Margraviate of Brandenburg

March/Margraviate of Brandenburg Mark/Markgrafschaft Brandenburg (German)
1157–1806
Top: Flag or naval ensign c. 1684 (based on L. Verschuier's painting[2]) Bottom: Flag 1660–1750 used by Hohenzollerns Coat of arms as Electorate[1]
Margraviate of Brandenburg within the Holy Roman Empire (1618)
Status	State of the Holy Roman Empire Imperial elector (1356–1806) Crown land of the Bohemian Crown (1373–1415)
Capital	Brandenburg an der Havel (1157–1417) Berlin (1417–1806)
Common languages	Low German, Lüneburg Wendish
Religion	Dominant confession among the population was Roman Catholic until the 1530s, then Lutheran. Elector was Roman Catholic until 1539, then Lutheran until 1613, and then Reformed.
Government	Monarchy
Margrave
• 1157–70	Albert the Bear (first) 1417
• 1797–1806	Frederick William III (last)
History
• Established	3 October 1157
• Raised to Electorate	25 December 1356
• Brandenburg-Prussia	27 August 1618
• Kingdom of Prussia	18 January 1701
• Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire	6 August 1806
Preceded by Succeeded by Northern March Lutician federation Brandenburg-Küstrin Prince-Bishopric of Brandenburg Province of Brandenburg

The Margraviate of Brandenburg (German: Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe.

Brandenburg developed out of the Northern March founded in the territory of the Slavic Wends. It derived one of its names from this inheritance, the March of Brandenburg (Mark Brandenburg). Its ruling margraves were established as prestigious prince-electors in the Golden Bull of 1356, allowing them to vote in the election of the Holy Roman Emperor. The state thus became additionally known as Electoral Brandenburg or the Electorate of Brandenburg (Kurbrandenburg or Kurfürstentum Brandenburg).

The House of Hohenzollern came to the throne of Brandenburg in 1415. In 1417, Frederick I moved its capital from Brandenburg an der Havel to Berlin. By 1535, the electorate had an area of some 10,000 square miles (26,000 km²) and a population of 400,000.^[3] Under Hohenzollern leadership, Brandenburg grew rapidly in power during the 17th century and inherited the Duchy of Prussia. The resulting Brandenburg-Prussia was the predecessor of the Kingdom of Prussia, which became a leading German state during the 18th century. Although the electors' highest title was "King in/of Prussia", their power base remained in Brandenburg and its capital Berlin.

The Margraviate of Brandenburg ended with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. It was replaced after the Napoleonic Wars with the Prussian Province of Brandenburg in 1815. The Hohenzollern Kingdom of Prussia was the primary driving force behind the unification of Germany. The Prussian-dominated North German Confederation later transformed in 1871 into the German Empire; it was the legal predecessor of the united German Reich of 1871–1945, and as such a direct ancestor of the present-day Federal Republic of Germany,