Prussian court

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The Prussian court was the service-performing personnel structure in the vicinity of the Hohenzollern family . Commonly referred to as Prussian court , sometimes Berliner Hof designated institution was usually from about 500 to well over 1,000 people. Several dozen castle properties including gardens with various functional buildings were also part of the court structure, such as the stables , the royal court opera or the Berlin theater . Early script-based organizations such as the Kammergericht , which formed the nucleus of the Prussian state administration , were initially court institutions. The Brandenburg-Prussian court was established in 1415 with the transfer of the Brandenburg electorate to the Hohenzollern dynasty and was dissolved as a public institution during the November Revolution of 1918.

General

The functional and representative center of the Hohenzollern monarchy was the court, which in Prussia consisted of the king's court and the court of his family members. The sum of the simultaneously existing, sometimes more than twenty court states form the Prussian court. The members of the individual court states surrounded the court owner as servants in their everyday affairs as well as on festive days. The range of activities of the members of the Prussian court covered all political, representative and family enterprises.

The localized center of the (Brandenburg-) Prussian court had been the newly built Berlin City Palace since the end of the 15th century , in which all existing authorities such as the Court of Justice or the Court Chancellery were housed. The domestic political conditions in the late Middle Ages were not yet consolidated and there were several places in the Margraviate of Brandenburg that had a residence function, such as Tangermünde and Spandau. Berlin-Cölln was awarded the main residence by the rulers of the Hohenzollern dynasty because it was fully connected to long-distance trade and could satisfy the needs of a court for which there was already a highly specified handicraft on the Spree.

The court consisted not only of the ruling family of the Hohenzollern, but also of people who performed courtly and administrative duties. The Prussian court was thus a combination of public authority and a large family household. There was no separation of official and family affairs in the absolutist-feudalistic state of the early modern period. The court at the time of absolutism was more than just the princely housekeeping from earlier times. At the same time, as the seat of the most important government authorities, it was the political and lordly headquarters of a principality.

A distinctive and repeatedly emphasized characteristic of the Prussian court was its strong military character, which permeated ritual life and gave the military the decisive representative role at the court.

This state-private mixed institution in Prussia, which existed until 1918, was organized through a fluid and well-structured office structure. At the royal court, court batches held high-ranking court offices and had their own functions. Together with the lower hierarchical court officials, they formed court authorities with their own responsibilities. For most of the time, most of the Prussian court was located within the Berlin residence area, a zone that extended within a radius of around 30 kilometers around the Berlin City Palace. In addition to Berlin, this included the larger residences with Potsdam, Charlottenburg, Köpenick, Schönhausen and Oranienburg. From these secondary residences, further sub-residence locations went out into the surrounding area in a star shape, creating a dense network of residence sites that were frequented differently depending on the inclination of the ruling family.

features

The Berlin Palace as a Renaissance palace in the 17th century
The permanent center of the Prussian court: the Berlin City Palace, here after the redesign according to plans by A. Schlüter,
copper engraving by P. Schenk based on a drawing by S. Blesendorf

Dynastic understanding of representation

Characteristic for the development of the representational culture of the Hohenzollern since their takeover in 1415 and also later after the acceptance of the royal crown in 1701 was a self-perceived cultural and dynastic inferiority to the leading families of the Wettins , Wittelsbachers and also the Habsburgs . Within the aristocratic empire, the Hohenzollern were initially regarded as a ruling dynasty with no tradition and, after their own status upgrade in 1701, as upstart ( parvenus ) who were not entitled to claim . This formation of prejudice from outside also had an impact on the way in which court culture was represented and shaped over the centuries. From the middle of the 18th century a Prussian public emerged with a public opinion whose preferences and values ​​the kings brought in line with their style of representation. This included a court that portrayed a just and thrifty king as a servant of the state.

The monarchs of Prussia between 1701 and 1918 were divided into two representative basic types. One type stood for the affable, pompous and lavish king, who was very concerned about his image and PR and who did not do much government work ( Friedrich I. , Friedrich Wilhelm II. , Wilhelm II. ). The other type of Prussian monarch stood on the opposite side of this type characteristic and was ascetic , thrifty and a workaholic ( Friedrich Wilhelm I , Friedrich II ). The basic baroque type, as founded by Friedrich I, remained in the collective memory of the dynasty and alternated with the ascetic soldier type, which meant that the management of the court, which had been shortened in the meantime, was expanded again and again. The role of the military uniform, which the monarchs wore since the second King Friedrich Wilhelm I, was also important. They symbolized the very high importance of the army for the Hohenzollern monarchy, even if other monarchs in Europe also tended to dress militarily at the same time.

Finances

In the period before 1806 the expenses for rulers and court in Prussia were not clearly differentiated from other civil expenses, although a budget for the court existed. In addition to the court treasury, civil government coffers and the royal casket were also direct sources of finance for the court. A decisive restructuring of this system took place in 1820 with the introduction of a crown donation , which, however, unlike in other European monarchies that were financed by civil lists, was deducted directly from the domain income and thus did not appear as an expense in the state budget. Until 1918, this type of crown donation formed the basis of the so-called Kronfideikommissfonds , which was used to maintain the court, the ruler and the royal family. The original amount of the endowment of Rt 2.5 million was increased four times between 1859 and 1910 with the approval of the Prussian state parliament . In addition, the monarch could, if necessary, fall back on his private assets accumulated in the royal casket as well as the income from the family assets.

The size of the Prussian court budget does not allow any precise conclusions to be drawn about the actual expenditure, since other financial sources were included in the total expenditure of the court in addition to the court budget. Court money was also used for other purposes.

Formal structures in the narrower sense without government functions

Government and administrative functions of the court

The emerging state formation in Prussia was initiated by the ruling court. This is where the first state institutions were located. A kind of outsourcing process began in the 16th century. In this administrative authorities were created that were created permanently outside of the courtyard. That was the basis of a state that was separate from the court and that was established more and more firmly by 1918. Until then, however, the transitions were rather fluid and organizational separations were difficult to assign. As a result, there were government offices located directly at the court in the Berlin City Palace with which the princes ruled in the true sense.

These were with the Hohenzollern:

history

The development of the Prussian court from the late Middle Ages to the end of the First World War was part of an overarching European-wide field of conflict between the large social groups of the nobility, bourgeoisie and the politically unrecognized third class of free and bonded peasants. In the course of this process group fights initially continued since the time of the Renaissance the nobility almost anywhere in the Empire Holy Roman against the feudal institutions by and crowded but the influence of the urban bourgeoisie and the gentry of the country Policy. The German courts played a decisive role in this. The princes of Germany reached their political climax around the middle of the 18th century. After that, the high nobility began to decline in power for a long time. Step by step and with setbacks, bourgeois society developed until 1918 , which formed its own institutions and the aristocratic power gradually crumbled, in Prussia since the introduction of the constitutional monarchy. This made Germany a latecomer in the international scene. The bourgeois forces had already prevailed in the Netherlands in the 16th century and in England in the 17th century ( Glorious Revolution ). In the area of ​​what is now Germany, the aristocracy initially held its leading role in society until around 1800, but had to surrender positions of influence and power to the bourgeoisie since the pre- March period . Regardless of the high aristocratic fall in power, their court states remained in existence until the November Revolution of 1918 and expanded again considerably in their final existential phase.

Development of the Kurbrandenburg court under the Hohenzollern

The picture shows the Schlossplatz for the Berlin City Palace . In the foreground knights can be seen at the ring race . Fireworks will also be set off. The graphic was created on the occasion of the celebrations for the baptism of Margrave Sigismund von Brandenburg , son of Elector Johann Georg , in 1592. It was published in the Frankfurt (and later also Leipzig) measurement relation. These were an "early modern news medium" published on the occasion of the book fairs and are considered to be the forerunners of modern newspapers.

Starting from a very weak regional rule in the late Middle Ages with a pronounced robber baronism, the new territorial princes from the House of Hohenzollern achieved a politically stable position in the rulership structure of the Mark Brandenburg in the 15th century .

First, the Hohenzollern took over the manorial seats found by the Luxembourgers . The castle Tangermünde was for the first and second elector the primary point of contact. As a secondary residence , Tangermünde remained a local administrative center for the Altmark and Prignitz .

In Berlin-Cölln, the Hohenzollern first moved into the high house . The predecessor buildings of the Berlin City Palace were the first residence of the Hohenzollern family to be built. Since 1451, the Berlin Palace was still in the form of a permanent house for residential purposes. In addition, in the late Middle Ages there was an increasing number of margrave castles which, after being pledged by the previous families, were repurchased under the Hohenzollern as sovereign castles . At the end of the 15th century, the Elector Johann Cicero traveled to 17 places in his domain. By far the most time he spent in Berlin, with 77 percent of the reign. Around 1470 there were already court regulations stating that the margrave had to keep a maximum of 200 people and 100 horses. At that time, however, the court in Brandenburg was still behind the court in Franconia , the home of the Hohenzollerns.

The early Hoflager the Hohenzollern developed over the 16th century of time and with increasing textualization a center with political structures of pre-modern character. In addition to the Berlin City Palace, the elector also held court in the hunting castles and state fortresses of the Mark and maintained rule from there. Since the Renaissance , the relatively weak sovereignty of the Renaissance princes has expanded expansively. The once strong political power of the cities and the country nobility, manifested in the rule of the estates, diminished in return as the power of the electors increased. The estates were hollowed out and the claim to rule of the Hohenzollern princes, manifested and patrimonial on divine right , whose pure core idea would have made the Mark Brandenburg a privately owned family property, partially prevailed. The expansion of the court and the creation of new court administrative institutions became important means of the prince in this process of lordship penetration, which, however, was limited. In the middle of the 16th century, around 450 people were employed at the then Brandenburg court.

The early Kurbrandenburg court camps of this time already fulfilled fundamental basic functions, which the absolutist court continued to develop in the 18th century. These elementary functions included:

  • Inclusion of the social elites of the Mark Brandenburg (landed gentry, urban bourgeoisie) by providing opportunities for advancement, opportunities for political participation and control through spatial proximity to the sovereign
  • Formation of a personal system of rule in the person of the prince
  • Maintaining a respected position in the empire structure
  • Integration of the dynasty into the local Märkische elite structures: court life was supposed to establish and strengthen the vassal loyalty of the landed gentry to the Hohenzollern dynasty
  • Uplift of civilization in the march
  • Economic factor

The expansion of the court and the establishment of a more representative court life with the center in Berlin during the Renaissance led to the electors becoming heavily indebted to the estates in the 16th century.

The devastating effects of the Thirty Years' War led the Berlin court to flee to Königsberg. It was not until 1650 that the court returned to the Berlin City Palace.

The Baroque era began in full in the electoral central province of Mark Brandenburg after 1648. This was accompanied by the expansion of the absolutist ruler cult, with the sovereign in the center of the action. After 1648, the Great Elector began expanding the residential city of Berlin and expanding the residential landscape of Berlin. New palace complexes were specifically built in Oranienburg , Köpenick and Potsdam , which expanded the existing network of residences with the Grunewald hunting lodge or the Rüdersdorf hunting lodge . This was significant for the elector's court, as the ruler's moves and trips to the surrounding area continued to be part of the system of securing the prince's rule over his subjects during the baroque period. This was accompanied by a functional expansion of the court. More objects had to be maintained and included in the representation of the ruler.

While in Saxony, Bavaria, Wuerttemberg, Austria and other medium-sized courts from the middle / end of the 17th century, relatively continuously larger financial investments were made in artistic areas, buildings and institutions, in Brandenburg the same took place at a later point in time. The reason for this lay mainly in the great destruction caused by the Thirty Years' War . With the Elector Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg, however, a more lavish cultural life began at court, including the promotion of music.

The official court budget of 1652 included 352 people on the payroll. In the middle and lower office area there were 16 pages, eight lackeys, 10 trumpeters, 29 coachmen, 11 stable boys and four grooms. An overall estimate of all people in the Hohenzollernhof state this year was probably higher, between 500 and 550 people.

During the reign of Frederick I (1688–1713)

Staging of baroque splendor at the Epiphany : Friedrich I in Prussia (center), August II (the Strong) , Elector of Saxony and temporarily King of Poland (left), Friedrich IV of Denmark (right)
painting by Samuel Theodor Gericke , to visit in Schloss Caputh

Right at the beginning of his reign in 1688, the new Elector Friedrich III. the first court ranking of Brandenburg-Prussia. The office of chief master of ceremonies was established as well as the “Grand Maitre de la garderobe” - the etiquette was differentiated, enhanced and practiced with opulent splendor. With the introduction of the morning lever in the presence of the court, Friedrich imitated his model Louis XIV . The ceremonial and courtly festivities and the personnel expansion of the court contributed to the rapid increase in financial expenses. The number of “Real Chamberlains” was increased from two at the time of the Great Elector to 18.

In the course of his reign, further court rankings followed. These represented a new princely social system that came alongside the status order . In these court rankings, the holders of military posts such as generals became increasingly important at the Prussian court. The constant expansion of the Prussian army as a standing army since the middle of the 17th century was accompanied by an increasing militarization of its predominantly aristocratic elites. This led to the fact that the later Prussian kingship increasingly corresponded to the character of a military monarchy . The court opened up to the steadily growing high military officials such as the generals in order to enclose them in their own courtly social system. Through the court orders issued, the rulers tried to determine and balance their relationship between civil and military offices, not least in order to take into account the growing importance of the military component in politics in the 17th century. Ultimately, the royal houses throughout Europe, but also in Brandenburg-Prussia, tried to ensure loyalty and access to its military leaders, also with regard to the experiences of the wild Soldateska who devastated Brandenburg in the 17th century.

Royen, Willem Frederik - Menagerie of the Elector Friedrich III. of Brandenburg, 1697 - Caputh Castle

Eberhard von Danckelmann reformed the public finance system in the late 1680s. There was a confusion and juxtaposition of various cash registers, which had led to a lack of transparency and corruption and an inefficient administration of funds. The basic idea behind the financial and state reforms was to separate the coffers for the court from the two large departments of state revenue, that for the war budget and the sovereign budget. In 1689 the court chamber was set up for this purpose . From then on, the court chamber received the income from the domain goods and other income from shelves such as the salt , customs or postal shelves . The court marshal's office under the direction of the chief marshal took over the administration of the court. In practice, the financial demands of the Court Marshal's Office for its tasks were well above the funds granted by the Court Chamber. As a result, at that time the budget of the court was still under control and did not get out of hand. The separation of state and court expenditures was still at an early stage, which was hardly effective, mainly due to the overlapping of personnel in the individual areas. Overall, like the budgets of the other German royal courts, the court budget consumed a considerable proportion of the total state expenditure. The budget of the Prussian court developed under Friedrich III./I. The trend is rising. In 1697, 302,000 RT were used, in 1711 402,000 RT and in the year of death of the monarch in 1713 335,000 RT.

After his elevation to kingship , the new King Friedrich I created a court that corresponded to that of a greater power. In keeping with the times, a cultural dominance was to be established, which had the effect of securing power and helping to enforce the absolutist and autocratic claim to rule in the person of the monarch. The coronation celebrations cost six million Reichstaler with an annual state income of four million Reichstaler. Greatness manifested itself for the king in representation. Frederick I emulated the English and French courts in his endeavors to develop external splendor.

  • Views of court life under the First Hohenzollern King

  • Coronation of the Elector of Brandenburg Friedrich III. King in Prussia Frederick I (1701); History mural (destroyed) in the Ruhmeshalle Berlin

  • "Ejection of the royal. Prussian coronation coins and pricing of the cloth "

  • Entry of the newly crowned King Friedrich I into the Berlin City Palace in 1701

  • Paul Carl Leygebe : Tobacco College of Frederick I.

During the reign of Friedrich Wilhelm I (1713–1740)

The change in leadership at the head of the Princely State in 1713 led to a complete reversal of all values ​​and manners in the field of representation and culture in Prussia. Due to the personal inclinations (military and financial budget) of the new king, he rejected the French court culture that predominated in Europe, which essentially originated from the Versailles Palace and did not try to imitate it. The new king realized that his country was not up to the double burden of courtly representation and military presence. A court culture similar to that of Prussia was developed at the same time by the equally military kings Karl XII. of Sweden and Peter I of Russia . Friedrich Wilhelm's courtly politics corresponded to a Europe-wide increasing tendency. Overall, the sacred character of royalty and the “theater of sovereignty” operated in the courts decreased again throughout Europe in the following decades, and the late Baroque splendor faded, followed by a new intellectual movement based on understanding, the early Enlightenment . This created a new elite culture with its own cultural standards and was significantly strengthened by the newly formed educated middle class. As a result, the courtly aristocratic culture was increasingly marginalized and dispensable alongside the newly emerging bourgeois public (including literary salons ).

The " bouncing " of animals was considered a fun pastime and also took place at Friedrich Wilhelm I's court. The animals were caught, chased under the people and thrown into the air with ladders or cloths. After falling several times, they perished. German oil painting in the Grunewald hunting lodge , painter unknown, around 1720

After taking over the title of king in 1713, Friedrich Wilhelm I cut the budget for the court. Expensive court festivals were abolished with the exception of weddings and visits to princes. Pages were made cadets and lackeys as soldiers. The cuts in the budget for the kitchen and cellar resulted in annual savings of 400,000 Reichstaler. This was followed by an exodus of the Berlin arts and crafts, which largely depended on the court orders, which now failed to materialize. Among them was the famous builder Andreas Schlueter . The court painter Antoine Pesne kept his position, as the new king sometimes painted himself, albeit with reduced wages. A total of two-thirds of all court employees, including the chocolatiers , the two castrati , the cellists , composers and organ builders were dismissed without notice. Even the long-time master of ceremonies and court poet Johann von Besser had to leave. The remainder received salary cuts of up to 75 percent of their salaries. The lions of the menagerie were given to August II .

The pleasure gardens of the city palaces of Berlin and Potsdam were converted into parade grounds. Only six of the 24 royal summer houses were kept and the rest were rented out or converted into official apartments or hospitals. The last valid court regulations of November 16, 1708 were revised and the hierarchy of court and state officials was redesigned. Entire titles and offices such as the chief chamberlain, the chief herald master, the court marshal or the chief ceremonial master disappeared from the references p.36 The reorganization of the Prussian court took place within a few months.

The queen, who brought a large dowry of her own into the marriage, received her own household, which was not affected by the austerity measures.

Instead of a rampant court ceremony or the display of material wealth and splendor, from then on there was a sober court culture with a military style in the Berlin Residenz. P.120 If women still played a central role at court under Friedrich I., they were now marginalized under Friedrich Wilhelm I. At many feasts there were no women at all and at court parties women and men were separated from each other.

The tobacco college in Königs Wusterhausen Palace

The changes in the daily routine at the court were drastic. Instead of excessive amusements, there was a lot of work. In the mornings the King worked in the Cabinet for several hours . This was followed by an audience for officials and the military. This was followed by a royal drill and the acceptance of the parade of the guard in front of the castle by the king. If new diplomats from other courts came to the Berlin court, they were no longer honored with the spectacle of a car body driveway when they presented their credentials. In the evening the evening entertainment began at the court. Like his predecessor, Friedrich Wilhelm I also held a tobacco college . But he had the baroque grand armchairs exchanged for simple wooden stools and the other ceremonies for this institution were suspended. Further tobacco shops were set up in the Potsdam City Palace and in Königs Wusterhausen Palace. The king sat together with usually six to eight people until later in the evening. It was smoked from long Dutch pipes and beer was drunk. The topics of conversation also revolved around Prussian domestic and foreign policy. Visiting princes took part as guests. Other personalities also received invitations. In the tobacco college, "funny counselors" were included as court jesters who turned in involuntary comedians as targets for mockery.

Rare exception at the Prussian court, major celebrations at the Berlin court during August II's state visit to Berlin in 1728

The royal living quarters were given a new sparse interior. Curtains, carpets or upholstered chairs have been removed. The room walls were whitewashed with lime. The other rooms of the Berlin City Palace, however, were still luxuriously furnished. Overall, many French art objects were sold. Everything had to appear functional, clean and based on Dutch culture . The focus of the representation expenses was placed on the creation of a silver treasure in the form of household items and utensils. Between 1713 and 1740 funds of six million Reichstaler were spent on collecting this treasure in the Berlin City Palace. Potsdam with the Potsdam City Palace was Friedrich Wilhelm I's favorite place to stay before Berlin. In Friedrich Wilhelm I's reign, not a single magnificent building was built for his own purposes. Only the spartan Stern hunting lodge in the Potsdam area was an exception. The state-driven construction activities shifted to town houses, churches and military facilities instead of the usual luxury houses.

In the 1720s and 1730s, the Prussian court took on a rather staid family character. Since the king preferred to hunt in Königs Wusterhausen in September, October and November, the royal family also gathered every year in August in Königs Wusterhausen Castle. A rather undemanding family life was led there in the country. The royal lunch table there included 24 people. At the Essen am Hof ​​no savings were made all year round, contrary to many existing biographical information based on false claims made by the king's daughter Wilhelmine.

During the reign of Frederick II (1740–1786)

King Frederick II. Round Table in Sanssouci (painting by Adolph von Menzel , 1850; loss of war)
Flute concert of Frederick the Great in Sanssouci (painting by Adolph von Menzel , 1850–52)
Adolph Friedrich Erdmann von Menzel: Court ball in Rheinsberg Castle
Courtly table scene with Friedrich the Elder Huge. Magnificent representation of an evening party shimmering in the candlelight

After taking over the government, Frederick II claimed an “appropriate” court holding for himself. In certain areas the court was expanded again after 1740. The court was expanded and court life regained its luster, as it was not entirely without ceremonies in the politically structured Europe of the court at the time. Since 1740 there were again eight highest court offices, of which only two remained until the death of Friedrich II in 1786. But this did not result in a return to the conditions that prevailed under Frederick I. and Frederick II basically continued his father's court culture by and large. The highest court batches continued to be occupied by military dignitaries. The court ceremony that his father had abolished was basically not restored. A hierarchical court order was not issued either. The king only had a court orchestra set up for 50,000 RT a year. For the enlightened absolute ruler and King Frederick II, who thought and acted in a modern way at the time, the sacred self-exaltation and the establishment of a festive ruler cult were not considered decisive. Rather, the prince of a country should see himself as a servant of his people, use his resources in an economically appropriate and efficient manner and orient himself to the framework of the existing economic potential. In his historical works, Frederick II judged accordingly negatively about the exuberant court cult of his grandfather. Similar to Frederick I, some of the princes of the empire at the time of Frederick II had built up a court that was too large for their circumstances and no longer had an economically meaningful relationship to their own state power. As a result, their territories were overused and ruined.

Stately representation was considered legitimate in principle at the time. The means for this were relatively freely available to the princes in the age of absolutism. From the middle of the century until the end of the 18th century, the importance of the court as a factor that constitutes rule decreased. Instead of divine right , state and rational justifications, brought about by the work of the Enlightenment, were given greater significance for the legitimation of the monarchy in Europe. The monarchs only needed the court to a limited extent to formulate and enforce their claim to power. In accordance with his personal premises, Frederick II placed the emphasis of his courtly policy on establishing a private sphere that was effective for himself. A negative attitude towards courtly ceremonies and the display of royal power. Frederick never aspired to a court like the French court in Versailles, but the rising power of Prussia had to offer the increasing numbers of guests and representatives a courtly center and be able to accommodate them. The result was an increased expansion and new construction of royal residences. He tried to realize his idea of ​​a philosophical life with the construction of Sanssouci Palace . A place was created there without state representation obligations and court etiquette.

The establishment and maintenance of a court opera was a major success for those princes who aimed to represent sovereign power. In the 18th century, the royal courts, along with the churches, were the most important bearers of musical life. The musically gifted Friedrich II also ordered the revival of musical court life and had the opera house under the linden trees built from 1741 to 1743. This served from then on as a court opera. Court etiquette applied to them. Your auditorium reflected the social position of the then higher Prussian state society. The court aristocracy occupied the 1st rank. The noblemen who were not acceptable as well as the members of the state authorities took second place. The well-off bourgeoisie sat in third place. The army officers sat on the ground floor and at the very front the king with his brothers and the inner court. Foreign visitors sat in the ground floor boxes. This created something like a representative public during the performances. The expenses for the Italian court opera corresponded to the rank of a middle power. When building up the occupation, Friedrich II oriented himself towards Dresden.

After taking over the government, Charlottenburg Palace was the king's seat of government. The palace was expanded and the then still independent city of Charlottenburg experienced a golden age with the court, guests and ambassadors. Friedrich only stayed in Berlin for a long time during the carnival season. During this time, Christmas, his birthday and Prince Heinrich's birthday were solemnly celebrated on which the diplomatic corps was also received. In the period from December to January, the Prussian court was in all its splendor. Balls, masquerades and operas took turns. In 1747 the king moved to Potsdam. In summer Friedrich II moved into the newly built vineyard palace Sanssouci and in winter he resided in the modernized city ​​palace of Potsdam . The Prussian court of the king became a plural court landscape within the Berlin residence area without a fixed center. Government authorities and the rest of the royal court remained in Berlin. Apart from the king, no other member of the court resided in Sanssouci Palace itself. As a rule, guests did not stay in the Weinbergschloss. A number of buildings were built around Sanssouci that corresponded to the king's ideas of court life. For example the orangery , where operas, concerts and balls were given during the summer. In addition, the picture gallery was created as the king's private refuge. The park was constantly expanded, so the Chinese tea house or the Belvedere near the New Palace were built. Due to the absence of Frederick II from Berlin, the other family courtyards of the Hohenzollern received an increase in their representative importance for the Prussian state, but without at the same time gaining political importance. The queen mother Sophie Dorothea remained the formal head of the court after the king until her death in 1757. As such, she mainly fulfilled the representative duties, which also included the princely receptions. After the Seven Years War, the queen took over this role. In addition to her own residence at Schönhausen Palace , Elisabeth Christine was also assigned rooms in the Berlin City Palace by Friedrich II. In addition to the Queen Mother, who resided in Monbijou Castle, the siblings each had their own court, as did the formal queen, Friedrich's wife. The maintenance amount was contractually agreed and the funds came from the general domain treasury. At that time there were a total of 12 Prussian courts. The three highest represented the king, the queen mother and the queen. The queen's court consisted of nine ladies-in-waiting, two chamberlains, twelve pages, eight lackeys, a cook and a coachman. Her annual budget was 41,000 thalers. Friedrich's younger brother Prince Heinrich, who had his residences in the Palais Unter den Linden and in Rheinsberg Castle, had a budget of 70,000 RT per year. At times over 130 servants belonged to his court. The court policy of Frederick, who did not set up a central court, ensured a further de-politicization of the court and continued decentralization and fragmentation, as had already begun under his father Friedrich Wilhelm I. The private, family element of the farm gained in importance.

In the middle of the 18th century, more than 1000 people were employed at the Prussian court. In comparison, the Bavarian court was 1500 people at the same time. The imperial court in Vienna at the time had a size of 2000 people. Overall, like all other German courts, the Prussian court had expanded considerably since the 16th century. This was ensured by the expansion of the budget, the differentiation of the government apparatus and the expansion of the courtyard areas, e.g. B. by employing court musicians or artists. After 1763, the court budget did not significantly exceed the sum of 300,000 RTs per year, whereby their relative share of total state revenues decreased sharply, as these had grown to 20 million Reichstaler by 1786 (1740: 7 million RT).

After the Seven Years' War there was a comprehensive personnel, structural and artistic reorganization in the Prussian court landscape. There was a lively personnel policy, considerable construction investments were made and the interior fittings of the farm's own property were renewed. The construction projects such as the newly built palace Neues Palais , which Friedrich served as a guest palace , were again as large and representative as in the time around 1700 under Friedrich I. Overall, court life became livelier and more colorful, with large festivities rarely occurring. Large buildings such as the New Palais were legitimized to the outside world as a demonstration of power by the Prussian state, which, despite the war losses, still had potential. Although the number of chamberlains at the Prussian court increased, this number still lagged behind the staffing levels customary at other German princely courts.

During the reign of Friedrich Wilhelm II (1786–1797)

Royal theater in Potsdam built in 1796

Friedrich Wilhelm II weakened the royal office as the central office of Prussian politics. Upstream bodies were formed that gained influence and used the levers of politics instead of the king. Regardless of this, in contrast to his predecessor, the king ensured a considerable increase in expenditure for the expenses of his court. While Frederick II had received around 220,000 RT for his court from the funds of the domain income, the expenses under Friedrich Wilhelm II amounted to two million RT and thus one eighth of the entire budget. A hitherto unknown culture of mistresses developed at the Prussian court.

During the reign of Friedrich Wilhelm II, no large representative palace architecture was created at all. Only the marble palace on the Holy See in Potsdam was rebuilt as a small pleasure palace . The expenses for the court in the year of death of the monarch in 1797 amounted to 529,127 RT.

During the reign of Friedrich Wilhelm III. (1797-1840)

Under King Friedrich Wilhelm III. the process of separating office and private life of the ruler, which has been in operation since 1713, became more tangible. In the understanding of contemporaries, the court was no longer the central government agency as it was before, but primarily the place of residence of a family. The separation between the state and the family dynasty was significantly enhanced. The autocrat no longer saw himself as a state, like the absolutist King Louis XIV ( L'état, c'est moi ), but saw the state as an institution , as an object outside his own sphere of activity. The General Land Law passed in 1794 contributed to this . However, this advanced nationalization process did not lead to the introduction of a written constitution , but was more of an ideal transformation process that did not visibly change the social system . As a result, a Prussian king could no longer develop the same political dominance as Friedrich II or Friedrich Wilhelm I. In the meantime there were too many formal but also informal political actors and institutions who could act as veto players in the structure of rule in a Prussian system of rule that had become more complex overall. All of this continued to happen without any written rules of the political system and thus arbitrarily and incomprehensibly and intransparently for the enlarged Prussian public.

The Royal Playhouse around 1825

The personal shyness of the king and his reticent demeanor favored the repression of the monarchy in the political structure of Prussia.

After the occupation of Berlin by French troops in autumn 1806 as a result of the Fourth Coalition War , the Prussian royal court moved to Königsberg and Memel and stayed there between October 1806 and December 1809. There were cuts in the court due to the war. The expenses of the court marshal's office for representation purposes, which was responsible for catering and serving the royal court, were reduced. Only the expenses for the needs of the royal family were maintained. The staff at the Exilhof was reduced to 77 people without a royal stables in February 1808. The maintenance of officers and other persons who did not belong to the immediate court of the king was completely suspended.

The Prussian court resided in Königsberg Castle from January 1808 to December 1809 . This has been refurbished and refurbished for an appropriate court life. Furniture was borrowed from the Königsberg population, newly acquired or brought in from Berlin. Despite all the prescribed thrift in the limited court finances, the Königsberg court life also had the usual representative elements: dinners, theater and concert evenings, birthday celebrations and numerous excursions and walks during the summer months. Princely visitors such as Emperor Alexander I , Grand Duke Constantine with his wife, the Duke of Württemberg with his wife and Prince Wilhelm of Orange were received. In 1808 and 1809, north-west of Königsberg, the baroque country house with park - Luisenwahl - was rented as a summer residence. Most of the royal court had been left behind in Berlin, but still had to be looked after. This affected 266 servants without garden and stables servants in December 1807. However, this was not always possible due to the insolvency of the court marshal's office. Those responsible in Berlin asked the king for remedial action. But only a few money orders came from there. In May 1808, the poorest court servants were granted rent-free accommodation in the royal palaces of Berlin and Potsdam. Higher members of the court partially waived their salary (for example Court Marshal Valentin von Massow ) or temporarily resigned from their service ( Burchard Friedrich von Maltzahn as Court Marshal of Prince Wilhelm). In contrast, the Prussian princes and princesses who did not go to Königsberg continued to receive their allowances .

Franz Kruger Parade on Opernplatz Berlin.jpg
On behalf of the Russian Emperor Nicholas I , Franz Krüger made a 2.49 × 3.74 meter oil painting in 1824 with the painting “Parade on the Opera Square”.

The two Prussian and Russian monarchs can only be seen in passing. The Russian Emperor rides King Friedrich Wilhelm III in front of his troops. to. He sits on his horse and raises his hand to his feather hat in greeting.
Franz Krüger - Parade at the Opernplatz - WGA12290.jpg
another military parade in Opera Square in 1829


The king had a total representation averse and preferred simplicity and seclusion. The carnival season with its balls went on as always. The venue for courtly celebrations was still the court opera house and the theater. Although both houses were court institutions, there was also a public box office. The most important festivities that the court of Friedrich Wilhelm III. organized were the well-known "Lalla-Rukh Festival" of 1821 and the "Festival of the White Rose" of 1829. For the monarchical representation, however, the military was more important. Courtly splendor and glamor of these years unfolded primarily military events. For revues and parades of the Prussian army , the princes and other members of the Hohenzollern family and members of the court were included early in their lives in order to get them used to the military. According to contemporary judgments, Prussia was a military monarchy . According to this, all officers had the status of acceptable , while only very high civil positions were given the opportunity to be present at court. The Berlin court of the Vormärz only reacted to the intellectual currents of the time. In general, as the social center of society, the court failed to take up some of the trends and make them representative of the nation. This was, for example, a function that the renewed French royal court had.

The Prussian reforms had taken further decisive steps towards the separation of the monarchy and the state. From 1819 the Ministry of the Royal House was responsible for managing the dynasty's assets. State property and property of the dynasty were now understood and administered as separate from each other. As a result, the monarch could no longer legally dispose of state assets as if they were his own private property. Since the prince now had to cease to regard the state as his property, an important prerequisite for the introduction of a written state constitution was given.

During the reign of Friedrich Wilhelm IV. (1840–1857)

Homage to Friedrich Wilhelm IV on October 15, 1840 in front of the Royal Palace in Berlin, painting by Franz Krüger , 1844

The court at the time of the " romantic on the throne" Friedrich Wilhelm IV was considered to be orderly, well run and solidly administered. The court held lavish, but not lavish festivities. Despite some pompous highlights, there was seldom any glitz. The court had only a limited role model function for the aspiring middle class. The court could not come to terms with the simultaneous court of Napoleon III. and Eugénie de Montijo fairs.

The processes and structures at the king's court to this were routine and developed according to the needs of the more introverted character of the king. From 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday to Thursday, the various authorities gave lectures to the king. After a break and lunch in the afternoon, the king did more work. In the evening there was an evening party that was also characterized by lectures and had a rather monotonous character. Overall, the king's court was very agile and relocations took place more frequently. These were based on the seasonal social obligations. The winter season was partly spent in the Berlin City Palace and Charlottenburg Palace in order to be present for the most important social events, which began in January and lasted until the end of February. In the spring, the move to Potsdam followed, first to the Potsdam City Palace, then in warmer weather to the Sanssouci Palace. The move to the Potsdam City Palace followed in late autumn. Often there were short stays elsewhere in between. The court's recurring duties included the royal troop reviews and visits in spring and summer.

Some of the court festivals in the period of the pre- march were relatively lavish. Among them, at the end of February 1843, the “Ferrera Court Festival” and a large masked ball based on Musäus “Teutsche Volksmärchen” stood out. An unusually high number of 3,000 guests took part in the first festival. The external impact of this exhibition was recognized and appreciated internationally. Such big celebrations were the exception. Only the celebrations of homage in Königsberg or Berlin in 1840 reached similar proportions.

From the 1840s and 1850s there was a beginning inflation of the courtyard structures.

During the reign of Wilhelm I (1857–1888)

In the decades before the founding of the empire, the court society of the royal court sealed itself off from society. The effect of court life on bourgeois circles remained small. The political and social monopoly of the court disintegrated more and more in the time that followed, as new sources of political power emerged in society. These included, for example, the Reichstag , party foundations , interest groups . In addition, the Prussian-German court faced competition for luxurious balls, dinners and other social events from aristocratic, government and upper-class circles. Likewise, the court's monopoly on art, music and theater, which had previously contributed to the court's appeal, crumbled. The king was no longer important for the individual advancement opportunities of ambitious aspirants and aspirants.

The court ranking that had existed since 1713 was replaced by a new one in 1871 after the establishment of the empire. In 1878 a new court ranking followed. Now the court society was divided into 62 ranks. The lieutenants formed the lowest level of rank. That meant that all officers were acceptable. In other German court states there were significantly fewer ranks, in Saxony only five and in Bavaria only three ranks.

Breakdown with the number of servants of the king's court (excluding other family farms, excluding court society ) in the years 1864–1866:

  1. Private chancellery of the king, reader, library: 6 people
  2. Court Marshal's Office: 117 people
    • Management: 2 people
    • Pages: 26 people
    • Administration, cash desk, office: 11 people
    • Castle construction, legal department, doctors: 13 people
    • Real estate management (assets and technical services): 42 people
    • personal servants (kitchen, cellar, etc.): 23 people
  3. Horticulture: 19 people
  4. Marstall : 20 people
  5. Hofjagdamt (including “duck catching”): 22 people
  6. Court music: 17 people
  7. Drama, orchestra, ballet: 286 people

There were also 180 other personal servants from a total of 17 other family farms.

  • Views of court life under King and Kaiser Wilhelm I.

  • Homage to King Wilhelm on January 2, 1861

  • Entry of King Wilhelm I into Berlin after his coronation in Königsberg

  • King Wilhelm I audience in the White Hall of the Berlin Palace, 1865

  • The ball souper in the Berlin City Palace in 1878

  • Coronation of Wilhelm I as king in Königsberg, 1861

  • “In a musical-dramatic soirée by the emperor. 1872 "

  • Kaiser Wilhelm and the Grand Duchess of Baden in Babelsberg Park. After a moment photograph by M. Ziedler

  • Arrival of Kaiser Wilhelm I for the red hunt at Grunewald hunting lodge in 1887

During the reign of Wilhelm II (1888–1918)

In the White Hall of the City Palace Berlin 1888
New year's reception of Kaiser Wilhelm II in the Knobelsdorff Opera on January 1, 1901
The opening of the German Reichstag in the White Hall of the Berlin Palace on June 25, 1888

After a period of relative thrift, the Prussian court once again experienced a late bloom around the person of Kaiser Wilhelm II in the last decades of the 19th century . The neo-absolutist “luxurizing” was a characteristic of the Second German Empire . The Prussian king and German emperor compensated for the diminished importance and less influence on political and social events. The eloquent emperor became known for his self-exalting speeches, officer corps and civil servants were corrupted by courtly Byzantinism , and court society was seen as scandalous by the public. The emperor himself was the richest man in his empire; he had private assets of 140 million marks. In a global comparison, the emperor was the fifth richest person. The private property of the emperor included lands (domains) with a total area of ​​1198.26 km² and a value of 70 million marks. He also owned 53 locks with a value of 40 million marks, over 40 of which he was able to dispose personally. The emperor's fluid hand money was estimated at 20 million marks. The Hofaufwendungen were from the income of his lands, credit interest and grants from the adopted by the Prussian Landtag state budget Prussia ( Krondotation , but not) from the Reichstag settled granted German budget. State money and private assets of the ruling family in Prussia were, typical for Central Europe, mixed up. In a European comparison, the annual state grants for the Prussian monarch were the highest. In Great Britain these were at the time half as high as with Kaiser Wilhelm II. The 20 other German courts had state funds totaling 20 million marks a year. The total of 42.2 million marks paid in the German Empire compared with Great Britain corresponded to four times the amount of tax money expended for the monarchy; the Prussian court also held a top position worldwide. The court of Wilhelm II cost more than the national institutions of the Reich Chancellor , the Reich Chancellery , the Foreign Office , the Colonial Office and the Reich Justice Administration , which were financed by the German state budget approved by the Reichstag. The Hohenzollern Prince Heinrich was also one of the richest men in Germany.

The New Palais and the Berlin City Palace were the main residences of Wilhelm II; in addition, he stayed for a long time at the palaces Wilhelmshöhe near Kassel and Schloss Homburg . The castles in the provinces served him as lodging facilities when he was traveling.

Despite the constitutional diminished role of the constitutional monarchy , the Hohenzollernhof retained its role as the center of political and social life until the First World War . In the 1890s there was a power struggle between the court and the state. Various groups fought for influence within court society, of which the military eventually gained the upper hand. In the last year of its existence, the royal court had 500 employees, 40 of whom were cooks, and in 1918 617 people were subordinate to the Oberhofmarschall; “Decorative court dignitaries” had no tasks to perform, but received an appanage as a reward. Balls in the Berlin City Palace, in the Court Opera House and in the Hotel Kaiserhof dominated the life of court society. In the Berlin Palace there were also dinners for diplomats, generals, ministers of state, heads of the imperial offices and members of the State Council. The beginning of January was the height of the annual celebrations. At that time, the invited guests traveled from the province to the capital. On such special days, the streets to the Berlin Palace were lined with tens of thousands of spectators. The institution “Prussian Court” had outlived itself at the end of its existence, and large sections of Prussian-German society were now able to do without the courtly support, although many contemporaries were still receptive to the glamorous courtly public.

See also

literature

  • Website: The language of the monarchy: https://actaborussica.bbaw.de/
  • Peter Bahl: The Court of the Great Elector: Studies on the higher office-holders of Brandenburg-Prussia, Böhlau Verlag, Cologne-Weimar-Vienna 2001
  • Achim Beyer: The Brandenburg Residences in the Long 16th Century, Berliner Wissenschaftsverlag, Berlin 2014
  • Linda Brüggemann: Rule and Death in the Early Modern Age: The death and burial ceremony of Prussian rulers from the Great Elector to Friedrich Wilhelm II. (1688–1797), Herbert Utz Verlag, Munich 2012
  • Christopher Clark: Prussia - Rise and Fall 1600–1947. Pantheon Verlag, 2006
  • (Eds.) Peter-Michael Hahn, Matthias Müller: Signs and media of the military at the royal court in Europe, writings on residential culture, volume 10, Lukas Verlag, Berlin 2017
  • Rainer A. Müller: The Fürstenhof in the early modern times, Encyclopedia of German History, Volume 33, 2nd edition, R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 2004
  • Karl Möckl: Court and court society in the German states in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1990
  • Wolfgang Ribbe: Palace and palace district in the middle of Berlin: The center of the city as a political and social place, Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, 2005
  • John CG Röhl: Kaiser, Hof und Staat: Wilhelm II. Und die deutsche Politik, Verlag CH Beck, Second Edition, 2007Web

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Wolfgang Ribbe: History of the Berlin administrative districts, Vol. 6: Spandau, Colloquium Verlag, Berlin 1991, p. 59
  2. ↑ Heinz Kathe: The Soldier King, Akademieverlag, Berlin 1976, p. 40
  3. ↑ Wolfgang Ribbe: Palace and palace district in the middle of Berlin: The city center as a political and social place, Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, 2005, p. 78
  4. ^ Achim Beyer: The Kurbrandenburg residential landscape in the long 16th century, Berliner Wissenschaftsverlag, Berlin 2014, p. 34
  5. ↑ Christopher Clark: Prussia - Rise and Fall 1600-1947. Pantheon Verlag, 2006, p. 112
  6. ↑ Christopher Clark: Prussia - Rise and Fall 1600-1947. Pantheon Verlag, 2006, p. 111f
  7. ↑ The language of the monarchy. Retrieved July 6, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Linda Brüggemann: Rule and Death in the Early Modern Age: The death and burial ceremony of Prussian rulers from the Great Elector to Friedrich Wilhelm II. (1688–1797), Herbert Utz Verlag, Munich 2012, p. 259
  9. ↑ Peter Bahl: The Court of the Great Elector: Studies on the higher officials in Brandenburg-Prussia, Böhlau Verlag, Cologne-Weimar-Vienna 2001, SV
  10. ^ Ingo Materna, Wolfgang Ribbe: Brandenburg history. Akademie Verlag, Berlin 1995, p. 210f.
  11. ↑ Achim Beyer: The Brandenburg Residential Landscape in the Long 16th Century, Berliner Wissenschaftsverlag, Berlin 2014, pp. 13-19
  12. ↑ Rainer A. Müller: The Fürstenhof in the Early Modern Age, Encyclopedia of German History, Volume 33, 2nd Edition, R.Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 2004, p. 30
  13. ↑ Wolfgang Ribbe: Palace and palace district in the middle of Berlin: The city center as a political and social place, Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, 2005, p. 125
  14. ↑ Achim Beyer: The Brandenburg Residences in the Long 16th Century, Berliner Wissenschaftsverlag, Berlin 2014, p. 56
  15. ↑ Bernd Wagner: Fürstenhof and civil society: on the emergence, development and legitimation of cultural policy, Klartext Verlag, 2009, p. 161
  16. ↑ Peter Bahl: The Court of the Great Elector: Studies on the higher officials in Brandenburg-Prussia, Böhlau Verlag, Cologne-Weimar-Wien 2001, p. 129f
  17. ↑ Melanie Mertens: Berliner Barockpaläste: the emergence of a building type in the time of the first Prussian kings, Gebr. Mann Verlag, Berlin 2003, p. 32
  18. ↑ (Ed.) Peter-Michael Hahn, Matthias Müller: Signs and Media of the Military at the Princely Court in Europe, Writings on Residence Culture, Volume 10, Lukas Verlag, Berlin 2017, pp. 20f
  19. ^ Johann Gustav Droysen: Friedrich I, King of Preussen, Walter de Gruyter Verlag, Berlin-New York 2001, p. 82f
  20. ↑ Rainer A. Müller: The Fürstenhof in the Early Modern Age, Encyclopedia of German History, Volume 33, 2nd Edition, R.Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 2004, p. 31
  21. ^ Günther Lottes, Iwan-Michelangelo D'Aprile: Court culture and enlightened public: Potsdam in the 18th century in a European context, Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2006, p. 19
  22. ↑ Heinz Kathe: The Soldier King, Akademieverlag, Berlin 1976, p. 15f
  23. ↑ Christopher Clark: Prussia - Rise and Fall 1600-1947. Pantheon Verlag, 2006, p. 111
  24. ↑ Heinz Kathe: The Soldier King, Akademieverlag, Berlin 1976, p. 118
  25. ^ Günther Lottes, Iwan-Michelangelo D'Aprile: Court culture and the enlightened public: Potsdam in the 18th century in a European context, Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2006, p. 18
  26. ^ Günther Lottes, Iwan-Michelangelo D'Aprile: Court culture and the enlightened public: Potsdam in the 18th century in a European context, Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2006, p. 20
  27. ^ Heinz Kathe: The Soldier King, Akademieverlag, Berlin 1976, p. 34
  28. ↑ Christopher Clark: Prussia - Rise and Fall 1600-1947. Pantheon Verlag, 2006, p. 106
  29. ↑ Hans-Joachim Neumann: Friedrich Wilhelm I. - Life and Sorrows of the Soldier King, edition q, Berlin 1993, p. 67
  30. ↑ Heinz Kathe: The Soldier King, Akademieverlag, Berlin 1976, p. 35
  31. ↑ Heinz Kathe: The Soldier King, Akademieverlag, Berlin 1976, p. 40
  32. ↑ Hans-Joachim Neumann: Friedrich Wilhelm I. - Life and Sorrows of the Soldier King, edition q, Berlin 1993, p. 62
  33. ↑ Christopher Clark: Prussia - Rise and Fall 1600-1947. Pantheon Verlag, 2006, p. 110
  34. ↑ Heinz Kathe: The Soldier King, Akademieverlag, Berlin 1976, p. 121
  35. ↑ Heinz Kathe: The Soldier King, Akademieverlag, Berlin 1976, p. 122
  36. ↑ Heinz Kathe: The Soldier King, Akademieverlag, Berlin 1976, p. 118
  37. ↑ Hans-Joachim Neumann: Friedrich Wilhelm I. - Life and Sorrows of the Soldier King, edition q, Berlin 1993, p. 18
  38. ↑ Hans-Joachim Neumann: Friedrich Wilhelm I. - Life and Sorrows of the Soldier King, edition q, Berlin 1993, p. 67
  39. ↑ Hans-Joachim Neumann: Friedrich Wilhelm I. - Life and Suffering of the Soldier King, edition q, Berlin 1993, pp. 47–49
  40. ↑ Wolfgang Ribbe: Palace and palace district in the middle of Berlin: The city center as a political and social place, Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, 2005, p. 78
  41. ↑ Brigitte Meier: Friedrich Wilhelm II. King of Prussia (1744–1797): a life between Rococo and Revolution, Verlag Friedrich Pustet, 2007, p. 100
  42. ↑ Linda Brüggemann: Rule and Death in the Early Modern Age: The death and burial ceremony of Prussian rulers from the Great Elector to Friedrich Wilhelm II. (1688–1797), Herbert Utz Verlag, Munich 2012, p. 258
  43. ^ Günter Wagner: Yearbook of the State Institute for Music Research (SIM) Prussian Cultural Heritage, Springer Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, p. 13
  44. ^ Günter Wagner: Yearbook of the State Institute for Music Research (SIM) Prussian Cultural Heritage, Springer Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, p. 14
  45. ^ Günter Wagner: Yearbook of the State Institute for Music Research (SIM) Prussian Cultural Heritage, Springer Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, p. 15
  46. ↑ (Eds.) Frank Göse, Winfried Müller, Kurt Winkler, Anne-Katrin Ziesak: Prussia and Saxony - Scenes of a Neighborhood, Sandstein Verlag, 2014, p. 273
  47. ↑ Linda Brüggemann: Rule and Death in the Early Modern Age: The death and burial ceremony of Prussian rulers from the Great Elector to Friedrich Wilhelm II. (1688–1797), Herbert Utz Verlag, Munich 2012, pp. 259–260
  48. ↑ Rainer A. Müller: The Fürstenhof in the Early Modern Age, Encyclopedia of German History, Volume 33, 2nd Edition, R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 2004, p. 30
  49. ↑ Brigitte Meier: Friedrich Wilhelm II. King of Prussia (1744–1797): a life between Rococo and Revolution, Verlag Friedrich Pustet, 2007, p. 100
  50. ↑ Linda Brüggemann: Rule and Death in the Early Modern Age: The death and burial ceremony of Prussian rulers from the Great Elector to Friedrich Wilhelm II. (1688–1797), Herbert Utz Verlag, Munich 2012, p. 259
  51. ↑ (Ed.) Otto Büsch, Wolfgang Neugebauer: Modern Prussian History 1648 - 1947: An Anthology, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin-New York 1981, p. 559
  52. ^ Karl Möckl: Court and court society in the German states in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1990, p. 276
  53. ^ Brigitte Meier: Friedrich Wilhelm II. King of Prussia (1744–1797): a life between rococo and revolution, Verlag Friedrich Pustet, 2007, p. 100
  54. ^ Karl Möckl: Court and court society in the German states in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1990, p. 277
  55. ^ Karl Möckl: Court and court society in the German states in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1990, p. 313
  56. ^ Karl Möckl: Court and court society in the German states in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1990, pp. 281f
  57. ^ Karl Möckl: Court and court society in the German states in the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1990, p. 312
  58. ^ Karl Möckl: Court and court society in the German states in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1990, p. 278
  59. ^ Karl Möckl: Court and court society in the German states in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1990, p. 279
  60. ↑ Karl Möckl: Court and court society in the German states in the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1990, p. 325
  61. ^ Karl Möckl: Court and court society in the German states in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1990, p. 327
  62. ^ Karl Möckl: Court and court society in the German states in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1990, p. 328
  63. ^ Karl Möckl: Court and court society in the German states in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1990, p. 333
  64. ↑ Wolfgang Ribbe: Palace and palace district in the middle of Berlin: The city center as a political and social place, Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, 2005, p. 121f
  65. ↑ Wolfgang Ribbe: Palace and palace district in the middle of Berlin: The city center as a political and social place, Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, 2005, p. 126
  66. ↑ Handbook on the Royal Prussian Court and State, Verlag der Königliche Wissense Oberhofbuchdruckerei, Berlin 1868, pp. 40–53
  67. ↑ Handbook on the Royal Prussian Court and State, Verlag der Königliche Wissense Oberhofbuchdruckerei, Berlin 1868, pp. 54–66
  68. ^ Karl Möckl: Court and court society in the German states in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1990, p. 381
  69. ↑ Article 59 of the constitutional document for the Prussian state , revised version of January 31, 1850, accessed on July 10, 2020
  70. ^ Civil list in Meyers Konversationslexikon Fourth edition, 1885–1892, accessed on July 10, 2020
  71. ^ John CG Röhl: Kaiser, Hof und Staat: Wilhelm II. Und die deutsche Politik <, Verlag CH Beck, Second Edition, 2007, pp. 83–86
  72. ^ John CG Röhl: Kaiser, Hof und Staat: Wilhelm II. Und die deutsche Politik <, Verlag CH Beck, Second Edition, 2007, p. 82
  73. ↑ Wolfgang Ribbe: Palace and palace district in the middle of Berlin: The city center as a political and social place, Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, 2005, p. 122
  74. ^ John CG Röhl: Kaiser, Hof und Staat: Wilhelm II. Und die deutsche Politik <, Verlag CH Beck, Second Edition, 2007, p. 79
  75. ↑ Wolfgang Ribbe: Palace and palace district in the middle of Berlin: The city center as a political and social place, Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, 2005, p. 125
  76. ^ Karl Möckl: Court and court society in the German states in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1990, p. 377
  77. ^ Karl Möckl: Court and court society in the German states in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1990, p. 391