Denkmal für König Wilhelm II. (und seine Hunde?) vor dem, wie kann es anders sein, Wilhelmspalais. Es steht fast immer ein Blumenstrauß oder eine Topfpflanze vor dem König, wie auch im Bild gut zu erkennen. Von einem Verwandten? Oder von einem "Königstreuen"?
Monument for king Wilhelm the Second and his dogs in front of the Wilhelmspalais. There is almost every day a bouquet of flowers or a potted plant at the monument. Is it from a descendant? Or from a royalist?
7 comments:
I wonder why he is there.
Nice shot. It's interesting that they have the dogs with him; they must have been constanct companions to be memorialized with him.
Darryl and Ruth :)
Interesting...the mysterious flower leaver.
Cool shot. I like the white buds/flowers on the tree in back of the statue. The flowers are an enigma. Can't imagine why anyone would care enough to leave floral tributes!
Maybe the flowers are just from someone who likes dogs!
are those dogs? one looks a bit like a sheep.
King Wilhelm II was a good king and was also rather liberal for his time. He was greatly respected and liked. He chose abdication immediately rather than risk the bloodshed of any Stuttgarter in defense of the monarchy on the day of the "revolution" in Stuttgart in 1918. He had really done nothing wrong as a king, hence the respect he had earned. The times were changing in greater Germany in those difficult days at the close of WWI, and he said he would not hinder progress.
The two dogs were in fact his constant companions. He walked with them through the streets of Stuttgart unaccompanied by police and often people greet and address the old gentleman as "Mr. King".
He chose to live in the smaller Wilhelmspalais over the other larger palaces as he was simply not pompous.
The flowers are left by one who respects not only history, but also recognizes that there were good people in history who are easily forgotten because they did NOT make trouble.
Good King Wilhelm died in 1921 at his place of retirement in Bebenhausen, only a few miles south of Stuttgart. At his choice, he is buried in a rather simple, but nice, grave in Ludwigsburg, near his consort, Queen Charlotte (d. 1946), as well as his first wife, who died young. His infant son is buried there as well. Many thousands lined the streets to say good-bye to him.
(By the way: he was so respected, that the State of Württemberg under the new Weimar Republic granted him and the queen a yearly stipend until they died. )
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