Editing History of Germany (section)

===Enlightenment===
{{Further|Age of Enlightenment|Hymnody of continental Europe#Rationalism}}
[[Image:Oer-Weimarer Musenhof.jpg|thumb|Painting of the ''[[Weimar courtyard of the muses]]'', depicting an elite fellowship of nobles and commoners, courtiers, civil servants, writers, artists and scientists among [[Friedrich Schiller|Schiller]], [[Christoph Martin Wieland|Wieland]], [[Johann Gottfried Herder|Herder]] and [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]] – in [[Classical Weimar]], by [[Theobald von Oer]], 1860]]

During the mid-18th century, the recognition and application of Enlightenment cultural, intellectual and spiritual ideals and standards, led to a flourishing of art, music, philosophy, science and literature. The philosopher [[Christian Wolff (philosopher)|Christian Wolff]] was a pioneering author in a vast number of fields of Enlightenment rationality, and established German as the prevailing language of philosophical reasoning, scholarly instruction and research.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gagliardo |first=John G. |title=Germany under the Old Regime, 1600–1790 |date=1991 |pages=217–234, 375–395}}</ref>

In 1685, Margrave [[Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg|Frederick William]] of Prussia issued the [[Edict of Potsdam]] within a week after French king [[Louis XIV]]'s [[Edict of Fontainebleau]], that decreed the abolishment of the 1598 [[Edict of Nantes|concession]] to free religious practice for [[Huguenots|Protestants]]. Frederick William offered his ''co-religionists, who are oppressed and assailed for the sake of the Holy Gospel and its pure doctrine...a secure and free refuge in all Our Lands''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Edict of Potsdam, October 29, 1685 |url=http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/print_document.cfm?document_id=3636 |access-date=26 March 2019 |publisher=Deutsche Geschichte in Quellen und Darstellung}}</ref> Around 20,000 Huguenot refugees arrived in an immediate wave and settled in the cities, 40% in Berlin, the ducal residence alone. The French Lyceum in Berlin was established in 1689 and the French language had by the end of the 17th century replaced Latin to be spoken universally in international diplomacy. The nobility and the educated middle-class of Prussia and the various German states increasingly used the French language in public conversation in combination with universal cultivated manners. Like no other German state, Prussia had access to and the skill set for the application of pan-European Enlightenment ideas to develop more rational political and administrative institutions.<ref>Charles W. Ingrao, "A Pre-Revolutionary Sonderweg". ''German History'' 20#3 (2002), pp. 279–286.</ref> The princes of Saxony carried out a comprehensive series of fundamental fiscal, administrative, judicial, educational, cultural and general economic reforms. The reforms were aided by the country's strong urban structure and influential commercial groups, who modernized pre-1789 Saxony along the lines of classic Enlightenment principles.<ref>Katrin Keller, "Saxony: Rétablissement and Enlightened Absolutism". ''German History'' 20.3 (2002): 309–331.</ref>

[[Johann Gottfried von Herder]] broke new ground in philosophy and poetry, as a leader of the [[Sturm und Drang]] movement of proto-Romanticism. [[Weimar Classicism]] ("Weimarer Klassik") was a cultural and literary movement based in Weimar that sought to establish a new humanism by synthesizing Romantic, classical, and Enlightenment ideas. The movement, from 1772 until 1805, involved Herder as well as polymath [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]] and [[Friedrich Schiller]], a poet and historian. Herder argued that every folk had its own particular identity, which was expressed in its language and culture. This legitimized the promotion of German language and culture and helped shape the development of German nationalism. Schiller's plays expressed the restless spirit of his generation, depicting the hero's struggle against social pressures and the force of destiny.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Literature of Weimar Classicism |date=2005 |editor-last=Richter |editor-first=Simon J.}}</ref>

German music, sponsored by the upper classes, came of age under composers [[Johann Sebastian Bach]], [[Joseph Haydn]], and [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Music at German Courts, 1715–1760: Changing Artistic Priorities |date=2011 |editor-last=Owens |editor-first=Samantha |editor-last2=Reul |editor-first2=Barbara M. |editor-last3=Stockigt |editor-first3=Janice B.}}</ref>

[[Königsberg]] philosopher [[Immanuel Kant]] tried to reconcile rationalism and religious belief, individual freedom, and political authority. Kant's work contained basic tensions that would continue to shape German thought – and indeed all of European philosophy – well into the 20th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kuehn |first=Manfred |title=Kant: A Biography |date=2001}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Immanuel Kant "An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment?" |url=http://web.mnstate.edu/gracyk/courses/web%20publishing/KantOnElightenment.htm |access-date=26 March 2019 |publisher=Internet Modern History Sourcebook |archive-date=17 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217062357/http://web.mnstate.edu/gracyk/courses/web%20publishing/KantOnElightenment.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The ideas of the Enlightenment and their implementation received general approval and recognition as principal cause for widespread cultural progress.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Society of the Enlightenment: The Rise of the Middle Class and Enlightenment Culture in Germany |date=1992 |editor-last=Van Dulmen |editor-first=Richard |editor-last2=Williams |editor-first2=Anthony}}</ref>