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of four million thalers, causing city president Kirchstein to faint on the spot. his was
later reduced to 1.5 million when it was discovered that the city coffers were empty.
Berlin was eventually relieved by Frederick, who, with British aid, went on to win the
war (if only by default) after Russia and France fell out. A general peace was concluded
in 1763 and victory confirmed Prussia's power in Central Europe, but keeping the
peace meant maintaining a huge standing army.
Besides direct taxation, Frederick raised money by establishing state monopolies in
the trade of coffee, salt and tobacco. Citizens were actually required to buy set
quantities of these commodities whether they wanted them or not. hus were born
some of Berlin's most celebrated dishes: sauerkraut, Kassler Rippchen (salted pork ribs)
and pickled gherkins were all invented by people desperate to use up their accumulated
salt. Popular discontent was mu ed by Frederick's secret police and press censorship .
Unter den Linden came into its own during Frederick's reign, as grandiose new edifices
like the Alte Bibliothek sprang up. Just off the great boulevard, the Französischer Dom
was built to serve the needs of the Huguenot population, while the construction of
Schloss Bellevue in the Tiergarten sparked off a new building boom, as the wealthy
flocked into this newly fashionable area.
Decline and occupation
After Frederick's death Prussia went into a decline , culminating in the defeat of its
once-invincible army by French revolutionaries at the Battle of Valmy in 1792. he
decline went unchecked under Friedrich Wilhelm II (1744-97), continuing into the
Napoleonic era. As Bonaparte's empire spread across Europe, the Prussian court
dithered, appeasing the French and trying to delay the inevitable invasion. Life in
Berlin continued more or less as normal, but by August 1806 citizens were watching
Prussian soldiers set off on the march west to engage Napoleonic forces. On September
19, the king and queen left the city, followed a month later by Count von der
Schulenburg, the city governor, who had assured Berliners that all was going well
right up until he learned of Prussia's defeat at Jena and Auerstadt.
Five days later French troops marched through the Brandenburg Gate and Berlin was
occupied. On October 27, 1806, Napoleon himself arrived to head a parade down
Unter den Linden - greeted as a liberator by the Berliners, according to some accounts.
French occupation forced state reform: ministries were streamlined, nobles could
engage in trade and guild membership became more accessible. And during this time
Berlin embraced the Romantic movement - a rebellious celebration of German spirit
and tradition in opposition to the cold rationality of the French Enlightenment. From
the movement sprouted notions of what it meant to be German and the idea that all
Germans should be unified in a single state - though this wouldn't happen until 1871.
The rebirth of Prussia
After his defeats in Russia and at the 1813 Battle of Leipzig, Napoleon's empire began
to collapse, allowing Prussia to pull out of their forced alliance and resume self-rule.
Symbolically, the Quadriga (the Goddess of Victory in her chariot) was restored to the
Brandenburg Gate, but despite high hopes for reform the people of Berlin gained only
the promise of a constitution for Prussia, which never materialized. Otherwise the
pre-Napoleonic status quo was restored, and the real victor was the Prussian state ,
1539
1576
The city becomes o cially Lutheran.
Nearly five thousand inhabitants of Berlin are wiped out by the
bubonic plague.
 
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