diff --git a/src/Persistence/EntityFramework/PersistenceContextProvider.cs b/src/Persistence/EntityFramework/PersistenceContextProvider.cs
index 56b55db..93b7747 100644
--- a/src/Persistence/EntityFramework/PersistenceContextProvider.cs
+++ b/src/Persistence/EntityFramework/PersistenceContextProvider.cs
@@ -152,21 +152,30 @@ public class PersistenceContextProvider : IMigratableDatabaseContextProvider
     /// <summary>
     /// Recreates the database by deleting and creating it again.
     /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="dropExistingDatabase">
+    /// If <see langword="true"/> (the default), the database is dropped and created again from scratch.
+    /// If <see langword="false"/>, the existing database is kept and only its schema is built via
+    /// migrations — required when the database is provisioned externally and the connecting role is
+    /// not permitted to create or drop databases.
+    /// </param>
     /// <returns>The disposable that should be disposed of when the data creation process is finished.</returns>
-    public async Task<IDisposable> ReCreateDatabaseAsync()
+    public async Task<IDisposable> ReCreateDatabaseAsync(bool dropExistingDatabase = true)
     {
         var changePublisher = this._changeListener;
         this._changeListener = null;
         try
         {
-            try
+            if (dropExistingDatabase)
             {
-                await using var installationContext = new EntityDataContext();
-                await installationContext.Database.EnsureDeletedAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);
-            }
-            catch (NpgsqlException)
-            {
-                // That's expected for a fresh database
+                try
+                {
+                    await using var installationContext = new EntityDataContext();
+                    await installationContext.Database.EnsureDeletedAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);
+                }
+                catch (NpgsqlException)
+                {
+                    // That's expected for a fresh database
+                }
             }
 
             await this.ApplyAllPendingUpdatesAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);
diff --git a/src/Persistence/IMigratableDatabaseContextProvider.cs b/src/Persistence/IMigratableDatabaseContextProvider.cs
index 242b71f..f0a15a5 100644
--- a/src/Persistence/IMigratableDatabaseContextProvider.cs
+++ b/src/Persistence/IMigratableDatabaseContextProvider.cs
@@ -63,8 +63,15 @@ public interface IMigratableDatabaseContextProvider : IPersistenceContextProvide
     /// <summary>
     /// Recreates the database by deleting and creating it again.
     /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="dropExistingDatabase">
+    /// If <see langword="true"/> (the default), the database is dropped and created again from scratch.
+    /// If <see langword="false"/>, the existing database is kept and only its schema is built via
+    /// migrations. Set this to <see langword="false"/> when the database is provisioned externally
+    /// (e.g. by a Kubernetes operator, infrastructure-as-code, or a managed cloud database) and the
+    /// connecting role is not permitted to create or drop databases.
+    /// </param>
     /// <returns>The disposable which should be disposed when the data creation process is finished.</returns>
-    Task<IDisposable> ReCreateDatabaseAsync();
+    Task<IDisposable> ReCreateDatabaseAsync(bool dropExistingDatabase = true);
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Resets the cache of this instance.
diff --git a/src/Persistence/InMemory/InMemoryPersistenceContextProvider.cs b/src/Persistence/InMemory/InMemoryPersistenceContextProvider.cs
index ace16c4..08538f5 100644
--- a/src/Persistence/InMemory/InMemoryPersistenceContextProvider.cs
+++ b/src/Persistence/InMemory/InMemoryPersistenceContextProvider.cs
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ public class InMemoryPersistenceContextProvider : IMigratableDatabaseContextProv
     }
 
     /// <inheritdoc />
-    public Task<IDisposable> ReCreateDatabaseAsync()
+    public Task<IDisposable> ReCreateDatabaseAsync(bool dropExistingDatabase = true)
     {
         this._repositoryProvider = new();
         return Task.FromResult<IDisposable>(new Disposable(() => { }));
diff --git a/src/Startup/Program.cs b/src/Startup/Program.cs
index 62745c2..d693697 100644
--- a/src/Startup/Program.cs
+++ b/src/Startup/Program.cs
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ internal sealed class Program : IDisposable
     private readonly IDictionary<int, IGameServer> _gameServers = new Dictionary<int, IGameServer>();
     private readonly IList<IManageableServer> _servers = new List<IManageableServer>();
     private readonly Serilog.ILogger _logger;
+    private readonly IConfiguration _configuration;
 
     private IHost? _serverHost;
 
@@ -65,8 +66,10 @@ internal sealed class Program : IDisposable
             .SetBasePath(Directory.GetCurrentDirectory())
             .AddJsonFile("appsettings.json", false, true)
             .AddJsonFile($"appsettings.{Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT") ?? "Production"}.json", true, true)
+            .AddEnvironmentVariables()
             .Build();
 
+        this._configuration = configuration;
         this._logger = new LoggerConfiguration()
             .ReadFrom.Configuration(configuration)
             .CreateLogger();
@@ -475,8 +478,19 @@ internal sealed class Program : IDisposable
         var contextProvider = new PersistenceContextProvider(loggerFactory, changeListener);
         if (reinit || !await contextProvider.DatabaseExistsAsync().ConfigureAwait(false))
         {
-            this._logger.Information("The database is getting (re-)initialized...");
-            using var update = await contextProvider.ReCreateDatabaseAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);
+            // The database can be provisioned externally (e.g. by a Kubernetes operator,
+            // infrastructure-as-code, or a managed cloud database), where the connecting role is
+            // typically not permitted to create or drop databases. Enabling
+            // Database:AssumeExternallyProvisioned keeps the existing database and only builds its
+            // schema via migrations, instead of dropping and recreating it. The default (false)
+            // preserves the original drop-and-recreate behaviour; an explicit -reinit always recreates.
+            var assumeExternallyProvisioned = !reinit
+                && this._configuration.GetValue<bool>("Database:AssumeExternallyProvisioned");
+
+            this._logger.Information(assumeExternallyProvisioned
+                ? "Building the schema on the externally-provisioned database (no drop/create)..."
+                : "The database is getting (re-)initialized...");
+            using var update = await contextProvider.ReCreateDatabaseAsync(dropExistingDatabase: !assumeExternallyProvisioned).ConfigureAwait(false);
             await this.InitializeDataAsync(version, loggerFactory, contextProvider).ConfigureAwait(false);
             this._logger.Information("...initialization finished.");
         }
diff --git a/src/Startup/Readme.md b/src/Startup/Readme.md
index 66111ce..6397918 100644
--- a/src/Startup/Readme.md
+++ b/src/Startup/Readme.md
@@ -14,6 +14,30 @@ only actions of certain players, for example.
 In the future, it might be possible to change logging settings over the admin
 panel, too.
 
+## Externally-provisioned database
+
+By default, when no database exists yet, the server drops and (re-)creates it
+before building the schema. This requires the connecting database role to be
+allowed to create and drop databases (upstream the connection strings use the
+`postgres` superuser, optionally overridden via `DB_ADMIN_USER`/`DB_ADMIN_PW`).
+
+In managed environments — a Kubernetes operator, infrastructure-as-code, or a
+managed cloud database — the database is often provisioned ahead of time and the
+connecting role is intentionally *not* permitted to create or drop databases
+(least privilege; it only owns its own database). In that case, set:
+
+```json
+"Database": {
+  "AssumeExternallyProvisioned": true
+}
+```
+
+or, equivalently, the environment variable
+`Database__AssumeExternallyProvisioned=true`. The server then keeps the existing
+(empty) database and only builds its schema via migrations, instead of dropping
+and recreating it. The default (`false`) preserves the original behaviour. An
+explicit `-reinit` always drops and recreates, regardless of this setting.
+
 ## Parameters
 
 **Please note, that the most of these parameters (except ```-demo``` and ```-adminpanel```)
@@ -62,6 +86,7 @@ They may be helpful when running the server in a container or under linux.
 | DB_HOST | Host name/address of the postgres database |
 | DB_ADMIN_USER | User name of the admin user of the postgres database |
 | DB_ADMIN_PW   | Password of the admin user of the postgres database |
+| Database__AssumeExternallyProvisioned | When `true`, keep an already-provisioned (empty) database and only build its schema via migrations, instead of dropping and recreating it. Useful when the connecting role may not create/drop databases. Default: `false`. See *Externally-provisioned database* above. |
 
 ## Settings priority
 
diff --git a/src/Startup/appsettings.json b/src/Startup/appsettings.json
index 4d0436a..ed1294e 100644
--- a/src/Startup/appsettings.json
+++ b/src/Startup/appsettings.json
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 {
   "DetailedErrors": true,
   "AllowedHosts": "*",
+  "Database": {
+    "AssumeExternallyProvisioned": false
+  },
   "Serilog": {
     "Using": [ "Serilog.Sinks.Console", "Serilog.Sinks.File" ],
     "MinimumLevel": {