Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Hohenzollern
and Berlin
Top 10 Hohen-
zollern rulers
1 Friedrich Wilhelm
(the Great Elector,
1620-88)
2 Friedrich I (1657-1713)
3 Friedrich Wilhelm I
(1688-1740)
4 Friedrich II (the Great)
(1712-86)
5 Friedrich Wilhelm II
(1744-97)
6 Friedrich Wilhelm III
(1770-1840)
7 Friedrich Wilhelm IV
(1795-1861)
8 Wilhelm I (1797-1888)
9 Friedrich III (1831-88)
0 Wilhelm II (1859-1941)
In 1412, the Hohenzollern
dynasty, not originally resident
in the Berlin area, was asked
by the Ascanian King Sigis-
mund to liberate the province
of Brandenburg from the men-
ace of robber barons. Burggraf
Friedrich of Hohenzollern from
Nuremberg was so successful in this enterprise that
he was made an Elector in 1415 - this is where the
histories of the Hohenzollerns and Berlin first
became entwined, a relationship that was to last for
500 years. Right from the start, the family attempted
to limit the powers of the town. Culture flourished
under its rulers, especially under the Great Elector,
who brought 20,000 Huguenot craftsmen to Berlin,
as well as founding an art gallery and several
schools. Friedrich Wilhelm I, father of Frederick the
Great, transformed Berlin into a military camp, with
parade grounds and garrisons, and scoured the
town for tall men to join his body guard. In the 19th
century, however, relations between Berlin and the
Hohenzollerns became decidedly less cordial.
Frederick the Great in Charlottenburg
Frederick II had two apartments furnished for
himself in the palace, and he took a strong per-
sonal interest in the design of the Neuer Flügel
in 1740-7. From 1745, after the end of the
Second Silesian War, he stayed at the palace
less and less often, preferring his palace at Sans-
souci, although larger festivities in the presence
of the King still took place at Charlottenburg.
Prussia's first king:
Friedrich I
Frederick the Great
The Altes Schloss, designed in 1695 by Johann Arnold Nering
For more on historical architecture in Berlin
see pp38-9
31
