Names inscribed on the Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great


The Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great is an outdoor sculpture in cast bronze at the east end of Unter den Linden in Berlin, Germany honoring King Frederick II of Prussia. It was designed in 1839 by Christian Daniel Rauch and unveiled in 1851. It was commissioned by Frederick's great nephew, Frederick William III and dedicated by Frederick's great-great nephew, Frederick William IV.
Depicted on the statue are the four cardinal virtues, several important scenes from Frederick's life, and statues of men important to the founding of the Prussian state. Beneath the statues bronze plaques list the names of military men, philosophers, mathematicians, poets, statesmen, engineers, and others important in Prussia's emergence as a military power in the mid-18th century.

Description and location

The monument is tall. The statue of Frederick, tall, depicts the King in military uniform and an ermine-trimmed cloak, wearing his decorations and his bicorne hat. In his left hand, he holds the reins of his horse's bridle, and in his right, he holds his walking stick/sword.
The statue itself is also mounted on an unusually tall pedestal, or plinth,.

Sculptures

The upper section sculpted band, immediately below the statue of the King, shows in bas-relief the King's life and is garnished at the corners with emblems of the four cardinal virtues.
The middle band depicts 74 men of Frederick the Great's time in life-size; some, such as the figure of his brother August, are free standing; others are depicted in high relief. A few, including James Keith, are in bas-relief. Like the first band, four figures mounted on horseback stand at the corners: Frederick's brother, Henry, Charles Wilhelm Ferdinand, Prince of Braunschweig, Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, and Hans Joachim von Zieten.
The lowest band lists names of additional key figures from Frederick's reign, pressed in bronze.

Relief figures

Mounted

Four mounted figures stand at the corners of the plinth, immediately below Frederick's statue.

Standing, full figures

Between the mounted figures stand 25 of the key men of Frederick's career. Some of them are full-sized free-standing figures and several are partially carved in relief. The figures represented are predominantly military, but also include six men of note, including diplomats, the Prime Minister of Prussia, jurists, poets, artists, and philosophers.

Inscriptions

The names of Frederick's generals are inscribed on bronze plates, mounted around the plinth.

South face

The south face displays bronze plaques with the names of 25 generals.

North face

The north face contains the names of 32 of key military figures in Frederick's life. Thirty-two are generals; three are men who contributed significantly to various battles but because of early deaths did not reach the highest military rank.

West face

The west face includes 14 men who contributed to the Prussian state as diplomats, authors, jurists, architects, painters and poets.

East face

Note on sources

Most of this information is derived from the Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie and the Neue Deutsche Biographie . ADB is a multi-volume biographical dictionary published from 1875-1912 in Leipzig, by Duncker & Humblot. It has been abbreviated as ADB. The volume date of publication is in parenthesis and the citation includes page numbers. Similarly, NDB is a multi-volume biographical reference work begun in 1953 and scheduled for completion in 2019. It is the successor to the ADB. The 25 volumes published thus far cover more than 21,800 individuals and families who lived in the German language area. The link takes the reader to the wikisource page used in this compilation. Readers can also consult the ADB directly and the NDB . When necessary, Anton Balthasar König's Biographisches Lexikon aller Helden und Militärpersonen: Welche sich in preussischen Diensten berühmt gemacht haben, A Wever, 1791, has been consulted. In addition, if several members of a family served during the wars of Frederick the Great, such as the 58 men of the von Kleist family, their full names are linked; otherwise, only one identifying name is used.

Citations