page_title: History of Berlin
section_title: Margraviate of Brandenburg (1400 – 1700)
hierarchical_section_title: History of Berlin / Margraviate of Brandenburg (1400 – 1700)
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Titelseite des Edikts von Potsdam, mit dem Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg den in Frankreich verfolgten Hugenotten Aufnahme in Brandenburg-Preußen gewährt. English: Title-page of the Edict of Potsdam
context_page_description: The history of Berlin starts with its foundation in the 13th century. It became the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1417, and later of Brandenburg-Prussia, and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia grew rapidly in the 18th and 19th century, and formed the basis of the German Empire in 1871, which survived until 1918, after the empire’s defeat in World War I.
  After 1900 Berlin became a major world city, known for its leadership roles in science, the humanities, music, museums, higher education, government, diplomacy and military affairs. It also had a role in manufacturing and finance.
  During World War II, it was virtually destroyed by bombing, artillery, and ferocious street-by-street fighting. It was split between the victors, and lost its world leadership roles. With the reunification of Germany in 1990, Berlin was restored as a capital and as a major world city.
context_section_description: In 1415, Frederick I became the elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which he ruled until 1440. Subsequent members of the Hohenzollern family ruled until 1918 in Berlin, first as electors of Brandenburg, then as kings of Prussia, and finally as German emperors. When Berlin became the residence of the Hohenzollerns, it had to give up its Hanseatic League free city status. Its main economical activity changed from trade to the production of luxurious goods for the court.
  1443 to 1451: The first Berliner Stadtschloss was built on the embankment of the river Spree.
  At that time Berlin-Cölln had about 8,000 inhabitants. Population figures rose fast, leading to poverty.
  1448: The inhabitants of Berlin rebelled in the "Berlin Indignation" against the construction of a new royal palace by Elector Frederick II Irontooth. This protest was not successful, however, and the citizenry lost many of its political and economic privileges.
  1451: Berlin became the royal residence of the Brandenburg electors, and Berlin had to give up its status as a free Hanseatic city.
  In 1510: 100 Jews were accused of stealing and desecrating hosts. 38 of them were burned to death; others were banished, losing their possessions, only to be returned by later margraves.
  1530: The Tiergarten park began when Elector Joachim I donated the property for use as a royal game preserve; it was opened to the public in the mid-17th century; it ceased being a hunting park in 1740 when the job of redesigning it in the English landscape style began.
  1539: The electors and Berlin officially became Lutheran.
  1540: Joachim II introduced the Protestant Reformation in Brandenburg and secularized church possessions. He used the money to pay for his projects, like building an avenue, the Kurfürstendamm, between his hunting castle Grunewald and his palace, the Berliner Stadtschloss.
  1576, Bubonic plague killed about 6,000 people in the city.
  Around 1600: Berlin-Cölln had 12,000 inhabitants.
  1618 to 1648: The Thirty Years' War had devastating consequences for Berlin. A third of the houses were damaged, and the city lost half of its population.
  1640: Frederick William, known as the “Great Elector”,  succeeded his father George William as Elector of Brandenburg. Later he initiated a policy of promoting immigration and religious toleration. Over the following decades, Berlin expanded greatly in area and population with the founding of the new suburbs of Friedrichswerder and Dorotheenstadt. During his government Berlin reached 20,000 inhabitants and became significant among the cities in Central Europe for the first time. He also developed a standing army
  1647: The boulevard Unter den Linden with six rows of trees was laid down between the Tiergarten park and the Palace.
  1671: Fifty Jewish families from Austria were given a home in Berlin. With the Edict of Potsdam in 1685, Frederick William invited the French Calvinist Huguenots to Brandenburg. More than 15,000 Huguenots came, of whom 6,000 settled in Berlin. By 1687 they comprise 20% of the population, and many were bankers, industrialists and investors.
  1674 and after: The Dorotheenstadt was built in a bow of the river Spree, north-west of the Spreeinsel (Spree Island), where the Palace was situated.
  1688 and after: The Friedrichstadt was built and settled.
  Around 1700: Many refugees from Bohemia, Poland, and Salzburg had arrived.
caption: The Edict of Potsdam
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