "Prussia's Glory") was written in 1871 after the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

's victory in the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

, which led to the unification of the German states into the new Prussian-led

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. As part of the victory parade of the returning troops, the march was performed for the first time in public in

Frankfurt an der Oder Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (, ; Marchian dialects, Central Marchian: ''Frankfort an de Oder,'' ) is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after Potsdam, Cottbus and Brandenburg an der Havel. With a ...

, where Piefke's garrison was based. As Piefke only performed it on important occasions, the march was unknown to a broader public for a long time. In 1909 the manuscript of the almost forgotten tune turned up and was reworked by army-musical inspector . Shortly afterwards it was included in the collection of Prussian army marches. : \relative c'' Today it is one of the best known German army marches. It is often played by the ''

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

'' ( Federal Defence) at official ceremonies and

state visit A state visit is a formal visit by the head of state, head of a sovereign state, sovereign country (or Governor-general, representative of the head of a sovereign country) to another sovereign country, at the invitation of the head of state (or ...

s. It is also a standard tune in many international

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind instrument, wind and percussion instruments. The conducting, conductor of a ...

s. In

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

it is often played by non-professional bands due to its popularity. It has also been adopted by units in other armies, for example in Great Britain by the First Squadron,

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

. The song is often played by marching bands in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. Also, it is played in

military parade A military parade is a formation of military personnels whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as Drill team, drilling or marching. Large military parades are today held on major holidays and military events around the ...

s by the

Chilean Army The Chilean Army () is the land arm of the Chilean Armed Forces. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, an army aviation brigade and a special operations brigade. In recent years, and after sever ...

. It is also played by the

Royal Swedish Army Band The Royal Swedish Army Band () is the largest professional military band in the Swedish Armed Forces. The establishment of 53 musicians and extensive musical versatility makes it possible to perform at most occasions, ceremonies, events, concerts ...

and the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Preußens Gloria Culture of Prussia German military marches German patriotic songs Compositions by Johann Gottfried Piefke Articles containing video clips