Explore the History of this artwork, Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great.
Prussian King Frederick William III commissioned the monument from sculptor Christian Daniel Rauch in 1839. It was cast beginning in 1845 by Karl Ludwig Friebel, whom Rauch brought from Lauchhammer for the purpose; changes to the figures on the base extended work to six years, and the monument was unveiled on 31 May 1851. It is one of Rauch's best known works, and influenced other monuments erected in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.The equestrian statue influenced many other monuments and is a registered monument of the City of Berlin. Beneath the equestrian statue itself, the unusually large plinth includes reliefs of the four cardinal virtues and important scenes from Frederick's life, and depictions, many in full relief, of 74 notable men from his reign; bronze plaques beneath the bands of sculpture list military men, philosophers, mathematicians, poets, statesmen, engineers, and others important in Prussia's emergence as a great power in the mid-18th century.
During World War II, the monument was encased in concrete for protection. In May 1950, the East German Magistrat decided to remove it to the park at the palace of Sanssouci in Potsdam. Metal thieves damaged it after the protective casing was removed, and it was dismantled and taken away between 13 and 19 July. After being stored in pieces and at one point almost melted down, by 1962 the monument had been re-erected in the hippodrome at Charlottenhof Palace.
In the 1980s, the East German government changed its politics of memory and especially its position on the Prussian heritage. In 1980 Erich Honecker called Frederick "the Great" in an interview with Robert Maxwell; in the same year, the historian Ingrid Mittenzwei published a relatively positive biography of the king. The statue was restored and returned to Unter den Linden, approximately 6 metres (20 ft) east of its old position. West Germany saw a similar return of a more positive view on Prussia with the Berlin exhibition Preußen – Versuch einer Bilanz (Prussia, an attempt at a complete picture). The preparations to celebrate the 750th anniversary of the founding of Berlin in 1987 led to further reconsideration of the Prussian heritage; that year Gisela May performed a song celebrating the statue's return.After German reunification, the Senate of Berlin had the monument scientifically restored, and it was replaced in its original position, with the wrought-iron fence and 19th-century lamp posts recreated. After having paint thrown at it during a protest against the Bundeswehr, it was restored once more in 2006 and given a coating of wax to protect against graffiti.
Gisela May Berlin Robert Maxwell Christian Daniel Rauch equestrian statue Erich Honecker politics of memory plaque plinth Frederick William III Unter den Linden World War II Frederick William I Ingrid Mittenzwei Potsdam great power cardinal virtues Senate of Berlin Bundeswehr Lauchhammer Charlottenhof Palace Frederick William II Sanssouci graffiti Prussia the park