Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1671
Berlin's first Jewish community forms with just a few families arriving from Vienna at
the invitation of the Great Elector. It grows to more than 1000 people by 1700.
1685
Friedrich Wilhelm issues the Edict of Potsdam, allowing French Huguenot religious
refugees to settle in Berlin, giving a 10-year tax break and granting them the right to
hold services.
1694
Elector Friedrich III founds the Akademie der Künste, Berlin oldest and most prestigi-
ous arts institution.
1701
Brandenburg becomes a kingdom, with Berlin as its capital, when Elector Friedrich III
has himself crowned King Friedrich I.
1730
The future king Frederick the Great is caught trying to desert to England along with a
friend. Frederick's father orders the friend's execution and makes his son watch.
1740
Frederick the Great, the philosopher king, turns Berlin into 'Athens on the Spree', a
centre of the Enlightenment and an architectural showcase; French is the language of
the elite.
1806
After defeating Prussia, Napoleon leads his troops on a triumphant march through the
Brandenburg Gate, marking the start of a two-year occupation of Berlin.
1810
After the Napoleonic occupation ends, Berlin embarks on a period of reconstruction
and reform that includes the creation of its first university by Wilhelm von Humboldt.
1830
