Friedrich the Great: Rise of Brandenburg-Prussia

• Friedrich the Great was born on January 24, 1712, in Berlin.
• He died on August 17, 1786, in Potsdam.
• His father was Friedrich Wilhelm I (1688-1740), the Soldier King and King in Prussia from 1713-1740.
• His mother was Sophie of Braunschweig-Lüneburg (1687-1757).
• Friedrich was King in Prussia since 1740.
• He married Elisabeth Christine of Braunschweig-Bevern in 1733.
• They had separate households since 1740 and no children.
• Friedrich II died on August 17, 1786, in Sanssouci.
• Few political confidants were present at his death.
• His nephew and successor, Friedrich Wilhelm II, was not present because he could not build a personal connection with his uncle.
• In 1991, Friedrich's sarcophagus was transferred to the crypt of Sanssouci, as he had originally wished in his will.
• He rests there next to the coffins of his beloved dogs.

Rise of Brandenburg-Prussia and Introduction of Friedrich's Predecessors

• Elector Friedrich Wilhelm (1640-1688) laid the foundation for the Electorate of Brandenburg's rise to a European power.
• Friedrich III gained the royal dignity for the land of Prussia and was called Friedrich I, King in Prussia, since his self-coronation in 1701.
• Friedrich celebrated many festivals and had Berlin rebuilt into a magnificent baroque residential city, that included the City Palace, Charlottenburg Palace and Zeughaus.
• He left behind a massive mountain of debt after his death, because he inadequately attended to his government business.
• Friedrich Wilhelm I (Soldier King) (1713-1740) turned Prussia into a European military power, although he did not wage any wars.
• He initiated administrative reform, reduced debt, and built up state assets and is regarded as the greatest inner king of Prussia in research.
• His personality included an all-encompassing claim to power, brute enforcement methods, and deep religiosity.
• He could be both amiable and volatile and violent; he was personally modest and faithful to his wife.
• King Friedrich Wilhelm was certainly not an easy person for his environment and especially not for his children.

Childhood and "Private Life"

• As a child, Friedrich was not interested in the military and hated hunting.
• He was musically and literary inclined and religiously unreliable
• He was the exact opposite of his father, who could not and would not understand Friedrich.
• Friedrich's father physically abused Friedrich's tutor, because he taught Friedrich Latin and publicly humiliated Friedrich.
• Friedrich made fun of his father with his sister, lied, made debts, and disobeyed.