Just a bit further down Unter den Linden I came across this spectacular monument to the famous Prussian king, Frederick II, better known as Frederick the Great. I was told that this monument had recently been completely cleaned and restored and was seeing it looking its best.

This monument and the figures arrayed around its base commemorate the various sides of Frederick's life, from General to Author, Composer and more. Scroll down below the picture for some more info on Frederick the Great.

Frederick the Great Monument

Frederick is one my favorite historical characters. Quite an enlightened ruler for his time, he ironically never really wanted to be king.

It's a miracle that Frederick survived his childhood. His father was a violent tempered autocrat, who was appalled that his son was a fun loving youth more interested in culture and the arts. The father's response was to beat the young Frederick mercilessly and to seize every opportunity to humiliate him in public. At the age of 19 Frederick tried to escape by runing away, and his punishment when he was recaptured was to be imprisoned for two years. Worse, he was forced to watch from prison as his best friend, who had helped him escape, was decapitated.

Frederick became king on his father's death in 1740, and because of this treatment seemed to crave affection while at the same time maintaining an impenetrable emotional reserve. Nevertheless, almost despite his father's efforts, he inherited extreme conscientiousness, a passionate devotion to duty, and an even greater passion for hard work. He was devoted to the interests of Prussia and her people, earning the nicknames of "l'avocat du pauvre" (poor man's advocate) and "le roi des gueux" (king of the beggars).

But more than just being a competent king, he was a prodigy. His intellectual and artistic accomplishments amazed the rest of Europe. A polymath of prodigious energy and great intellectual power, he seems to be Germany's answer to Thomas Jefferson or Britian's William Gladstone. Tourists flocked to Berlin and Potsdam to watch him as he drilled his troops or superintended the gardners at his palatial summer retreat of Sans Souci. A Dutch tourist was once shown around Sanssouci by an old man whom he took to be one of the gardners. The visitor only realized his error when the old man refused a tip, saying, "We're not allowed to accept, I'm afraid."

Frederick was perhaps the greatest military genius of the 18^th century. Even though his armies were often outnumbered, Frederick won 12 of the 15 battles he fought and recovered quickly from the few he lost. The young Napoleon was a student of Frederick's methods and, after defeating Prussian armies at Jena and Auerstadt in 1806, took his marshals to visit Frederick's tomb in Potsdam. "Hats off, gentlemen," he said. "If he were still alive, we would not be here."

Frederick wrote extensively about military matters but also about almost everything else: philosophy, diplomacy, French literature, German literature (or rather the lack of it), religion, and government. One of his best friends and frequent companions at Sans Souci was the French author Voltaire. When not writing, he composed music and played the flute. He bought Old Masters on the European art market, collected porcelain, patronized architects (who often worked from Frederick's own drawings, as was the case at Sans Souci. His schedule was manic. He once concluded a letter to a friend,

Adieu, I'm going to write to the king of France, compose a solo, pen some verses for Voltaire, change the rules of the army and perform another hundred things of that sort.

Much of the preceding information comes from a review of two biographies of Frederick the Great sent to me by a friend. However I don't know the author of the review or the periodical it appeared in, so I can't give a correct citation.