179-468: [REDACTED] King Frederick II [REDACTED] Archduchess Maria Theresa [REDACTED] Prince-Elector Frederick Augustus II The Second Silesian War (German: Zweiter Schlesischer Krieg ) was a war between Prussia and Austria that lasted from 1744 to 1745 and confirmed Prussia's control of the region of Silesia (now in south-western Poland). The war was fought mainly in Silesia, Bohemia , and Upper Saxony and formed one theatre of
358-488: A separate peace in the Treaty of Berlin , under which Austria ceded the majority of Silesia to Prussia in return for Prussia's neutrality in the continuing war. In late 1742, while Prussia enjoyed the restored peace and worked to assimilate Silesia into its administration and economy, Austria fought on against Bavaria and France, reversing its losses from 1741. By the middle of 1743 Austria had recovered control of Bohemia, driven
537-562: A Prussian victory with the Treaty of Dresden in December 1745, which confirmed Prussian control of Silesia. Continuing conflict over Silesia would draw Austria and Prussia into a Third Silesian War a decade later. The Second Silesian War repeated the defeat of the Habsburg monarchy by a lesser German power and contributed to the Austria–Prussia rivalry that shaped German politics for more than
716-451: A Saxon army marched from the northwest to support them. Learning of the Austrians' rapid approach and unexpected strength, Frederick began pulling his forces back from south-eastern Bohemia to face the oncoming foes. Frederick tried repeatedly to force a decisive engagement, but Austrian commander Otto Ferdinand von Traun manoeuvred away from all Prussian advances while continually harassing
895-661: A Saxon invasion. At the end of May, the Austrian–Saxon force crossed through the Giant Mountains and camped around the Silesian village of Hohenfriedberg , where Frederick staged a surprise attack on the morning of 4 June. The ensuing Battle of Hohenfriedberg ended in a decisive Prussian victory, sending Prince Charles's army retreating in disarray back into the mountains. Austria's reversal at Hohenfriedberg removed any immediate prospect of recovering Silesia. The Prussians followed
1074-580: A brilliant military commander; it was at the end of this war that he began to be spoken of as "Frederick the Great". The seizure of Silesia made Prussia and Austria into lasting and determined enemies, beginning the Austria–Prussia rivalry that would come to dominate German politics over the next century. Saxony, envious of Prussia's ascendancy and threatened by Prussian Silesia's geostrategic position, also turned its foreign policy firmly against Prussia. Frederick's repeated unilateral withdrawal from his alliances in
1253-600: A century. Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor of the House of Habsburg died in 1740 without a male heir; he was succeeded by his eldest daughter, who became ruler of the Archduchy of Austria , as well as of the Bohemian and Hungarian lands within the Habsburg monarchy , as Queen Maria Theresa . During Emperor Charles VI's lifetime, this female succession was generally acknowledged by
1432-464: A comfortable connection between the Danubian and Polish regions , and this area is thus of great importance in terms of the possible migration routes of large mammals – both as regards periodically recurring seasonal migrations triggered by climatic oscillations in the prehistory , when permanent settlement started. Moravia borders Bohemia in the west, Lower Austria in the southwest, Slovakia in
1611-647: A considerably more moderate policy. Upon Frederick William IV's death in 1861 he succeeded to the Prussian throne as William I . However, shortly after becoming king, he faced a dispute with his parliament over the size of the army. The parliament, dominated by the liberals, balked at William's desire to increase the number of regiments and withheld approval of the budget to pay for its cost. A deadlock ensued, and William seriously considered abdicating in favour of his son, Crown Prince Frederick . Ultimately, he decided to appoint as prime minister Otto von Bismarck , at that time
1790-657: A frontier (cf. English march ). In Latin, the name Moravia was used. Moravia occupies most of the eastern part of the Czech Republic . Moravian territory is naturally strongly determined, in fact, as the Morava river basin , with strong effect of mountains in the west ( de facto main European continental divide ) and partly in the east, where all the rivers rise . Moravia occupies an exceptional position in Central Europe. All
1969-455: A minor defensive agreement, but Russia posed a growing threat to Prussia's eastern frontier. Frederick was apprehensive that an irresistible anti-Prussian coalition might soon develop between Britain–Hanover, Saxony , Russia and Austria. He viewed the Peace of Breslau as little more than another armistice with Austria, and he needed to prevent Maria Theresa from taking revenge at her convenience when
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#17328416672532148-749: A much more peaceable ruler. Other additions to Prussia in the 18th century were the County of East Frisia (1744), the Principality of Bayreuth (1791) and Principality of Ansbach (1791), the latter two being acquired through purchase from branches of the Hohenzollern dynasty. To the east and south of Prussia, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth had gradually weakened during the 18th century. Alarmed by increasing Russian influences in Polish affairs and by
2327-666: A new Jacobite uprising , and on 26 August Britain and Prussia agreed to the Convention of Hanover , in which both sides recognised each other's German possessions (including Prussian Silesia), and Prussia committed not to seek territorial gains in Bohemia or Saxony in any eventual peace agreement. On the Austrian side, Maria Theresa negotiated through the middle of the year with the German prince-electors to make her husband Holy Roman Emperor, now that
2506-665: A number of administrative reforms, among others reorganising the government by way of ministries, which remained formative for the following hundred years. As to religion, reformed Calvinist Frederick William III—as Supreme Governor of the Protestant Churches —asserted his long-cherished project (started in 1798) to unite the Lutheran and the Reformed Church in 1817, (see Prussian Union ). The Calvinist minority, strongly supported by its co-religionist Frederick William III, and
2685-653: A peace treaty. Under the resulting agreement, Maria Theresa acknowledged Prussia's control of Silesia and Glatz, and Frederick retroactively recognised Francis I as Holy Roman Emperor and agreed to the Pragmatic Sanction, while also committing to neutrality for the remainder of the War of the Austrian Succession. For its part in the Austrian alliance, Saxony was compelled to pay one million rixdollars in reparations to Prussia. The region's border were thus confirmed at
2864-510: A possible expansion of the Russian Empire , Frederick was instrumental in initiating the first of the Partitions of Poland between Russia, Prussia, and Austria in 1772 to maintain a balance of power . The Kingdom of Prussia annexed most of the Polish province of Royal Prussia , including Warmia , allowing Frederick to finally adopt the title King of Prussia; the annexed Royal Prussian land
3043-479: A potential war of partition , Austria negotiated a secret armistice with Prussia in October and redeployed its forces to face its other enemies. Prussian forces resumed offensive operations in December, invading Moravia and blocking an Austrian drive toward Prague in early 1742. Elector Charles Albert of Bavaria won the 1742 Imperial election and became Holy Roman Emperor . In July 1742 Prussia and Austria made
3222-489: A result, the grip of the landowning classes, the Junkers , remained unbroken, especially in the eastern provinces. The constitution nevertheless contained a number of liberal elements such as the introduction of jury courts and a catalog of fundamental rights that included freedom of religion, speech and the press. Frederick William suffered a stroke in 1857, and his younger brother, Prince William, became regent . William pursued
3401-478: A separate crown land of Austria again in 1849, and then became part of Cisleithanian Austria-Hungary after 1867. According to Austro-Hungarian census of 1910 the proportion of Czechs in the population of Moravia at the time (2.622.000) was 71.8%, while the proportion of Germans was 27.6%. Following the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, Moravia became part of Czechoslovakia . As one of
3580-505: A series of treaties and compromises, culminating in the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle that restored peace and left Prussia in possession of most of Silesia. Humiliated by the cession of Silesia, Austria worked to secure an alliance with France and Russia (the " Diplomatic Revolution "), while Prussia drifted into Great Britain's camp forming the Anglo-Prussian Alliance . When Frederick preemptively invaded Saxony and Bohemia over
3759-567: A serious invasion until October 1760, when the Russian army briefly occupied Berlin and Königsberg . The situation became progressively grimmer, however, until the death in 1762 of Empress Elizabeth of Russia ( Miracle of the House of Brandenburg ). The accession of the Prussophile Peter III relieved the pressure on the eastern front. Sweden also exited the war at about the same time. Defeating
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#17328416672533938-417: A surprise attack on Frederick's camp near the village of Soor ; the resulting Battle of Soor ended in a Prussian victory, despite the Austrian surprise and superior numbers. The Prussians' supplies were exhausted, however, and they withdrew again into Upper Silesia for the winter, driving out the Austrian light troops that had entered the region ahead of Prince Charles's main force. Prussia and Britain hoped
4117-833: A transitive area between the Bohemian Massif and the Carpathians (from northwest to southeast), and between the Danube basin and the North European Plain (from south to northeast). Its core geomorphological features are three wide valleys, namely the Dyje-Svratka Valley ( Dyjsko-svratecký úval ), the Upper Morava Valley ( Hornomoravský úval ) and the Lower Morava Valley ( Dolnomoravský úval ). The first two form
4296-596: A unified Kleindeutschland nation, and on 18 January 1871 (the 170th anniversary of the coronation of the first Prussian king, Frederick I), the German Empire was proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles outside of Paris , while the French capital was still under siege . King William became the first emperor ( Kaiser ) of a unified Germany. However, the titles of German Emperor and King of Prussia were to be borne by
4475-472: A unified Germany more than they wanted to break the grip of the traditional forces over society. He thus embarked on a drive to form a united Germany under Prussian leadership, and guided Prussia through three wars which ultimately achieved this goal. The first of these wars was the Second War of Schleswig (1864), which Prussia initiated and succeeded in, and in which it gained the assistance of Austria. Denmark
4654-673: Is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands , with Bohemia and Czech Silesia . The medieval and early modern Margraviate of Moravia was a crown land of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown from 1348 to 1918, an imperial state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1004 to 1806, a crown land of the Austrian Empire from 1804 to 1867, and a part of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. Moravia
4833-534: Is a language distinct from Czech ; however, their position is not widely supported by academics and the public. Some Moravians identify as an ethnically distinct group; the majority consider themselves to be ethnically Czech. In the census of 1991 (the first census in history in which respondents were allowed to claim Moravian nationality), 1,362,000 (13.2%) of the Czech population identified as being of Moravian nationality (or ethnicity). In some parts of Moravia (mostly in
5012-469: Is also the centre of the Czech firearm industry, as the vast majority of Czech firearms manufacturers (e.g. CZUB , Zbrojovka Brno , Czech Small Arms , Czech Weapons , ZVI , Great Gun ) are found in Moravia. Almost all the well-known Czech sporting, self-defence, military, and hunting firearms are made in Moravia. Meopta rifle scopes are of Moravian origin. The original Bren gun was conceived here, as were
5191-452: Is named after its principal river Morava . It is theorized that the river's name is derived from Proto-Indo-European *mori : "waters", or indeed any word denoting water or a marsh . The German name for Moravia is Mähren , from the river's German name March . This could have a different etymology, as march is a term used in the Medieval times for an outlying territory, a border or
5370-603: Is part of the European Watershed . For centuries, there have been plans to build a waterway across Moravia to join the Danube and Oder river systems, using the natural route through the Moravian Gate . Evidence of the presence of members of the human genus, Homo , dates back more than 600,000 years in the paleontological area of Stránská skála . Attracted by suitable living conditions, early modern humans settled in
5549-469: The status quo ante bellum , which had been Prussia's principal goal. This Treaty of Dresden was signed on 25 December 1745, ending the Second Silesian War between Austria, Saxony, and Prussia. The First and Second Silesian Wars have been described as campaigns within one continuous War of the Austrian Succession. Partly for this reason, contemporaries and later historians have consistently viewed
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5728-792: The Austrian Silesia (when Frederick the Great annexed most of ancient Silesia (the land of upper and middle Oder river) to Prussia , Silesia's southernmost part remained with the Habsburgs ). Today Moravia includes the South Moravian and Zlín regions, vast majority of the Olomouc Region , southeastern half of the Vysočina Region and parts of the Moravian-Silesian , Pardubice and South Bohemian regions. Geologically, Moravia covers
5907-639: The Battle of Kesselsdorf , opening the way to Dresden, as Prince Charles and the remaining Saxon soldiers retreated through the Ore Mountains into Bohemia. The Prussians occupied Dresden on 18 December, after which Frederick once again sent envoys to Maria Theresa and Frederick Augustus II to propose peace. Austrian and Saxon delegates and British mediators joined the Prussians in Dresden, where they quickly negotiated
6086-522: The Battle of Stresow on the island of Rügen , as the war had already been practically decided in the 1709 Battle of Poltava . In the Treaty of Stockholm Prussia gained all of Swedish Pomerania east of the River Oder . Sweden would however keep a portion of Pomerania until 1815. The Great Northern War not only marked the end of the Swedish Empire but also elevated Prussia and Russia at the expense of
6265-622: The Byzantine emperor Michael . The result was the mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius who translated liturgical books into Slavonic , which had lately been elevated by the Pope to the same level as Latin and Greek. Methodius became the first Moravian archbishop, the first archbishop in Slavic world, but after his death the German influence again prevailed and the disciples of Methodius were forced to flee. Great Moravia reached its greatest territorial extent in
6444-635: The Congress of Vienna . It regained most of its pre-1806 territory. Notable exceptions included part of the territory annexed in the Second and Third Partitions of Poland, which became Congress Poland under Russian rule (though it did retain Danzig, acquired in the Second Partition). It also did not regain several of its former towns in the south. However, as compensation it picked up some new territory, including 40% of
6623-645: The Electoral Palatinate known as the League of Frankfurt, whose announced aim was to recover and defend the territories of Emperor Charles VII, including Bohemia (where he had been proclaimed king in 1742). A parallel treaty with France was concluded on 5 June, under which France committed to support the League and attack the Austrian Netherlands . Prussia would champion the Emperor's cause by invading Bohemia from
6802-692: The First French Empire , was defeated in the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt (14 October 1806), Frederick William III was forced to temporarily flee to remote Memel . After the Treaties of Tilsit in 1807, Prussia lost about half of its territory, including the land gained from the Second and Third Partitions of Poland (which now fell to the Duchy of Warsaw ) and all land west of the Elbe river. France recaptured Prussian-occupied Hanover, including Bremen-Verden. The remainder of
6981-646: The German Confederation , the issue of unifying the German states caused the German revolutions of 1848–1849 , with representatives from all states attempting to unify under their own constitution. Attempts to create a federation remained unsuccessful and the German Confederation collapsed in 1866 when the Austro-Prussian War ensued between its two most powerful member states. Prussia was subsequently
7160-749: The German Revolution of 1918–1919 , the Kingdom of Prussia was transformed into the Free State of Prussia . Prussia as a whole was abolished in 1947 . The Hohenzollerns were made rulers of the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1518. In 1529, the Hohenzollerns secured the reversion of the Duchy of Pomerania after a series of conflicts , and acquired its eastern part following the Peace of Westphalia . In 1618,
7339-426: The Habsburg monarchy 's fortunes improved greatly in the continuing War of the Austrian Succession. As Austria expanded its alliances with the 1743 Treaty of Worms , Prussia entered a renewed alliance with Austria's enemies in the League of Frankfurt and rejoined the war, hoping to prevent a resurgent Austria from taking back Silesia. The war began with a Prussian invasion of Habsburg Bohemia in mid-1744, and ended in
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7518-403: The Kingdom of Saxony and much of Westphalia and the Rhineland. Prussia now stretched uninterrupted from the Niemen in the east to the Elbe in the west, and possessed a chain of disconnected territories west of the Elbe. This left Prussia as the only great power with a predominantly German-speaking population. With these gains in territory, the kingdom was reorganized into 10 provinces. Most of
7697-475: The Morava river, which runs from its north to south, being its principal watercourse. Moravia's largest city and historical capital is Brno . Before being sacked by the Swedish army during the Thirty Years' War , Olomouc served as the Moravian capital, and it is still the seat of the Archdiocese of Olomouc . Until the expulsions after 1945 , significant parts of Moravia were German speaking . The region and former margraviate of Moravia, Morava in Czech,
7876-471: The Orangist stadtholderate against the increasingly rebellious Patriots , who sought to overthrow the House of Orange-Nassau and establish a democratic republic . The direct cause of the invasion was the arrest at Goejanverwellesluis , where Frederick William II's sister Wilhelmina of Prussia , also stadtholder William V of Orange 's wife, was stopped by a band of Patriots who denied her passage to The Hague to reclaim her husband's position. In 1795,
8055-535: The Province of Hohenzollern . During the half-century that followed the Congress of Vienna, a conflict of ideals took place within the German Confederation between the formation of a single German nation and the conservation of the current collection of smaller German states and kingdoms. The main debate centered around whether Prussia or the Austrian Empire should be the leading member of any unified Germany. Those advocating for Prussian leadership contended that Austria had far too many non-German interests to work for
8234-457: The Province of Pomerania , uniting the kingdom's eastern territories. After Frederick died in 1786, his nephew Fredrick William II continued the partitions, gaining a large part of western Poland in 1793; Thorn (Toruń) and Danzig (Gdańsk), which had remained part of Poland after the first partition, were incorporated into West Prussia, while the remainder became the province of South Prussia . In 1787, Prussia invaded Holland to restore
8413-439: The Přemyslid dynasty became extinct in 1306, and in 1310 John of Luxembourg became Margrave of Moravia and King of Bohemia. In 1333, he made his son Charles the next Margrave of Moravia (later in 1346, Charles also became the King of Bohemia). In 1349, Charles gave Moravia to his younger brother John Henry who ruled in the margraviate until his death in 1375, after him Moravia was ruled by his oldest son Jobst of Moravia who
8592-455: The Reduta Theatre , was established in 17th-century Moravia. From 1599 to 1711, Moravia was frequently subjected to raids by the Ottoman Empire and its vassals (especially the Tatars and Transylvania ). Overall, hundreds of thousands were enslaved whilst tens of thousands were killed. In 1740, Moravia was invaded by Prussian forces under Frederick the Great , and Olomouc was forced to surrender on 27 December 1741. A few months later
8771-413: The War of the Spanish Succession , the Great Elector's son, Frederick III, was allowed to elevate Prussia to a kingdom in the Crown Treaty of 16 November 1700. Frederick crowned himself " King in Prussia " as Frederick I on 18 January 1701. Legally, no kingdoms could exist in the Holy Roman Empire except for Bohemia and Italy . However, Frederick took the line that since Prussia had never been part of
8950-410: The defeat of Napoleon in Russia in 1812, Prussia quit the alliance and took part in the Sixth Coalition during the "Wars of Liberation" ( Befreiungskriege ) against the French occupation. Prussian troops under Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher contributed crucially in the Battle of Waterloo of 1815 to the final victory over Napoleon. Prussia's reward for its part in France's defeat came at
9129-415: The highlands in the west and east of this part of Europe run west–east, and therefore form a kind of filter, making north–south or south–north movement more difficult. Only Moravia with the depression of the westernmost Outer Subcarpathia , 14–40 kilometers (8.7–24.9 mi) wide, between the Bohemian Massif and the Outer Western Carpathians (gripping the meridian at a constant angle of 30°), provides
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#17328416672539308-422: The imperial states , but when he died it was promptly contested by several parties. The newly crowned King Frederick II of Prussia took this Austrian succession crisis as an opportunity to press his dynasty's territorial claims in the Habsburg crown land of Silesia , invading in December 1740 and beginning the First Silesian War . After early Prussian successes, other powers were emboldened to attack
9487-578: The "right hand" of Prague dukes and kings, while Dukes of Brno and especially those of Znojmo were much more insubordinate. Moravia reached its height of autonomy in 1182, when Emperor Frederick I elevated Conrad II Otto of Znojmo to the status of a margrave , immediately subject to the emperor, independent of Bohemia. This status was short-lived: in 1186, Conrad Otto was forced to obey the supreme rule of Bohemian duke Frederick . Three years later, Conrad Otto succeeded to Frederick as Duke of Bohemia and subsequently canceled his margrave title. Nevertheless,
9666-401: The 18th century, were fought as so-called cabinet wars in which disciplined regular armies were equipped and supplied by the state to conduct warfare on behalf of the sovereign's interests. Occupied enemy territories were regularly taxed and extorted for funds, but large-scale atrocities against civilian populations were rare compared with conflicts in the previous century. Military logistics
9845-401: The 2nd century AD, a Roman fortress stood on the vineyards hill known as German: Burgstall and Czech : Hradisko (" hillfort "), situated above the former village Mušov and above today's beach resort at Pasohlávky . During the reign of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius , the 10th Legion was assigned to control the Germanic tribes who had been defeated in the Marcomannic Wars. In 1927,
10024-428: The 890s under Svatopluk I . At this time, the empire encompassed the territory of the present-day Czech Republic and Slovakia , the western part of present Hungary ( Pannonia ), as well as Lusatia in present-day Germany and Silesia and the upper Vistula basin in southern Poland . After Svatopluk's death in 895, the Bohemian princes defected to become vassals of the East Frankish ruler Arnulf of Carinthia , and
10203-460: The Austrian army at the Battle of Burkersdorf and relying on continuing British success against France in the war's colonial theatres, Prussia was finally able to force a status quo ante bellum on the continent. This result confirmed Prussia's major role within the German states and established the country as a European great power . Frederick, appalled by the near-defeat of Prussia and the economic devastation of his kingdom, lived out his days as
10382-458: The Austrian defeats at Hohenfreidberg and Soor would persuade Austria to come to terms and concentrate its efforts against France, but Maria Theresa was resolved to fight on. On 29 August Austria and Saxony had agreed on a more offensive alliance aimed at seizing Prussian territory, and in early November they began a new offensive from multiple directions toward Brandenburg. Prince Charles's Austrian army marched north from Bohemia toward Lusatia, while
10561-581: The Austrians had come nearly to the Brandenburg border. There, on 23 November Frederick launched a successful surprise attack on Charles's camp at Katholisch Hennersdorf ; this Battle of Hennersdorf ended with the Saxon elements of the allied army destroyed and the larger Austrian force confused and scattered. Charles and his remnants were forced to retreat back into central Saxony and Bohemia, leaving Lusatia under Prussian control. Meanwhile, Leopold I's army advanced into western Saxony on 29 November against minimal resistance, progressing as far as Leipzig by
10740-469: The Bavarian emperor had died. The 1745 Imperial election was held on 13 September in Frankfurt, where Francis Stephen of Lorraine was indeed named Emperor Francis I (despite dissenting votes from Prussia and the Palatinate), achieving one of Maria Theresa's major goals in the war. Meanwhile, supplies had run low in the Prussian camp in Bohemia, and Prussia's forces were gradually pushed back by Austrian probes. On 29 September Prince Charles's army staged
10919-528: The Bronze Age, people of various cultures have settled in Moravia. Notably the Nitra culture which emerged from the tradition of the Neolithic Corded Ware culture and was spread in western Slovakia (hence the name, derived from Slovak river Nitra ), eastern Moravia and southern Poland. The largest burial site (400 graves) of Nitra culture in Moravia was discovered in Holešov in 1960's. The most recent discovery unearthed 2 settlements and two burial grounds (with total 130 graves) near Olomouc , one of them of
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#173284166725311098-408: The Bundesrat, with 17 votes out of 58 (17 out of 61 after 1911); no other state had more than six votes. As before, it could effectively control the proceedings with the support of its allies in the secondary states. As mentioned above, Bismarck served as foreign minister of Prussia for almost his entire career, and in that role instructed the Prussian deputies to the Bundesrat. The Imperial German Army
11277-439: The Czech territory, and the latest administrative division of Czech Republic (introduced in 2000) is similar to the administrative division of 1949. Nevertheless, the federalist or separatist movement in Moravia is completely marginal. The centuries-lasting historical Bohemian-Moravian border has been preserved up to now only by the Czech Roman Catholic Administration , as the Ecclesiastical Province of Moravia corresponds with
11456-456: The Emperor guaranteeing safe conduct ), passing through Lusatia and advancing to Leitmeritz ; the western column, led by Frederick himself, advanced up the Elbe through Dresden and across the Ore Mountains to Leitmeritz. After entering Bohemia, all three forces converged on Prague by the beginning of September, surrounding and besieging the Bohemian capital. The city underwent a week of heavy artillery bombardment, eventually surrendering to
11635-426: The Empire, they were still legally only electors under the overlordship of the emperor. However, by this time the emperor's authority was only nominal. The rulers of the empire's various territories acted largely as the rulers of sovereign states , and only acknowledged the emperor's suzerainty in a formal way. In addition, the duchy was only the eastern bulk of the region of Prussia; the westernmost fragment constituted
11814-470: The First French Republic and Prussia had stipulated that the latter would ensure the Holy Roman Empire's neutrality in all the latter's territories north of the demarcation line of the River Main , including the British continental dominions of the Electorate of Hanover and the Duchies of Bremen-Verden . To this end, Hanover (including Bremen-Verden) also had to provide troops for the so-called demarcation army maintaining this state of armed neutrality . In
11993-412: The Franco-Bavarian army at the Battle of Pfaffenhofen and drove the allied forces entirely out of Bavaria. After this defeat, Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria (the son of the late Emperor Charles VII) made peace with Maria Theresa by the Treaty of Füssen on 22 April. In the treaty, Maximilian abandoned his father's claims on Austrian lands and promised to support Francis Stephen of Lorraine in
12172-412: The Franco–Bavarian threat from the west could be defeated, Austria intended to resume hostilities in Silesia and drive out the Prussians, restoring the borders of the territories Maria Theresa had inherited. On 7 August Prussia declared its intervention in the Austrian war on behalf of Emperor Charles VII, beginning the Second Silesian War. European warfare in the early modern period was characterised by
12351-484: The French back across the Rhine into Alsace , and occupied Bavaria, exiling Emperor Charles VII to Frankfurt . Prussia's withdrawal from the War of the Austrian Succession under a separate peace embittered its erstwhile allies, and the diplomatic position shifted in Austria's favour. In September 1743 Austria, Britain – Hanover , and Savoy–Sardinia concluded a new alliance under the Treaty of Worms ; Britain had previously recognised Prussia's acquisition of Silesia as
12530-429: The German Empire. The German Empire successfully unified all of the German states aside from Austria and Switzerland under Prussian hegemony due to the defeat of Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. The war united all the German states against a common enemy, and with the victory came an overwhelming wave of nationalism which changed the opinions of some of those who had been against unification. With
12709-410: The German alliances put in place after the Austro-Prussian War, the German states, aside from Austria, came together and swiftly defeated France, even managing to take Napoleon III prisoner (2 September 1870). Even before then, Bismarck was able to complete the work of unifying Germany under Prussian leadership. The patriotic fervour aroused by the war against France overwhelmed the remaining opponents of
12888-444: The German state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. It was the driving force behind the unification of Germany in 1866 and was the leading state of the German Empire until its dissolution in 1918 . Although it took its name from the region called Prussia , it was based in the Margraviate of Brandenburg . Its capital was Berlin . The kings of Prussia were from the House of Hohenzollern . Brandenburg-Prussia , predecessor of
13067-517: The German states, as well as establishing the country as a European great power through the victories of the powerful Prussian Army . Prussia made attempts to unify all the German states (excluding the German cantons in Switzerland ) under its rule, and whether Austria would be included in such a unified German domain became an ongoing question . After the Napoleonic Wars led to the creation of
13246-560: The German states. In 1848, actions taken by Denmark towards the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein led to the First War of Schleswig (1848–51) between Denmark and the German Confederation, resulting in a Danish victory. Frederick William issued Prussia's first constitution by his own authority in 1848, modifying it in the Constitution of 1850 . These documents—moderate by the standards of
13425-520: The Great) came to the throne. Using the pretext of a 1537 treaty (vetoed by Emperor Ferdinand I ) by which parts of Silesia were to pass to Brandenburg after the extinction of its ruling Piast dynasty , Frederick invaded Silesia, thereby beginning the War of the Austrian Succession . After rapidly occupying Silesia, Frederick offered to protect Queen Maria Theresa if the province were turned over to him. The offer
13604-602: The Habsburg Ferdinand I was elected as his successor. After the death of King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia in 1526, Ferdinand I of Austria was elected King of Bohemia and thus ruler of the Crown of Bohemia (including Moravia). The epoch 1526–1620 was marked by increasing animosity between Catholic Habsburg kings (emperors) and the Protestant Moravian nobility (and other Crowns') estates. Moravia, like Bohemia,
13783-660: The Moravian state ceased to exist after being overrun by invading Magyars in 907. Following the defeat of the Magyars by Emperor Otto I at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955, Otto's ally Boleslaus I , the Přemyslid ruler of Bohemia , took control over Moravia. Bolesław I Chrobry of Poland annexed Moravia in 999, and ruled it until 1019, when the Přemyslid prince Bretislaus recaptured it. Upon his father's death in 1034, Bretislaus became
13962-715: The Moravian–Silesian border. As well as agriculture in general, Moravia is noted for its viticulture ; it contains 94% of the Czech Republic's vineyards and is at the centre of the country's wine industry . Wallachia has at least a 400-year-old tradition of slivovitz making. The Czech automotive industry also played a significant role in Moravia's economy in the 20th century; the factories of Wikov in Prostějov and Tatra in Kopřivnice produced many automobiles. Moravia
14141-831: The Nitra culture dating between the years 2100-1800 BC and was published in October 2024. This discovery adds up to other Bronze Age discoveries such as a sword found near the city of Přerov, the sword was called ‘the Excalibur of the Late Bronze Age’. Around 60 BC, the Celtic Volcae people withdrew from the region and were succeeded by the Germanic Quadi . Some of the events of the Marcomannic Wars took place in Moravia in AD 169–180. After
14320-578: The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ceased to exist and a large area (including Warsaw ) to the south and east of East Prussia became part of Prussia. Most of the new territories (and the part of South Prussia north of the Vistula ) were organised into the province of New East Prussia ; South Prussia gained the area immediately south of the Vistula, Narew and Bug , including Warsaw; a small area to
14499-412: The Prussian ambassador to France. Bismarck took office on 23 September 1862. Although Bismarck had a reputation as an unyielding conservative, he initially inclined to seek a compromise over the budget issue. However, William refused to consider it; he viewed defence issues as the crown's personal province. Forced into a policy of confrontation, Bismarck came up with a novel theory. Under the constitution,
14678-637: The Prussian state, ultimately boosting their national self-awareness and eliciting their national resistance against Prussian rule. Following the French Revolution and the Execution of Louis XVI , Prussia declared war on the French First Republic . When Prussian troops attempted to invade France, they were beaten back and the Treaty of Basel (1795) ended the War of the First Coalition . In it,
14857-491: The Prussians on 16 September. Frederick left a modest garrison in Prague and quickly marched on to the south, occupying Tábor , České Budějovice and Hluboká . As expected, this new threat drew the Austrian army under Prince Charles back from Alsace through Bavaria; the French, however, failed to harass and disrupt the Austrian redeployment as they had promised, owing in part to King Louis XV falling seriously ill while overseeing
15036-645: The Prussians were repelled, mainly because of their unsuccessful siege of Brno in 1742. In 1758, Olomouc was besieged by Prussians again, but this time its defenders forced the Prussians to withdraw following the Battle of Domstadtl . In 1777, a new Moravian bishopric was established in Brno, and the Olomouc bishopric was elevated to an archbishopric. In 1782, the Margraviate of Moravia was merged with Austrian Silesia into Moravia-Silesia , with Brno as its capital. Moravia became
15215-469: The Second Silesian War's conclusion as a victory for Prussia, which defended its seizure of Silesia. Prussia's intervention in Bohemia also seriously impeded the Austrian war effort against France. However, by making another separate peace while the French continued to fight the wider War of the Austrian Succession, Frederick damaged his own diplomatic credibility. The Treaty of Dresden also deepened Austria and Saxony's hostility toward Prussia, leading them into
15394-540: The War of the Austrian Succession deepened the French royal court's distrust of him, and his next perceived "betrayal" (a defensive alliance with Britain under the 1756 Convention of Westminster ) accelerated France's eventual realignment toward Austria in the Diplomatic Revolution of the 1750s. The Second Silesian War was a disappointment for Austria, whose armed forces proved surprisingly ineffective against smaller Prussian armies. The Treaty of Dresden formalised
15573-614: The anti-Prussian alliance that would spark the Third Silesian War in the following decade. By again defeating Austria, Prussia confirmed its acquisition of Silesia, a densely industrialised region with a large population and substantial tax yields. The small kingdom's unexpected victories over the Habsburg monarchy marked the beginning of Prussia's rise toward the status of a European great power , as it began to leave German rivals such as Bavaria and Saxony behind. His series of battlefield victories in 1745 won Frederick general acclaim as
15752-451: The archeologist Gnirs, with the support of president Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk , began research on the site, located 80 km from Vindobona and 22 km to the south of Brno. The researchers found remnants of two masonry buildings, a praetorium and a balneum ("bath"), including a hypocaustum . The discovery of bricks with the stamp of the Legio X Gemina and coins from the period of
15931-517: The army of Charles of Lorraine into Moravia, while a Saxon army organised near Leipzig. Frederick abandoned the mountainous southern tip of Upper Silesia to the Austrian vanguard of pandurs , concentrating his defences around the town of Frankenstein in the valley of the Eastern Neisse . Meanwhile, Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau was put in command of a smaller force in Brandenburg to prevent
16110-612: The assault rifles the CZ-805 BREN and Sa vz. 58 , and the handguns CZ 75 and ZVI Kevin (also known as the "Micro Desert Eagle "). The Zlín Region hosts several aircraft manufacturers, namely Let Kunovice (also known as Aircraft Industries, a.s.), ZLIN AIRCRAFT a.s. Otrokovice (formerly known under the name Moravan Otrokovice), Evektor-Aerotechnik , and Czech Sport Aircraft . Sport aircraft are also manufactured in Jihlava by Jihlavan Airplanes / Skyleader . Aircraft production in
16289-537: The beginning of the War of the Austrian Succession: first, she needed to compel a general recognition of the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 and her right to rule the Habsburg lands; second, she wanted to achieve the election of her husband, Francis Stephen of Lorraine , as Holy Roman Emperor; third, she hoped to recover and preserve control of the contested Habsburg crown lands of Bohemia and Silesia. As soon as
16468-717: The behest of the Přemyslid dynasty . Germans continued to come to Moravia in waves, culminating in the 18th century. They lived in the main city centres and in the countryside along the border with Austria (stretching up to Brno) and along the border with Silesia at Jeseníky, and also in two language islands , around Jihlava and around Moravská Třebová . After the World War II , the Czechoslovak government almost fully expelled them in retaliation for their support of Nazi Germany 's invasion and dismemberment of Czechoslovakia (1938–1939) and subsequent German war crimes (1938–1945) towards
16647-525: The beleaguered Habsburg realm, widening the conflict into what became the War of the Austrian Succession . Prussia, France , Spain , Bavaria and others formed an alliance known as the League of Nymphenburg to support each other's efforts to seize Habsburg territory and Bavaria's bid for the imperial election . The allies invaded on multiple fronts in mid-1741, soon occupying Austrian Tyrol , Upper Austria and Bohemia , and even threatening Vienna . Faced with
16826-595: The capital Berlin , which was only 80 km (50 mi) away. The Great Northern War was the first major conflict in which the Kingdom of Prussia was involved. Starting in 1700, the war involved a coalition led by Tsarist Russia against the dominant North European power at the time, the Swedish Empire . Crown Prince Frederick William tried in 1705 to get Prussia involved in the war, stating "best Prussia has her own army and makes her own decisions." His views, however, were not considered acceptable by his father, and
17005-595: The cause in return for cash subsidies from the British and Dutch. This publicly defensive alliance was soon followed by a secret offensive agreement between Austria and Saxony, signed on 18 May in Leipzig , which envisioned a territorial partition of Prussia. Meanwhile, as Austrian forces withdrew from Bavaria to respond to the Prussian invasion of Bohemia, Emperor Charles VII recovered control of his capital at Munich , only to die shortly after relocating there on 20 January, destroying
17184-410: The centre and south), majority of the population identified as Moravians, rather than Czechs. In the census of 2001, the number of Moravians had decreased to 380,000 (3.7% of the country's population). In the census of 2011, this number rose to 522,474 (4.9% of the Czech population). Moravia historically had a large minority of ethnic Germans , some of whom had arrived as early as the 13th century at
17363-554: The course of a few months in 1756–1757, he began a Third Silesian War and initiated the Seven Years' War . This war was a desperate struggle for the Prussian Army, and the fact that it managed to fight much of Europe to a draw bears witness to Frederick's military skills. Facing Austria, Russia , France, and Sweden simultaneously, and with only Hanover (and the non-continental British) as notable allies, Frederick managed to prevent
17542-565: The course of the War of the Second Coalition against France (1799–1802), Napoleon Bonaparte urged Prussia to occupy Hanover. In 1801, 24,000 Prussian soldiers invaded, surprising Hanover, which surrendered without a fight. In April 1801 the Prussian troops arrived in Bremen-Verden's capital Stade and stayed there until October that year. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland first ignored Prussia's hostility, but when it joined
17721-436: The crown of a united Germany. Frederick William refused the offer on the grounds that revolutionary assemblies could not grant royal titles. But he also refused for two other reasons: to do so would have done little to end the internal power-struggle between Austria and Prussia, and all Prussian kings (up to and including William I ) feared that the formation of a German Empire would mean the end of Prussia's independence within
17900-520: The declining Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as new powers in Europe. The Great Elector had incorporated the Junkers , the landed aristocracy, into the kingdom's bureaucracy and military machine, giving them a vested interest in the Prussian Army and compulsory education . King Frederick William I inaugurated the Prussian compulsory conscription system in 1717. In 1740, King Frederick II (Frederick
18079-414: The defence at Metz . Consequently, Prince Charles's army was able to return to Bohemia quickly, in good order and at full strength, though it was forced to abandon control of Alsace and Bavaria. Austrian diplomats also persuaded Saxony to re-enter the conflict on Austria's side, though in a strictly defensive role. By early October the Austrians were advancing through southwestern Bohemia toward Prague, while
18258-459: The dominant state in this new entity, with four-fifths of its territory and population—more than the other members of the confederation combined. Its near-total control was cemented in a constitution written by Bismarck. Executive power was vested in a president —a hereditary office of the rulers of Prussia. He was assisted by a chancellor responsible only to the president. There was also a bicameral parliament. The lower house, or Reichstag (Diet),
18437-531: The driving force behind establishing in 1866 the North German Confederation , transformed in 1871 into the unified German Empire and considered the earliest continual legal predecessor of today's Federal Republic of Germany . The North German Confederation was seen as more of an alliance of military strength in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War but many of its laws were later used in
18616-465: The electors of Brandenburg also inherited the Duchy of Prussia , since 1511 ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hohenzollern. In 1525, Albrecht of Brandenburg , the last grand master of the Teutonic Order , secularized his territory and converted it into a duchy. It was ruled in a personal union with Brandenburg, known as " Brandenburg-Prussia ". A full union was not possible, since Brandenburg
18795-626: The electrical industry in Moravia date back to 1918. The biggest centres of electrical production are Brno ( VUES , ZPA Brno , EM Brno ), Drásov , Frenštát pod Radhoštěm , and Mohelnice (currently Siemens). The Moravians are generally a Slavic ethnic group who speak various (generally more archaic) dialects of Czech . Before the expulsion of Germans from Moravia the Moravian German minority also referred to themselves as "Moravians" ( Mährer ). Those expelled and their descendants continue to identify as Moravian. Some Moravians assert that Moravian
18974-584: The emperors Antoninus Pius , Marcus Aurelius and Commodus facilitated dating of the locality. A variety of Germanic and major Slavic tribes crossed through Moravia during the Migration Period before Slavs established themselves in the 6th century AD. At the end of the 8th century, the Moravian Principality came into being in present-day south-eastern Moravia, Záhorie in south-western Slovakia and parts of Lower Austria . In 833 AD, this became
19153-544: The empire and the Hohenzollerns were fully sovereign over it, he could elevate Prussia to a kingdom. Emperor Leopold I , keen to secure Frederick's support in the impending War of the Spanish Succession , acquiesced. The style "King in Prussia" was adopted to acknowledge the legal fiction that the Hohenzollerns were legally kings only in their former duchy. In Brandenburg and the portions of their domains that were within
19332-511: The empire, they continued to use the additional title of Elector of Brandenburg until the empire was dissolved. It was not until 1772 that the title "King of Prussia" was adopted, following the acquisition of Royal Prussia in the First Partition of Poland . The Kingdom of Prussia was still recovering from the devastation of the Thirty Years' War and poor in natural resources. Its territory
19511-434: The entire area is drained exclusively by a single stream. Morava's far biggest tributaries are Thaya (Dyje) from the right (or west) and Bečva (east). Morava and Thaya meet at the southernmost and lowest (148 m) point of Moravia. Small peripheral parts of Moravia belong to the catchment area of Elbe , Váh and especially Oder (the northeast). The watershed line running along Moravia's border from west to north and east
19690-576: The five lands of Czechoslovakia, it had restricted autonomy. In 1928 Moravia ceased to exist as a territorial unity and was merged with Czech Silesia into the Moravian-Silesian Land (yet with the natural dominance of Moravia). By the Munich Agreement (1938), the southwestern and northern peripheries of Moravia, which had a German-speaking majority, were annexed by Nazi Germany , and during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia (1939–1945),
19869-611: The former Moravian-Silesian Land. The popular perception of the Bohemian-Moravian border's location is distorted by the memory of the 1960 regions (whose boundaries are still partly in use). An area in South Moravia , around Hodonín and Břeclav , is part of the Viennese Basin . Petroleum and lignite are found there in abundance. The main economic centres of Moravia are Brno , Olomouc , Zlín , and Ostrava lying directly on
20048-577: The forthcoming imperial election; in return, Maria Theresa retroactively recognised Charles VII's legitimacy as Holy Roman Emperor. This closed the Bavarian theatre of the War of the Austrian Succession, allowing Austria to concentrate its forces on the remaining fronts in Silesia, Italy, and the Netherlands. Having made peace with Bavaria, in late April Austria prepared for a large-scale invasion of Silesia, moving
20227-408: The fundamental law of the kingdom. However, Bismarck's real plan was an accommodation with liberalism. Although he had opposed German unification earlier in his career, he had now come to believe it inevitable. To his mind, the conservative forces had to take the lead in the drive toward creating a unified nation in order to keep from being eclipsed. He also believed that the middle-class liberals wanted
20406-619: The greater good of Germany. They argued that Prussia, as by far the most powerful state with a majority of German-speakers, was best suited to lead the new nation. The establishment of the German Customs Union ( Zollverein ) in 1834, which excluded Austria, increased Prussian influence over the member states. In the wake of the Revolutions of 1848 , the Frankfurt Parliament in 1849 offered King Frederick William IV of Prussia
20585-454: The idea. While Bismarck wanted Austria to play no future role in German affairs, he foresaw that Austria could be a valuable future ally. With these gains in territory, the Prussian possessions in the Rhineland and Westphalia became geographically connected to the rest of the kingdom for the first time. Counting the de facto annexation of Saxe-Lauenburg, Prussia now stretched uninterrupted across
20764-443: The imperial chancellor was, except for two periods (January–November 1873 and 1892–94) also prime minister of Prussia, this meant that for most of the empire's existence, the king/emperor and prime minister/chancellor had to seek majorities from legislatures elected by two completely different franchises. Moravia Moravia ( Czech : Morava [ˈmorava] ; German : Mähren [ˈmɛːʁən] )
20943-447: The invaders' supply lines, and the Prussians' supplies ran low in the hostile province. By early November the Prussians were forced to retreat to Prague and the Elbe, and after some weeks of manoeuvre an Austrian–Saxon force crossed the Elbe on 19 November. At this point the Prussians abandoned Prague and gave up Bohemia, retreating in poor morale into Upper Silesia , which they defended through
21122-526: The king and the parliament were responsible for agreeing on the budget. Bismarck argued that since they had failed to come to an agreement, there was a "hole" in the constitution, and the government had to continue to collect taxes and disburse funds in accordance with the old budget in order to keep functioning. The government thus operated without a new budget from 1862 to 1866, allowing Bismarck to implement William's military reforms. The liberals violently denounced Bismarck for what they saw as his disregard for
21301-480: The king of Bohemia. The subsequent 21-year period of a divided kingdom was decisive for the rising awareness of a specific Moravian identity, distinct from that of Bohemia. Although Moravia was reunited with Bohemia in 1490 when Vladislaus Jagiellon , king of Bohemia, also became king of Hungary, some attachment to Moravian "freedoms" and resistance to government by Prague continued until the end of independence in 1620. In 1526, Vladislaus' son Louis died in battle and
21480-709: The kingdom was occupied by French troops (at Prussia's expense) and the king was obliged to make an alliance with France and join the Continental System . The Prussian reforms were a reaction to the Prussian defeat in 1806 and the Treaties of Tilsit. It describes a series of constitutional, administrative, social and economic reforms of the kingdom of Prussia. They are sometimes known as the Stein-Hardenberg Reforms after Karl Freiherr vom Stein and Karl August Fürst von Hardenberg , their main instigators. After
21659-457: The kingdom, aside from the provinces of East Prussia , West Prussia , and the autonomous Grand Duchy of Posen but including the formerly Polish Lauenburg and Bütow Land and the Draheim territory , became part of the new German Confederation , a confederacy of 39 sovereign states (including Austria and Bohemia) replacing the defunct Holy Roman Empire. Frederick William III submitted Prussia to
21838-431: The kingdom, became a military power under Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg , known as "The Great Elector". As a kingdom, Prussia continued its rise to power, especially during the reign of Frederick II "the Great" . Frederick the Great was instrumental in starting the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), holding his own against Austria , Russia , France and Sweden and establishing Prussia's dominant role among
22017-494: The leading role in siege warfare . Strategic warfare in this period centred around control of key fortifications positioned so as to command the surrounding regions and roads, with lengthy sieges a common feature of armed conflict. Decisive field battles were relatively rare, though they played a larger part in Frederick's theory of warfare than was typical among his contemporary rivals. The Silesian Wars, like most European wars of
22196-417: The loss of Silesia. When the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle finally ended the wider War of the Austrian Succession in 1748, Maria Theresa's government refused to sign the peace agreement because it guaranteed Prussian sovereignty in the conquered province. Instead, she began a general reform of Austria's military and a review of its diplomatic policy, all aimed at one day recovering Silesia and relegating Prussia to
22375-477: The loss of the Habsburg monarchy's wealthiest province, and defeat by a lesser German prince significantly dented Habsburg prestige. The rest of the Habsburg patrimony in Central Europe was preserved intact, however, and Maria Theresa did win Prussia's retroactive support for her husband's election as Holy Roman Emperor. Despite its defeat, Austria was reluctant to recognise Prussia as a rival power and refused to accept
22554-514: The main Saxon army under Frederick Augustus Rutowsky prepared to attack from western Saxony, hoping together to seize Berlin and end the war outright. On 8 November Frederick was informed of these movements and ordered Leopold I to prepare his troops in western Brandenburg, while Frederick himself departed for Lower Silesia to gather forces to meet Charles's advance. Prussian forces quietly paralleled Prince Charles's march through Lusatia, until
22733-564: The margrave title was restored in 1197 when Vladislaus III of Bohemia resolved the succession dispute between him and his brother Ottokar by abdicating from the Bohemian throne and accepting Moravia as a vassal land of Bohemian (i.e., Prague) rulers. Vladislaus gradually established this land as Margraviate , slightly administratively different from Bohemia. After the Battle of Legnica , the Mongols carried their raids into Moravia. The main line of
22912-764: The mediator of the Treaty of Berlin, but this new alliance made no mention of that guarantee. Meanwhile, the Russo-Swedish War that had paralleled the First Silesian War ended in August 1743, freeing Russia to potentially take Austria's side in the ongoing succession war. The following year, Empress Elizabeth of Russia appointed as her chancellor Alexey Bestuzhev , a proponent of a pro-British and anti-French policy that entailed friendship to Austria and enmity to Prussia. Prussia sought warmer relations with Russia and briefly won
23091-469: The most in taxes) included 4% of voters and the third class (with those who paid the least) had 82%, yet each group chose the same number of electors. The system all but assured dominance by the more well-to-do men of the population. The upper house, later renamed the Herrenhaus ("House of Lords"), was appointed by the king. He retained full executive authority, and ministers were responsible only to him. As
23270-407: The next day and occupying that city. From there, his army and Frederick's converged toward Dresden in early December. Frederick's force attempted to come between the Saxon capital and Prince Charles's Austrians, while Leopold's army advanced directly upon Rutowsky's Saxons, who were entrenched beside the village of Kesselsdorf . On 15 December Leopold's force attacked and destroyed Rutowsky's army in
23449-458: The north, a service for which the Emperor committed to cede the portions of Bohemia northeast of the Elbe to Prussia. Meanwhile, the main Austrian force under Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine would be occupied by the French in Alsace, where the French would counterattack on the opposite front as Prince Charles's army was pulled in two directions. Maria Theresa pursued the same goals she had from
23628-459: The northern two-thirds of Germany. It would remain at this size until the overthrow of the monarchy in 1918. Bismarck used this opportunity to end the budget dispute with parliament. He proposed a bill of indemnity granting him retroactive approval for governing without a legal budget. He guessed, correctly as it turned out, that this would lead to a split between his liberal adversaries. While some of them argued that there could be no compromise with
23807-526: The only city to successfully resist the Swedish invasion, Brno become the sole capital following the capture of Olomouc. The Margraviate of Moravia had, from 1348 in Olomouc and Brno, its own Diet, or parliament , zemský sněm ( Landtag in German), whose deputies from 1905 onward were elected separately from the ethnically separate German and Czech constituencies. The oldest surviving theatre building in Central Europe,
23986-481: The part of Royal Prussia east of Vistula, held along with the title King of Prussia by the King of Poland . While the personal union between Brandenburg and Prussia legally continued until the end of the empire in 1806, from 1701 onward, Brandenburg was de facto treated as an integral part of the kingdom. Since the Hohenzollerns were nominally still subjects of the emperor within the parts of their domains that were part of
24165-572: The partially reluctant Lutheran majority formed the united Protestant Evangelical Church in Prussia . However, ensuing quarrels causing a permanent schism among the Lutherans into united and Old Lutherans by 1830. As a consequence of the Revolutions of 1848 , the Principalities of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and Hohenzollern-Hechingen (ruled by a Catholic cadet branch of the House of Hohenzollern) were annexed by Prussia in 1850, later united as
24344-532: The principle of constitutional government, most of the liberals decided to support the bill in hopes of winning more freedom in the future. The German Confederation was dissolved as part of the war. In its place, Prussia cajoled the 21 states north of the Main into forming the North German Confederation in 1866. Prussia entered the Confederation as a whole (including the East Prussian cradle of its statehood, as well as its share of dismembered Poland consisting of Province of Posen and West Prussia ), thus becoming
24523-529: The pro-French Second League of Armed Neutrality alongside Denmark–Norway and Russia, Britain started to capture Prussian sea vessels. After the Battle of Copenhagen the coalition fell apart and Prussia again withdrew its troops. At Napoleon's instigation, Prussia recaptured British Hanover and Bremen-Verden in early 1806. On 6 August that year the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved as a result of Napoleon's victories over Austria . The title of Kurfürst ( Prince-elector ) of Brandenburg became meaningless, and
24702-746: The quaternary sector, focusing on science, research, and education. Notable projects include AdMaS (Advanced Materials, Structures, and Technologies) and CETOCOEN (Center for Research on Toxic Substances in the Environment). The machinery industry has been the most important industrial sector in the region, especially in South Moravia , for many decades. The main centres of machinery production are Brno ( Zbrojovka Brno , Zetor , První brněnská strojírna , Siemens ), Blansko ( ČKD Blansko , Metra), Kuřim ( TOS Kuřim ), Boskovice (Minerva, Novibra ) and Břeclav ( Otis Elevator Company ). A number of other, smaller machinery and machine parts factories, companies, and workshops are spread over Moravia. The beginnings of
24881-403: The rationale behind Frederick's alliance. These events combined to produce a major shift in the direction of the war in Germany. With Prussia's forces driven out of Bohemia, Austria renewed its offensive against Bavaria in March 1745, swiftly over-running the defences that had been re-established there during the winter. On 15 April the Austrians under Károly József Batthyány decisively defeated
25060-550: The region by the Paleolithic period. The Předmostí archeological ( Cro-magnon ) site in Moravia is dated to between 24,000 and 27,000 years old. Caves in Moravian Karst were used by mammoth hunters . Venus of Dolní Věstonice , the oldest ceramic figure in the world, was found in the excavation of Dolní Věstonice by Karel Absolon . In November 2024 a new discovery was made on the outskirts of Brno, where bones of at least three mammoths were found along with other animals and human stone tools dating back 15,000 years. During
25239-612: The region started in the 1930s; after a period of low production post-1989, there have been signs of recovery post-2010, and production is expected to grow from 2013 onwards. Companies with operations in Brno include Gen Digital , which maintains one of its headquarters there and continues to use the brand AVG Technologies , as well as Kyndryl (Client Innovation Centre), AT&T , and Honeywell (Global Design Center). Other significant companies include Siemens , Red Hat (Czech headquarters), and an office of Zebra Technologies . In recent years, Brno's economy has seen growth in
25418-435: The region. In 1945 after the Allied defeat of Germany and the end of World War II, the German minority was expelled to Germany and Austria in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement . The Moravian-Silesian Land was restored with Moravia as part of it and towns and villages that were left by the former German inhabitants, were re-settled by Czechs, Slovaks and reemigrants. In 1949 the territorial division of Czechoslovakia
25597-633: The remnant of Moravia was an administrative unit within the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia . During World War II , the Germans operated multiple forced labour camps in the region, including several subcamps of the Stalag VIII-B/344 prisoner-of-war camp for Allied POWs, a subcamp of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Brno for mostly Polish prisoners, and a subcamp of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp in Bílá Voda for Jewish women. The occupiers also established several POW camps, including Heilag VIII-H, Oflag VIII-F and Oflag VIII-H, for French , British, Belgian and other Allied POWs in
25776-671: The rest of lands of the Bohemian Crown) was administered by the landfriedens ( landfrýdy ). The rule of young Ladislaus the Posthumous subsisted only less than five years and subsequently (1458) the Hussite George of Poděbrady was elected as the king. He again reunited all Czech lands (then Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Upper & Lower Lusatia) into one-man ruled state. In 1466, Pope Paul II excommunicated George and forbade all Catholics (i.e. about 15% of population) from continuing to serve him. The Hungarian crusade followed and in 1469 Matthias Corvinus conquered Moravia and proclaimed himself (with assistance of rebelling Bohemian nobility ) as
25955-414: The retreating Austrian–Saxon army into Bohemia, harassing its rear as far as Königgrätz , where the two forces camped on opposite sides of the Elbe. The armies faced off but fought little during the next two months, while Frederick pursued a peace agreement that would again guarantee his control of Silesia. Britain's willingness to subsidise Austria's war against Prussia was greatly reduced by the outbreak of
26134-404: The return of spring. Frederick led Prussian soldiers across the frontier into Bohemia on 15 August 1744. The invading army of around 70,000 men entered Bohemia in three columns: the eastern column, led by Count Kurt von Schwerin , advanced from Silesia through Glatz and across the Giant Mountains ; the central column, led by Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau , marched through Saxony (with an order from
26313-444: The ruler of Bohemia. In 1055, he decreed that Bohemia and Moravia would be inherited together by primogeniture , although he also provided that his younger sons should govern parts (quarters) of Moravia as vassals to his oldest son. Throughout the Přemyslid era, junior princes often ruled all or part of Moravia from Olomouc , Brno or Znojmo , with varying degrees of autonomy from the ruler of Bohemia. Dukes of Olomouc often acted as
26492-428: The same man until the end of the monarchy. Bismarck's new empire was the most powerful state on the Continent. Prussia's dominance over the new empire was almost as absolute as it was with the North German Confederation. It included two-thirds of the empire's territory and three-fifths of its population. The imperial crown was a hereditary office of the House of Hohenzollern. Prussia also had a large plurality of seats in
26671-461: The south of South Prussia became New Silesia . With the Polish-Lithuanian state gone Prussia now shared its eastern borders with the Habsburg monarchy ( West Galicia ) and Russia ( Russian partition ). The Partitions were facilitated by the fact that they occurred just before the 19th-century rise of nationalism in Europe, and the national self-awareness was yet to be developed in most European peoples, especially among commoners. The Kingdom of Prussia
26850-418: The south). The Thaya river meanders along the border with Austria and the tripoint of Moravia, Austria and Slovakia is at the confluence of the Thaya and Morava rivers. The northeast border with Silesia runs partly along the Moravice , Oder and Ostravice rivers. Between 1782 and 1850, Moravia (also thus known as Moravia-Silesia ) also included a small portion of the former province of Silesia –
27029-408: The southeast, Poland very shortly in the north, and Czech Silesia in the northeast. Its natural boundary is formed by the Sudetes mountains in the north, the Carpathians in the east and the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands in the west (the border runs from Králický Sněžník in the north, over Suchý vrch , across Upper Svratka Highlands and Javořice Highlands to tripoint nearby Slavonice in
27208-454: The state of Great Moravia with the conquest of the Principality of Nitra (present-day Slovakia). Their first king was Mojmír I (ruled 830–846). Louis the German invaded Moravia and replaced Mojmír I with his nephew Rastiz who became St. Rastislav. St. Rastislav (846–870) tried to emancipate his land from the Carolingian influence , so he sent envoys to Rome to get missionaries to come. When Rome refused he turned to Constantinople to
27387-552: The status of a lesser power. This policy eventually led to the formation of a broad anti-Prussian alliance between Austria, France and Russia, followed by the outbreak of the Third Silesian War and the wider Seven Years' War in 1756. The struggle with Prussia would become the driving factor behind wide-ranging efforts to modernise the Habsburg monarchy over the next half century. Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia ( German : Königreich Preußen , pronounced [ˈkøːnɪkʁaɪç ˈpʁɔʏsn̩] ) constituted
27566-409: The time but conservative by today's—provided for a two-chamber parliament, the Landtag . The lower house, later known as the Abgeordnetenhaus , was elected by all males over the age of 25 using the Prussian three-class franchise . Voters were divided into three classes whose votes were weighted according to the amount of taxes paid. In one typical election, the first class (with those who paid
27745-420: The very east, with Smrk (1278 m), and then south from here Javorníky (1072). The White Carpathians along the southeastern border rise up to 970 m at Velká Javořina . The spacious, but moderate Bohemian-Moravian Highlands on the west reach 837 m at Javořice . The fluvial system of Moravia is very cohesive, as the region border is similar to the watershed of the Morava river, and thus almost
27924-479: The war elsewhere was concluded. Frederick decided that Prussia must restore its French alliance, build an anti-Austrian coalition with as many other German princes as possible, and then re-enter the war by striking first against Austria. So, in late 1743 and early 1744 Prussia conducted negotiations with France, Bavaria and other German princes to build a coalition to support the Emperor. On 22 May 1744 Prussia formed an alliance with Bavaria, Sweden , Hesse–Kassel and
28103-402: The war exposed the weakness of Rome's northern frontier , half of the Roman legions (16 out of 33) were stationed along the Danube . In response to increasing numbers of Germanic settlers in frontier regions like Pannonia , Dacia , Rome established two new frontier provinces on the left shore of the Danube, Marcomannia and Sarmatia , including today's Moravia and western Slovakia . In
28282-423: The westernmost part of the Outer Subcarpathia , the last is the northernmost part of the Vienna Basin . The valleys surround the low range of Central Moravian Carpathians . The highest mountains of Moravia are situated on its northern border in Hrubý Jeseník , the highest peak is Praděd (1491 m). Second highest is the massive of Králický Sněžník (1424 m) the third are the Moravian-Silesian Beskids at
28461-450: The wider War of the Austrian Succession . It was the second of three Silesian Wars fought between Frederick the Great 's Prussia and Maria Theresa 's Austria in the mid-18th century, all three of which ended in Prussian control of Silesia. The conflict has been viewed as a continuation of the First Silesian War , which had concluded only two years before. After the Treaty of Berlin ended hostilities between Austria and Prussia in 1742,
28640-546: The widespread adoption of firearms in combination with more traditional bladed weapons . 18th-century European armies were built around units of massed infantry armed with smoothbore flintlock muskets and bayonets . Cavalrymen were equipped with sabres and pistols or carbines ; light cavalry were used principally for reconnaissance , screening and tactical communications , while heavy cavalry were used as tactical reserves and deployed for shock attacks . Smoothbore artillery provided fire support and played
28819-454: The winter against Austrian incursions. On 8 January 1745 Austria further strengthened its diplomatic position with the Treaty of Warsaw , which established a new "Quadruple Alliance" between Austria, Britain–Hanover, Saxony, and the Dutch Republic , aimed at opposing the League of Frankfurt and restoring the traditional borders of the Habsburg Monarchy. Prince-Elector Frederick Augustus II of Poland–Saxony now committed 30,000 troops to
28998-475: Was a Habsburg possession until the end of World War I . In 1573 the Jesuit University of Olomouc was established; this was the first university in Moravia. The establishment of a special papal seminary, Collegium Nordicum, made the University a centre of the Catholic Reformation and effort to revive Catholicism in Central and Northern Europe. The second largest group of students were from Scandinavia . Brno and Olomouc served as Moravia's capitals until 1641. As
29177-517: Was able to instruct the Prussian delegates to the Bundesrat. The southern German states (except Austria) were forced to accept military alliances with Prussia, and Prussia began steps to merge them with the North German Confederation. Bismarck's planned Kleindeutschland unification of Germany had come considerably closer to realisation. The final act came with the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871), where Bismarck maneuvered Emperor Napoleon III of France into declaring war on Prussia. Activating
29356-480: Was crushed, and Prussia annexed four of its smaller allies—the Kingdom of Hanover , the Electorate of Hesse , the Duchy of Nassau and the Free City of Frankfurt . Prussia also annexed Schleswig and Holstein, and also effectively annexed Saxe-Lauenburg by forcing it into a personal union with Prussia (which was turned into a full union in 1876). King William initially wanted to take territory from Austria itself and annex Saxony, but Bismarck persuaded him to abandon
29535-464: Was disjointed, stretching 1,200 km (750 mi) from the lands of the Duchy of Prussia on the south-east coast of the Baltic Sea to the Hohenzollern heartland of Brandenburg , with the exclaves of Cleves , Mark and Ravensberg in the Rhineland . In 1708 about one third of the population of East Prussia died during the Great Northern War plague outbreak . The bubonic plague reached Prenzlau in August 1710 but receded before it could reach
29714-486: Was dropped. Nonetheless, King Frederick William III was now de jure as well as de facto sovereign of all of the Hohenzollern domains. Before this time, the Hohenzollern sovereign had held many titles and crowns, from Supreme Governor of the Protestant Churches ( summus episcopus ) to King, Elector, Grand Duke, Duke for the various regions and realms under his rule. After 1806 he was simply King of Prussia and summus episcopus . But when Prussia, after it turned against
29893-476: Was elected by universal male suffrage. The upper house, or Bundesrat (Federal Council) was appointed by the state governments. The Bundesrat was, in practice, the stronger chamber. Prussia had 17 of 43 votes and could easily control proceedings through alliances with the other states. For all intents and purposes, Bismarck dominated the new grouping. He served as his own foreign minister for virtually his entire tenure as prime minister of Prussia, and in that capacity
30072-507: Was essentially an enlarged Prussian army, and the embassies of the new empire were mostly old Prussian embassies. The Constitution of the German Empire was essentially an amended version of the constitution of the North German Confederation. However, the seeds for future problems lay in a gross disparity between the imperial and Prussian systems. The empire granted the vote to all men over 25, although Prussia retained its three-class franchise , in which votes were weighted by taxes paid. Since
30251-424: Was in 1410 elected the Holy Roman King but died in 1411 (he is buried with his father in the Church of St. Thomas in Brno – the Moravian capital from which they both ruled). Moravia and Bohemia remained within the Luxembourg dynasty of Holy Roman kings and emperors (except during the Hussite wars ), until inherited by Albert II of Habsburg in 1437. After his death followed the interregnum until 1453; land (as
30430-403: Was not until 1713 that Frederick William ascended to the throne. Therefore, in 1715, Prussia, led by Frederick William, joined the coalition for various reasons, including the danger of being attacked from both her rear and the sea; her claims on Pomerania ; and the fact that if she stood aside and Sweden lost, she would not get a share of the territory. Prussia only participated in one battle,
30609-470: Was one of the five lands of Czechoslovakia founded in 1918. In 1928 it was merged with Czech Silesia , and then dissolved in 1948 during the abolition of the land system following the communist coup d'état . Its area of 22,623.41 km is home to about 3.0 million of the Czech Republic's 10.9 million inhabitants. The people are historically named Moravians , a subgroup of Czechs , the other group being called Bohemians . The land takes its name from
30788-478: Was only roughly alike the historical state and, chiefly, there was no land or federal autonomy, unlike Slovakia. After the fall of the Soviet Union and the whole Eastern Bloc , the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly condemned the cancellation of Moravian-Silesian land and expressed "firm conviction that this injustice will be corrected" in 1990. However, after the breakup of Czechoslovakia into Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993, Moravian area remained integral to
30967-543: Was organised the following year into the Province of West Prussia ; most of the rest became the originally separate Netze District , which was attached to West Prussia in 1775. The boundary between West Prussia and the territory previously known as the Duchy of Prussia, now the Province of East Prussia was also adjusted, transferring Marienwerder to West Prussia (which became its capital) and Warmia (the Heilsberg and Braunsberg [ de ] districts) to East Prussia. The annexed territory connected East Prussia with
31146-417: Was perceived in Poland more as a nationality-neutral personal holding of the ruling House of Hohenzollern , rather than a German nation-state, and any anxiety concerned predominantly freedom to practice religion rather than rights to maintain national identity. The onset of Germanisation in the following decades, later joined by the Kulturkampf , quickly changed this benign picture and alienated Poles from
31325-521: Was radically changed, as the Moravian-Silesian Land was abolished and Lands were replaced by " kraje " (regions), whose borders substantially differ from the historical Bohemian-Moravian border, so Moravia politically ceased to exist after more than 1100 years (833–1949) of its history. Although another administrative reform in 1960 implemented (among others) the North Moravian and the South Moravian regions ( Severomoravský and Jihomoravský kraj ), with capitals in Ostrava and Brno respectively, their joint area
31504-441: Was rejected, but Austria faced several other opponents in a desperate struggle for survival, and Frederick was eventually able to gain formal cession with the Treaty of Berlin in 1742. To the surprise of many, Austria managed to renew the war successfully. In 1744 Frederick invaded again to forestall reprisals and to claim, this time, the Kingdom of Bohemia . He failed, but French pressure on Austria's ally Great Britain led to
31683-399: Was soundly defeated and surrendered both Schleswig and Holstein, to Prussia and Austria respectively. The divided administration of Schleswig and Holstein then became the trigger for the Austro-Prussian War of 1866—also known as the Seven Weeks' War. Prussia, allied with the Kingdom of Italy and various northern German states, declared war on the Austrian Empire. The Austrian-led coalition
31862-462: Was still legally part of the Holy Roman Empire and the Duchy of Prussia was a fief of Poland . The Teutonic Order had paid homage to Poland since 1466, and the Hohenzollerns continued to pay homage after secularizing Ducal Prussia. In the course of the Second Northern War , the treaties of Labiau and Wehlau-Bromberg granted the Hohenzollerns full sovereignty over the Prussian duchy by September 1657. In return for an alliance against France in
32041-445: Was the decisive factor in many wars, as armies had grown too large to support themselves on prolonged campaigns by foraging and plunder alone. Military supplies were stored in centralised magazines and distributed by baggage trains that were highly vulnerable to enemy raids. Armies were generally unable to sustain combat operations during winter and normally established winter quarters in the cold season, resuming their campaigns with
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