Orange princes (Berlin)

Berlin Palace and pleasure garden terrace around 1900

The Orange Princes were five bronze sculptures that were located on the pleasure garden terrace of the Berlin Palace from 1907 to 1950 , where they reminded of the close connection between the Hohenzollern and Orange houses . Of the original five Orange Princes, four are now preserved in various locations across Europe.

Overthrown Orange Prince Moritz 1950, in the background the destroyed Old Museum

History and description

The pleasure garden terrace was completed in front of the north facade of the Berlin Palace in 1846 . It consisted of a larger western part with the eagle column and a smaller eastern part with the horse tamers . On the terrace balustrade in 1907 from left to right the Orange Princes Wilhelm I , Moritz , Friedrich Heinrich , Wilhelm II and Wilhelm III. set up. They reminded of the close connection between the houses of Hohenzollern and Orange. The approximately 2.50 meter high bronze sculptures were each created by the sculptors Walter Schott , Martin Wolff , Adolf Brütt , Wilhelm Haverkamp and Heinrich Baucke .

Of the original five Orange Princes, today there are Wilhelm I as a copy in front of the Marktkirche in Wiesbaden , Moritz as an original in front of the Humboldt-Box , Friedrich Heinrich as a copy in the Het Loo Palace Park in Apeldoorn and Wilhelm III. received as a copy in front of the Kensington Palace in London . The whereabouts of the bronze sculpture of Wilhelm II is unknown. In connection with the reconstruction of the Berlin Palace as a Humboldt Forum , a return of the Orange Princes is discussed. The head of the Friends of Berlin Palace Wilhelm von Boddien and the CDU Berlin are campaigning for the monuments to return to the area around the palace .

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  Wilhelm I. in front of the market church in Wiesbaden

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  Moritz in front of the Humboldt Box

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  William III. in front of the Kensington Palace in London

Coligny statue

Next to the Orange Princes was the statue of Gaspard II. De Colignys , which was created by Emil Graf von Görtz and placed in front of the pharmacy wing of the palace in 1905. The whereabouts of the approximately 2.20 meter high bronze sculpture is unknown.

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  Coligny in front of the pharmacy wing

See also

• Eagle column (Berlin)
• Horse tamer (Berlin)

literature

• Albert Geyer: The history of the palace in Berlin (1443-1918). Nicolai Verlag, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-89479-628-0 .

Web links

• The Orange Princes and Coligny (PDF; 9.6 MB), Gesellschaft Berliner Schloss eV

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The statues of the Orange princes of the Lustgarten Page | Berlin Palace . In: Berlin Palace . June 11, 2015 ( berliner-schloss.de [accessed July 14, 2018]).
2. ↑ Manuela Blisse: Berlin Palace: Five princes, two horse tamers and a fountain . In: THE WORLD . June 8, 2015 ( welt.de [accessed July 14, 2018]).
3. ^ Strong Berlin - The government program of the CDU Berlin 2016–2021. P. 45