Emperor Wilhelm I
N 48° 46.595 E 009° 10.862
32U E 513300 N 5402635
This statue of the emperor is located in Karlsplatz in Stuttgart, Germany.
Waymark Code: WMZ77
Location: Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Date Posted: 11/20/2006
Views: 108
This square with its equestrian statue of the emperor Wilhelm I is named after Duke Carl Eugen, who ruled the state from 1744-1793. The square has been a pedestrian precinct since 1982 and is the scene of a weekly flea market. In summer the Hamburg fish market comes here for a few days. Underneath the square there is a large storage reservoir for rainwater. The chestnut trees which frame the square are planted in concrete containers, known as "Stuttgarter Eimer" ("Stuttgart Buckets"), which are connected to a computer-controlled system which supplies the trees with water and nutrients.
William I (William Frederick Louis) (March 22, 1797 – March 9, 1888), ruled as both German Emperor and King of Prussia between January 18, 1871 – 9 March 1888.
He served in the army from 1814 onward, fought against Napoleon I of France, and was reportedly a very brave soldier. He also became an excellent diplomat by engaging in diplomatic missions after 1815.
He appointed Otto von Bismarck to the office of Prime Minister. According to the Prussian constitution, the Prime Minister was responsible solely to the king, not to parliament. Bismarck liked to see his work relationship with William as that of a vassal to his feudal superior. Nonetheless it was Bismarck who effectively directed the politics, interior as well as foreign; on several occasions he gained William's assent by threatening to resign.
In the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War William was proclaimed German Emperor on January 18, 1871 in Versailles Palace.
The Franco-Prussian War (July 19, 1870 – May 10, 1871) was declared by France on Prussia, which was backed by the North German Confederation and the south German states of Baden, Württemberg and Bavaria. The conflict marked the culmination of tension between the two powers following Prussia's rise to dominance in Germany, which before 1866 was still a loose federation of quasi-independent territories.
The war began over the ascension of a candidate from the Sigmaringen branch of the Hohenzollern royal family to the vacant Spanish throne as Isabella II had abdicated in 1868. This was strongly opposed by France who issued an ultimatum to King Wilhelm I of Prussia to have the candidacy withdrawn, which was done. Aiming to humiliate Prussia, Emperor Napoleon III of France then required Wilhelm to apologize and renounce any possible further Hohenzollern candidature to the Spanish throne. King Wilhelm, surprised at his holiday resort by the French ambassador, declined as he was not informed yet. Prussia's Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, edited the King's account of his meeting with the French ambassador to make the encounter more heated than it really was. Known as the Ems Dispatch, it was released to the press. It was designed to give the French the impression that King Wilhelm I had insulted the French Count Benedetti, and to give the German people the impression that the Count had insulted the King. It succeeded on both accounts.
The French people and their parliament reacted with outrage; Napoleon III mobilized and declared war on Prussia only, but effectively also on the states of southern Germany. The German armies quickly mobilized and within a few weeks controlled large amounts of land in Eastern France. Their success was due in part to rapid mobilization by train, to Prussian General Staff leadership and to modern Krupp artillery made of steel. Napoleon III was captured with his whole army at the Battle of Sedan, yet this did not end the war, as a republic was declared in Paris on September 4, 1870, marking the creation of the Third Republic of France under the Government of National Defense and later the "Versaillais government" of Adolphe Thiers. The immediate result was an extension to the war as the Republic proclaimed a continuation of the fight.
Over a five-month campaign, the German armies defeated the newly recruited French armies in a series of battles fought across northern France. Following a prolonged siege, the French capital Paris fell on January 28, 1871. Ten days earlier, the German states had proclaimed their union under the Prussian King, uniting Germany as a nation-state, the German Empire. The final peace Treaty of Frankfurt was signed May 10, 1871, during the time of the bloody Paris Commune of 1871.
In France and Germany the war is known as the Franco-German War (French: Guerre franco-allemande de 1870 German: Deutsch-Französischer Krieg), which perhaps more accurately describes the combatants rather than simply France and Prussia alone.
Next to the statue can be seen two obelisks each inscribed with the dates and locations of victorious battles tracing the German army's advance towards Paris. The monument is reminiscent of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Identity of Rider: Emperor Wilhelm I
Name of artist: Wilhelm von Rümann (statue), Friedrich Ritter von Thiersch (platform)
Date of Dedication: 1 October 1898
Material: Other
Unusual Features: Obelisks commemorating the vicories in the Franco-Prussion war.
Position: One Hoof Raised
Identity of Horse: Not listed
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