The Akademie der Künste, Berlin (Academy of the Arts, Berlin) is an arts institution in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in 1696 by Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg as the Prussian Academy of Arts, an academic institution where members could meet and discuss and share ideas. As early as 1699, the academy served as the arts council to the government and since 1931 has been exclusively tasked with this function. The academics arm ultimately developed into the Universität der Künste Berlin (Berlin University of the Arts) of today. The Academy is used to promote art, as well as advise and support the states of Germany.