Posts Tagged ‘Frederick I’

Berlin’s Tiergarten – From Hunting Ground to Public Park

Monday, July 22nd, 2019

 

The German name Tiergarten translates to “animal garden,” but despite the name, it is not a zoo. Instead, it is Berlin’s second-biggest inner-city park. Only Tempelhofer Freiheitthe former Tempelhof Airport expanse, is larger. The 520-acre Tiergarten serves the same “green lung” function as London’s Hyde Park (310 acres) or New York’s Central Park (825 acres).

Relaxing in Berlin's Tiergarten. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Relaxing in Berlin’s Tiergarten. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Friedrich I of Prussia (Frederick I), Elector of Brandenburg and later first King of Prussia, laid out the park in the 17th century. At that time, the land was located just outside of Coelln’s city wall, Berlin’s twin city. Today – redesigned and expanded several times – the Tiergarten is bordered by the River Spree to the northeast and the zoo to the southwest. It’s ideal for recharging. Small streams pass through grassy areas dotted with groups of trees and small lakes. Countless pathways cross the park and make it a popular place for jogging, cycling, boating, walking, family picnics and winter skating.

Royal History of the Tiergarten

Until 1881, the Tiergarten was owned and controlled by the various kings and emperors in power. Friedrich I (Frederick I) created the park to serve as his royal hunting ground. His successor, Friedrich Wilhelm I (Frederick William I of Prussia) began to transform the Tiergarten into a forested park. His son, Friedrich II, also known as Frederick the Great, (Frederick the Great) opened the area to the public. He commissioned many sculptures and created a pheasant house. The latter eventually became the core of the Berlin Zoo.

The Beethoven-Haydn-Mozart Memorial - one of many statues in Berlin's Tiergarten. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

The Beethoven-Haydn-Mozart Memorial – one of many statues in Berlin’s Tiergarten. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

The Tiergarten in the 20thCentury

WWII brought significant changes to the Tiergarten. Many statues were destroyed, and surviving monuments lay badly damaged on their sides. Berlin’s citizens even buried some of them near Bellevue Palace to protect them from destruction. In 1993, the statues were recovered, several years after German reunification.

In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Tiergarten became part of the British Occupation Zone of West Berlin. Because coal was in extremely short supply at the time, many of the park’s trees were turned to firewood. Every bridge in the park was destroyed, and there were plans to fill the small lakes with war debris. Only 700 trees survived.  For a time, the deforested fields were turned into 2,550 plots of farm land to grow potatoes and vegetables. The once beautiful forest of over 200,000 trees had nearly disappeared.

Replanting the Tiergarten

In March 1949, Berlin’s first post-war major, Ernst Reuter, planted the first tree, a linden. Between 1949 and 1959, 250,000 young trees were planted. Most of them were donations from all over Germany. Thanks to those efforts, the Tiergarten is once again a green oasis in the middle of bustling Berlin.

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.

 

How Prussian Virtues Came About

Monday, January 16th, 2017

 

Prussian virtues (Preussische Tugenden) are behaviors of high moral standards that are said to once have been the hallmark of the inhabitants of Prussia. Some of these values are still attributed to the German people today. The list of Prussian virtues depends on the author but can be condensed to the core values of discipline, self-control, punctuality, thriftiness, service and hard work.

Brief History of Prussia

Between 1925 and 1947, Prussia was a state that centered in the area of today’s Germany, but with boundaries extending far beyond Germany’s current borders. The House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia and expanded its size with the help of an extremely well organized army. Initially, the Prussian capital was Koenigsberg. In 1701 Friedrich I (Frederick I) became the first King of Prussia and chose Berlin as the capital. In 1871, the German states united under the leadership of Otto von Bismarck. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/otto-von-bismarck-visionary-or-villain/ Unification created a German Empire under Prussian leadership. In the aftermath of World War I, in 1918, the monarchy was abolished, and the Kingdom of Prussia became a republic, known as the Weimar Republic.  In 1933, the Nazi regime seized control of the Prussian government. Following World War II, Germany was divided into Allied occupation zones, and Prussia ceased to exist. On 25 February 1947, the Allied Control Council http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-erte/allied-control-council-governs-germany/ formally proclaimed the dissolution of Prussia.

Origin of Prussian Virtues

When Prussia became a kingdom under Friedrich I over 300 years ago, it was a poor state with fragmented territories. In 1713, his son, Friedrich Wilhelm I (Frederick William I) became King of Prussia. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/frederick-william-i-a-troubled-ruler/ Friedrich Wilhelm was known as the “Soldier King” because he made considerable reforms to the Prussian army’s training, tactics and conscription. He demanded discipline, efficiency and good work ethics from his soldiers. During the “Soldier King’s” reign, Prussian discipline and Prussian virtues became accepted concepts. Today’s interpretation of Prussian discipline tends to be one in which the soldier blindly follows orders. But under Friedrich Wilhelm’s reign, discipline was a two-way street. Soldiers and their superiors were subject to the same rigorous rules.

In civilian society, Prussian virtues were initially frowned upon. With time, however, they began to seep in, particularly in light of the fact that Prussia had risen from nothing to greatness based on its Prussian discipline and Prussian virtues.

Prussian Virtues today

Even though the state of Prussia doesn’t exist anymore, Prussian virtues have not totally disappeared. In 2001, the German government proclaimed a “Prussian year” with celebrations of its Prussian heritage. Tolerance, reform, selflessness and modesty were highlighted to point out that during Prussian rule Jewish citizens were emancipated, feudalism and serfdom were eliminated, immigration was encouraged, the arts and sciences were celebrated and education of the young was made available and mandatory. In my own family, Prussian orderliness, sense of duty, honesty, punctuality, thriftiness, hard work, restraint and dependability were always stressed and expected.

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.