Equestrian statue of der Grosse Friedrich II in Berlin Germany

CountryGermany
Town:Berlin
Year of creation:1851
Rider(s):Friedrich II der Grosse

Friedrich II der Grosse (1712–1786), nicknamed Der Alte Fritz by the Prussian people, was the first King of Prussia with an equestrian statue. His achievements include military victories, the reorganization of the Prussian army and his patronage of the arts and the Enlightenment.
Sculptor(s):Rauch, Christian Daniel

(1777 –1857) was a German sculptor. He founded the Berlin school of sculpture, and was the foremost German sculptor of the 19th century.
Rauch began in 1830 , along with the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel, the models for a colossal equestrian monument at Berlin to honor King Friedrich II, der Grosse. This work was inaugurated with great pomp in May 1851, and is regarded as one of the masterpieces of modern sculpture, the crowning achievement of Rauch’s work as a portrait and historic sculptor.

Description:

This huge statue of the king in classical style was erected at Unter den Linden, the famous Berlin boulevard, in 1851. The monument shows the king surrounded by his advisors and generals, 74 people altogether, 21 of them life size, among whom four generals on horseback: Ferdinand Von Braunschweig Wolfenbüttel, Friedrich Heinrich Ludwig von Preussen, Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz and Hans Joachim von Zieten.

During World War II, a surrounding wall saved the memorial. After the war, this monumental equestrian statue narrowly escaped destruction. In 1949, it was decided that the statue had to be removed as ‘the king drove eastwards’. The monument was taken apart and the pieces transported to Potsdam. Ten years later, the decision was made to melt down this symbol of reactionary politics. Transport to the melting furnaces had already been arranged, when one of the ministers – a former historian – prevented its destruction at the very last moment. The monument was rebuilt on its original site in 1980 and thoroughly restored in 2001.