Frederick the Great (1712-1786)

Johann Georg Ziesenis, Frederick the Great, 1763/64
SPSG GK I 1216, Photo: Wolfgang Pfauder

Frederick the Great, born in Berlin in 1712, was King of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was an extraordinarily multi-faceted monarch. As ‘Philosopher King’ he developed a complex friendship with Voltaire, while his bold military campaigns had a major impact on the European political landscape. He shaped his own posthumous reputation by means of historiography, put Berlin on the cultural map as a patron of the arts, and pursued his passion for music as an accomplished flautist.

This website was established on the occasion of his tercentenary, which was marked by a range of events at the University of Oxford, and the launch of a research project in the Electronic Enlightenment.

German press coverage of the tercentenary events in Oxford