Posts Tagged ‘Friedrich Wilhelm 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 Freiheit, the 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.

 

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Unter Den Linden – Berlin’s Grandest Boulevard

Monday, July 8th, 2019

 

Unter Den Linden (Under the Linden Trees) is Berlin’s grandest boulevard. It is located in the historic heart of the city and named for the 1,000 linden trees in its spacious pedestrian median and along both sidewalks. Friedrich Wilhelm I (Frederick William I), Elector of Brandenburg and later King of Prussia, originally planted the trees in the 17th century. But in the 1930s, Adolf Hitler had most of them cut down and replaced with Nazi flags. Following a public outcry, he had them replanted. Nonetheless, during World War II, the trees were either destroyed or cut down for firewood. The present-day linden were planted in the 1950s.

Under den Linden - Berlin's grandest boulevard with the Brandenburg Gate in the background. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Under den Linden – Berlin’s grandest boulevard with the Brandenburg Gate in the background. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

History of Unter Den Linden

Unter den Linden stretches from the Brandenburg Gate to the Berlin City Palace (Berliner Stadtschloss). The famous boulevard began as an equestrian trail in the 16thcentury to allow prince-elector Johann Georg (John George) of the Margraviate of Brandenburg to reach his hunting grounds in the Tiergarten. In the middle of the 17th century, Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia replaced that equestrian trail with a stately tree-lined boulevard.

Unter den Linden anchors

The Brandenburg Gate stands at the western boundary of Unter den Linden. Of the original fourteen city gates it is the only one that survived the ravages of time. During the Cold War, the Brandenburg Gate became a symbol of freedom. At the eastern end of Unter den Linden stands the City Palace, currently under reconstruction and slated for completion in 2020.

Points of Interest along Unter den Linden

Located immediately east of the Brandenburg Gate is the Pariser Platz (Paris Square). It was heavily bombed during World War II and became a no-man’s-land during the Cold War. But since German reunification in 1990, its pre-WWII embassies, hotels and banks have returned, including the famous Hotel Adlon. Further down Unter den Linden you’ll see the restored Berlin State Library, the renowned Humboldt University, the Bebelplatz (site of the infamous Nazi book burning in 1933), the State Opera, the Catholic St. Hedwig’s Cathedral, the German History Museum, the Neue Wache (now the Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Victims of War and Dictatorship) and the Berliner Dom.

 

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 or current events, people, places or 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.

 

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Frederick the Great shaped modern Europe

Monday, February 20th, 2017

King Frederick the Great (Friedrich der Grosse) was born in 1712 in Berlin, Germany. In 1740, he inherited the Prussian throne from his father, Frederick William I (Friedrich Wilhelm I) http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/frederick-william-i-a-troubled-ruler/ and ruled until 1786. He was bestowed the epitaph of “the Great” during his lifetime and was affectionately nicknamed “Der Alte Fritz” (Old Fritz) by the Prussian people.

It is doubtful that Otto von Bismarck http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/otto-von-bismarck-visionary-or-villain/ could have united Germany without Frederick the Great’s achievements. In addition to being an excellent military strategist and one of the most enlightened monarchs of the area, Frederick the Great was also an insightful historian, a probing philosopher, an accomplished musician and an insatiable reader. During his time in power, Prussia became one of the preeminent powers in Europe.

Frederick the Great’s childhood

Frederick the Great’s father was a violent authoritarian with a quick temper who expected his son to embrace the military to the exclusion of all other pursuits. But the young price preferred the arts and culture to the art of war. Frederick William responded by beating and humiliating his son. At age 18, young Frederick attempted to escape to England together with his friend, Hans Hermann von Katte. The two were caught and arrested for treason. In a cruel spectacle, Frederick William made his son watch the decapitation of his friend. Thereafter, Frederick the Great bowed to his father’s wishes.

Frederick the Great’s Domestic Achievements

Frederick the Great achieved a high reputation as a military commander and is often remembered as the father of Prussian militarism, but his impact was even more evident domestically. He not only reformed the military and the bureaucracy, he also established religious tolerance and granted a basic form of freedom of speech and press. He reformed the judicial system, abolishing most uses of torture and established the first German code of law. He also encouraged immigrants of various nationalities and faiths to come to Prussia.

 

Frederick II, King of Prussia (known as Frederick the Great), 1712-1786. www.walled-in-berlin.com. Photo courtesy of en.wikipedia

Frederick II, King of Prussia (known as Frederick the Great), 1712-1786. www.walled-in-berlin.com. Photo courtesy of en.wikipedia

 

Frederick the Great’s reign saw a revolutionary change in the importance and prestige of Prussia. Despite preferring the French language to his native German, Frederick distrusted France’s intentions. “Distrust is the mother of security” became his motto.

Frederick the Great’s Architectural Achievements

Frederick had many famous buildings constructed in Berlin. Most of them still exist today, such as the Berlin State Opera (Berliner Staatsoper), the Royal Library (Staatsbioliothek Berlin), St. Hedwig’s Cathedral (Sankt-Hedwig-Kathedrale) and Prince Henry’s Palace (now the site of the Humboldt University (Humboldt Universitaet.) http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/berlins-prestigious-humboldt-university/ However, the king’s most favorite place was his summer residence, Sanssouci, in Potsdam. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/sanssouci-modest-kings-retreat/

 

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.

 

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Frederick William I – A Troubled Ruler

Monday, February 13th, 2017

 

King Frederick William I (Friedrich Wilhelm I) of Prussia (1713-1740) was a short-tempered and cantankerous ruler. But to his credit, he was also an astute monarch. His reforms transformed Prussia from a second-rate power into an efficient and thriving state. Because the army was his overriding passion he became known as the “Soldier King.” He also concerned himself with many other aspects of his relatively small country. When Frederick William died, he left his son and heir, Frederick II the Great an army of about 83,000, a centralized state, a surplus of more than 8,000,000 taler in the royal treasury, and a Prussia that had become the third military power on the European continent, right behind Russia and France.

King Frederick William I (Friedrich Wilhelm I) of Prussia, photo courtesy of britannica.com from a portrait by Antoine Pesne. www.walled-in-berlin.com

King Frederick William I (Friedrich Wilhelm I) of Prussia, photo courtesy of britannica.com – portrait by Antoine Pesne. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Frederick William – complete opposite of his father

Frederick Williams’s father, Frederick I of Prussia (1657-1713) had been the first King of Prussia. Modeling himself after Louis XIV, the “Sun King” of France, his father had embraced luxury to the point of bankrupting the state finances. Young Frederick William decided to take the opposite path. Once king, he dissolved his father’s extravagant court, cut expenses by about three quarters, lived simply and frugally and worked hard. He spent all the money he saved on his armies to make Prussia independent from its neighbors.

Frederick William’s Accomplishments

Frederick William tried to improve the welfare of his people. Convinced that a thriving state could not afford illiterate subjects, he introduced compulsory primary education. He encouraged farming, reclaimed marshes, stored grain in good times and sold it in bad times. He resettled Prussia’s eastern territories after it had been depopulated by the plague. He freed the serfs and abolished hereditary leases. Frederick William never started a war and made considerable reforms to the Prussian army’s training, tactics and conscription program. The lot of the peasantry improved significantly during his reign. He demanded discipline, efficiency and good work ethics from his soldiers, and Prussian discipline and Prussian virtues became accepted concepts. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/the-origin-of-prussian-virtues/

Frederick William’s shortcomings

Although an effective ruler, Frederick William possessed a violent temper. His inherited illnesses, which resulted in gout, migraines, obesity and severe stomach cramps, may have exacerbated his disposition. At times, his temper was uncontrollable. The most frequent victim of such outbursts was his son Fritz (later known as Frederick the Great). http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/frederick-the-great-shaped-modern-europe/ When father and son happened to meet in private or in public, Frederick William often seized Fritz by the throat, threw him to the ground and forced him to kiss his boots.

Frederick William wanted his eldest surviving son to become a fine soldier. To that end, he exposed Fritz to a minimal education and required him to live a simple lifestyle while focusing on the Army and statesmanship. But Fritz preferred the intellectual pleasures of music, philosophy and French culture. As Fritz’s defiance for his father’s rules increased, Frederick William beat or humiliated him. When Fritz attempted to flee to England with his friend and tutor, Hans Hermann von Katte, the enraged king had Katte executed and forced Fritz to watch. Frederick William’s last years were dominated by his passion of recruiting tall men for his palace guard, the Potsdam Giants (Potsdamer Riesengarde) http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/bizarre-tale-of-the-potsdam-giants/

 

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 or current events, people, places or 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.

 

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Bizarre Tale of the Potsdam Giants

Monday, January 30th, 2017

The Potsdam Giants (Riesengarde) were the personal batallion of Prussian King Frederick William I (Friedrich Wilhelm I). Officially named “The Grand Grenadiers of Potsdam,” they soon became known as The Potsdam Giants or “The Long Guys” (Lange Kerls) in common parlance. The only requirement for joining was that recruits had to be over six feet tall, an exceptional height at the time. One of the tallest soldiers in the regiment, an Irishman by the name of James Kirkland, was reportedly just less than 7 feet 2 inches. https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/history-of-war/the-potsdam-giants-how-the-king-of-prussia-bred-an-army-of-super-soldiers/

Grenadier James Kirkland, serving in the Potsdam Giants, the personal batallion of King Frederick William I. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Grenadier James Kirkland, serving in the Potsdam Giants, the personal batallion of King Frederick William I. www.walled-in-berlin.com

 

King Frederick William was known as the “soldier king” (Soldatenkoenig) and had a passion for all things military. He ruled from 1713 until his death in 1740 and was succeeded by his son Frederick the Great (Friedrich der Grosse) http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/frederick-the-great-shaped-modern-europe/

King Frederick William’s Potsdam Giants

Frederick William was born in 1688 in Berlin, Germany, and died in 1740. In 1713, he was crowned King of Prussia and spent most of his life expanding Prussia’s army and turning it into the most famous and disciplined army in Europe. Eventually, one in every nine Prussian was a soldier. http://madmonarchs.guusbeltman.nl/madmonarchs/fredwil1/fredwil1_bio.htm

Frederick William had a passion for tall men and would go to any length to recruit them into his Prussian infantry regiment no. 6, the Potsdam Giants. He dispatched agents throughout the continent in search of such men and gave special compensation to parents who sent him their tallest sons and to landowners who surrendered their tallest farmhands. Prussian teachers kept an eye out for tall children and promptly handed them over to him. Newborn babies, expected to grow unusually tall, were marked with a bright red scarf to identify them. Frederick William even impressed upon his political allies that they could keep their gifts as long as they provided him with giants for his batallion. He never sent his personal regiment into battle, thereby keeping his Potsdam Giants out of harms way.

If these tall men did not comply voluntarily, he had them kidnapped. There is a story that Frederick William even abducted a preacher in the middle of a sermon. For a time, he tried to stretch these soldiers on a rack to make them even taller than they already were. When it became difficult to entice tall men into the Potsdam Giants, the king initiated a breeding program. When Frederick William was ill or felt depressed, he simply commandeered a few hundred “Long Guys” to march through his bedroom to cheer him up.

Privileges of the Potsdam Giants

Attired in blue uniforms with red contrasts and an 18-inch-high grenadier cap to make them appear even taller, the Potsdam Giants were given excellent accommodations and the best meals the military had to offer. Rates of pay were determined by height. The taller these “Long Guys” were, the more money they earned. Nevertheless, most of the Potsdam Giants were reluctant soldiers and many deserted or attempted suicide.

The end of the Potsdam Giants

When the king died in 1740 the regiment was 3,200-men-strong. However, his successor, Frederick the Great, did not share his father’s obsession and disbanded the Potsdam Giants. He integrated most of the soldiers into other units. In 1806, the regiment was officially dissolved.

 

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.

 

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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.

 

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