Zwischen Ost und West: Kultur und Politik in PreußenKöniglich-Polnischen Anteils im Zeitalter der Aufklärung

In traditional historiography on Polish-Prussian relations, the eighteenth century was dominated by the partitions of Poland and the growing influence of King Frederick II of Prussia's political hankering after the Royal Prussian province under the Polish Crown. In doing so, the impulses emanating from the political and intellectual culture of Poland that influenced Royal Prussia during the Enlightenment are often overlooked – influences not only on the countryside and the nobility, but also on the three large cities of Danzig, Thorn and Elbing with their large groups of German-speaking burghers. Many new settlers had moved into in Royal Prussia since the 1720s, especially from the territories of the Holy Roman Empire, and adapted to the extensive bilingualism, which was also widespread in the cities. This essay focuses on several key figures and moments of the Royal Prussian Enlightenment, and contextualises them within Polish, German and local enlightenment movements.