An account of the upper classes and parts of the middle classes in 17th century Berlin and Cölln in the context of the overall development in Brandenburg and Prussia. This analytical prosopographic study of urban and family history is the first to evaluate Protestant funeral orations and describes baroque life in Berlin in the early modern age. The author shows how family relationships are gradually superseded by a developing meritocracy. Individual biographies are related, and for the first time researchers are presented with genealogical and family tables; in addition, a map gives a novel insight into the educational tours undertaken at that time.