The equestrian statue for the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin stands vis-à-vis with the castle on a square in the palace garden. Surrounded by flowers, rose bushes and the romantic leaves, it is a highlight of the palace gardens of Schwerin.
A monument to the Grand Duke
After the death of the popular grand duke Friedrich Franz II. - the builder of the magnificent castle of Schwerin - his son commissioned to build a monumental statue. It is regarded as the only historical equestrian statue in all of Mecklenburg. It was financed by public donations, where lists of the donators with the amount of the donation were published.
Turbulent history
The artwork of the Mecklenburg sculptor Ludwig Brunow was unveiled in 1893 - in the presence of high-ranking guests like Kaiser Wilhelm II or the Grand-Duke Vladimir of Russia, as well as everything that had rank and name in the court yard in Mecklenburg. Inspired by the equestrian statues of the Roman emperors and the Prussian Friedrich the Great in Berlin, it was designed according to the typical, mostly military influenced, style of the late nineteenth century. The figures of the Grand Duke and his horse stand on a marble base, which is more than 4 meters high.
The virtues of the ruler
The base is surrounded by allegories on the four virtures of a ruler: strength, righteousness, wisdom, and faith. Two commemorative plaques show events from Friedrich Franz II. reign - the construction of the new university building in Rostock and the entry of the Grand Duke in Schwerin in 1871.
The monument wo wars and two dictatorships survived with good luck. It escaped being remelting during war and the destruction of monuments of monarchy after the end of the war.
