Preussische Staatsbank

The Preussische Staatsbank was a Prussian state-owned financial and commercial institution whose origins lay in the Seehandlungsgesellschaft, established in Berlin on 14 October 1772 at the initiative of Frederick the Great. It was initially intended to strengthen Prussia’s foreign trade, particularly through maritime commerce, state-backed shipping, salt distribution and the export of goods. Over time, changing political and economic conditions transformed it from a mercantile enterprise into an instrument of public finance and, eventually, a full-service state bank. The original Seehandlung received exclusive or preferential rights in several areas of trade. It handled sea salt, participated in the wax trade along the Vistula, operated ships under the Prussian flag and maintained commercial connections with ports and trading centers including Cádiz, Hamburg, Amsterdam and Warsaw. The organization also invested in shipbuilding. It established shipyards in Szczecin and operated a fleet that at one point numbered as many as fourteen vessels. Its maritime and commercial ambitions were constrained by the partitions of Poland, the Napoleonic Wars and the broader difficulties of Prussian overseas trade. These pressures encouraged a gradual shift toward finance, state debt administration and transactions conducted on behalf of the government. After Prussia’s defeat by France in 1806, the institution became increasingly important in arranging and servicing public obligations. It operated under the control of the Prussian Ministry of Finance from 1807. A major constitutional change followed on 17 January 1820, when the Seehandlung became an independent state financial and commercial entity with unlimited legal capacity. The government guaranteed its obligations and assigned it responsibilities that included overseas state payments, collection of funds due abroad, foreign procurement and the servicing of external debt. Its profits were subsequently accumulated as capital and reserves rather than routinely transferred to the treasury, allowing the state to draw on those resources in exceptional circumstances. The institution continued to support commercial and industrial development during the nineteenth century. It helped move Silesian textiles to markets in Central and South America, sponsored long-distance voyages and participated in ventures connected with roads, railways, shipbuilding and inland navigation. From 1831 it operated steamship services on waterways around Berlin and built vessels at its Moabit industrial works. The construction of the iron-hulled steamer Prinz Carl in 1834–1835 represented an important local engineering experiment, although the steamship business was persistently unprofitable. The shipping fleet was wound down from 1848, and the Moabit industrial operation was sold to August Borsig in 1850. A decree of 14 February 1845 formally redirected the organization away from new commercial ventures and toward state banking. Salt trading was transferred to the tax authorities, while the Seehandlung gradually reduced its mercantile activities. Some trading, manufacturing and transport operations continued for a time, but banking and public finance became its central functions. In 1904 it adopted the designation Königliche Seehandlung (Preußische Staatsbank), and in 1918 it became known as the Preußische Staatsbank (Seehandlung). By then it operated across the principal fields of banking and served as a major financial instrument of the Prussian state. During the twentieth century, particularly by the 1930s, the bank came under the dominant influence of the Reichsbank. It remained active until the end of the Second World War. The dissolution of Prussia in the postwar period left the institution without its former political framework. It became dormant in 1947 and was ultimately liquidated in 1983. Remaining assets were transferred to Berliner Pfandbriefbank, while a smaller portion contributed to the foundatio…

The institution began on 14 October 1772 in Berlin as the Generaldirektion der Seehandlungs-Sozietät, commonly called the Seehandlungsgesellschaft or Seehandlung. Frederick the Great supported its creation by acquiring a large block of shares, while a smaller number were sold to private investors. Its purpose was to expand Prussia’s participation in maritime and international commerce. The company received privileges concerning sea salt and wax, traded under the Prussian flag and established overseas representation, including an agent in Cádiz. A related salt-trading company, the Preußische Compagnie, was created on the same day and was later combined with the Seehandlung. The company expanded its commercial reach during the late eighteenth century. It maintained agents in Hamburg, Amsterdam and Warsaw, built or operated maritime facilities in Szczecin and possessed a fleet of up to fourteen ships. It also supported ship construction, including vessels produced at Havelberg. Initial performance was weak, but the organization improved under Friedrich Wilhelm von der Schulenburg-Kehnert and benefited from broader trading privileges. The Third Partition of Poland reduced the market for its salt business, while the Napoleonic Wars disrupted Prussian commerce. These developments accelerated the Seehandlung’s move toward financial operations. After Prussia’s defeat by France in 1806, public borrowing and reparations made financial administration particularly important. From 1807 the Seehandlung was controlled by the Prussian Ministry of Finance. The settlement of 17 January 1820 gave it independent legal capacity and defined it as a state financial and commercial institution. It was authorized to conduct Prussian financial business abroad, pay external obligations, collect money owed to the state, purchase foreign goods and retain special rights connected with overseas salt procurement. Prussia guaranteed its obligations and supervised it through a three-member board of state officials. A 1821 arrangement directed profits into the institution’s capital and reserve fund, which could be used for public purposes in exceptional circumstances. The Seehandlung remained involved in economic development. From 1822 it exported Silesian textiles to Central and South America. Its maritime activity produced a series of long-distance voyages, including a circumnavigation by the Mentor in 1822–1824 and later voyages by the Princess Louise. It encouraged shipbuilding by acquiring the American schooner brig Christian as a model for Prussian builders. The institution also invested in or promoted road construction, railway development and other enterprises. In 1831 it assumed steamship services in the Berlin area and began constructing inland vessels. Its Moabit mechanical works and iron foundry were expanded with a shipyard, where the iron-hulled Prinz Carl was built in 1834–1835. The steamship operation generated continuing losses, but was retained for strategic and developmental reasons. The fleet’s dissolution began in 1848, and the Moabit industrial works were sold to August Borsig in 1850. A decree dated 14 February 1845 marked the decisive transition to banking. The Seehandlung was instructed not to undertake new commercial ventures, and salt trading was transferred to the tax administration. It gradually withdrew from merchandise trading, though some wine, flour, wool, textile, metalworking and transport activities survived for years. Its principal role became that of a state bank subordinate to the Finance Ministry. The institution was renamed Königliche Seehandlung (Preußische Staatsbank) in 1904 and Preußische Staatsbank (Seehandlung) in 1918. It conducted broad banking activities until 1945. During the 1930s it came increasingly under the influence of the Reichsbank. The end of the Second World War and the abolition of Prussia removed the state framework that had sustained it. It became dormant after the dissolution of Prussia in 1947 and was liquidated in 1983. Its remaining assets were transferred to Berliner Pfandbriefbank, while a smaller residual asset base helped establish the Stiftung Preußische Seehandlung. The bank’s Berlin headquarters evolved alongside the institution. A building at the corner of Jägerstraße and Gendarmenmarkt was rented in 1777 and acquired in 1787. David Gilly redesigned it in the early nineteenth century. The Baroque structure was demolished in 1901 and replaced by a building designed by Paul Kieschke, completed in 1903. An extension was added at Jägerstraße 22/23 between 1936 and 1939. After wartime repairs, the complex was transferred in 1946 to the German Academy of Sciences, later the Academy of Sciences of the GDR. Since 1992, it has housed the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

1. 1983Liquidated

   The dormant institution was formally liquidated and its remaining assets were transferred to Berliner Pfandbriefbank.

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2. 1947Became dormant after Prussia’s dissolution

   The abolition of Prussia left the bank without its former state structure, and it was retained as a dormant entity.

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3. 1918Renamed Preußische Staatsbank

   Following the end of the Prussian monarchy, it became known as the Preußische Staatsbank (Seehandlung).

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4. 1904Renamed Königliche Seehandlung (Preußische Staatsbank)

   The institution adopted a name explicitly identifying its state-bank role.

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5. 1845Formal transition to state banking

   The Seehandlung was directed to stop initiating new commercial ventures and increasingly concentrate on banking.

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6. 1834Built the iron steamer Prinz Carl

   Its Moabit works completed the Prinz Carl, an early German steamship with an iron hull.

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7. 1822Expanded into overseas textile trade

   The institution began shipping Silesian textiles to Central and South American markets.

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8. 1820Granted independent state-institution status

   A new legal settlement made the Seehandlung an independent financial and commercial state entity with unlimited legal capacity.

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9. 1807Placed under the Finance Ministry

   The Seehandlung came under the control of the Prussian Ministry of Finance as its commercial difficulties increased.

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10. 1776Szczecin shipyards established

    The company expanded into shipbuilding and established two shipyards in Szczecin.

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11. 1772Seehandlung founded

    The Generaldirektion der Seehandlungs-Sozietät was established in Berlin as a Prussian state-backed maritime trading company.

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A government-controlled financial and commercial institution serving as an instrument of Prussian trade policy, public debt management and economic development. Its positioning shifted from state-sponsored maritime commerce in the eighteenth century to public banking and financial administration in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

• Public debt administrationState banking1807

  From the early nineteenth century, the Seehandlung increasingly managed Prussian external financial obligations, including payments connected with war reparations and other public debts. Its government-backed legal status made it a central channel for the state’s international financial administration.

• Foreign financial servicesState banking1820

  The institution conducted financial transactions abroad for Prussia, collected funds owed to the state, purchased goods overseas and handled payments arising from international obligations. These services became more important as the organization moved away from ordinary maritime trade.

• Maritime and commodity tradingTrading and shipping1772

  The original Seehandlung traded salt, wax and other goods, maintained overseas agents and operated a Prussian-flagged fleet. It also supported shipyards and long-distance voyages. This commercial activity was gradually curtailed during the nineteenth-century transition to state banking.

• Steamship and inland-waterway servicesTransport enterprise1831

  From 1831 the institution operated steamship transport around Berlin and on parts of the Spree, Havel and Elbe. It built inland vessels and experimented with iron ship construction, although the operation remained loss-making and was eventually wound down.

• Commercial bankingBanking1845

  After the 1845 reorganization, banking became the institution’s core activity. Under the Preußische Staatsbank name it operated broadly across banking until 1945, serving the Prussian state and participating in the wider financial economy.

• 1983Liquidation of the dormant bankOther

  Prussia had been dissolved in 1947, leaving the former state bank dormant for decades.

  What changed. The institution was liquidated and its remaining assets were transferred to Berliner Pfandbriefbank.

  Aftermath. A smaller portion of the residual assets helped form the Stiftung Preußische Seehandlung.

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• 1918Post-monarchy renamingOther

  The political order changed after the end of the Prussian monarchy and the First World War.

  What changed. The institution was renamed Preußische Staatsbank (Seehandlung).

  Aftermath. It continued operating as a Prussian state bank until the end of the Second World War.

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• 1904Adoption of the Preußische Staatsbank designationOther

  The institution’s primary identity had become that of a state bank rather than a maritime trading company.

  What changed. It began trading as Königliche Seehandlung (Preußische Staatsbank).

  Aftermath. The new designation made its public banking role explicit while retaining the historic Seehandlung name.

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• 1845Shift from commerce to state bankingStrategy

  The Seehandlung’s original trading privileges and maritime activities had become less central amid geopolitical disruption and uneven commercial performance.

  What changed. Prussia ordered the institution not to initiate new commercial ventures, transferred salt trading to the tax authorities and redirected the organization toward banking.

  Aftermath. The institution retained some legacy commercial operations but developed into a state bank and public-finance instrument.

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1. Prussian State Bank