In 1308, the Teutonic Knights conquered the region of Pomerelia with Danzig (modern-day Gdańsk). The name Prussia derives from the Old Prussians in the 13th century, the Teutonic Knights – an organized Catholic medieval military order of German crusaders – conquered the lands inhabited by them. Prussia, with its capital at Königsberg and then, when it became the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701, Berlin, decisively shaped the history of Germany.
For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, expanding its size with the Prussian Army. It was de facto dissolved by an emergency decree transferring powers of the Prussian government to German Chancellor Franz von Papen in 1932 and de jure by an Allied decree in 1947. It formed the German Empire when it united the German states in 1871. Prussia ( / ˈ p r ʌ ʃ ə/ German: Preußen, pronounced ⓘ, Old Prussian: Prūsa or Prūsija) was a German state located on most of the North European Plain, also occupying southern and eastern regions. ^ The position of Ministerpräsident was introduced in 1792 when Prussia was a Kingdom the Minister-Presidents shown here are the heads of the Prussian republic.For more information, see individual Prussian state articles (links in above History section). ^ The heads of state listed here are the first and last to hold each title over time.