Foundation of the German Reich in 1871

On 18 January, the Prussian King Wilhelm (1797-1888) was proclaimed German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. Even though Wilhelm had already been emperor since 1 January according to the German Reich’s constitution, this act symbolised the final step on the road to German unification. The history painter Anton von Werner (1843-1915) created four different versions of a painting of this event by 1915. Only the version of the painting that Otto von Bismarck received as a gift from the Hohenzollern family for his 70th birthday in 1885 has survived and is still popular today. It is owned by the Otto von Bismarck Foundation in Friedrichsruh (Schleswig-Holstein). The picture shown here is a photographic reproduction of the Friedrichsruh version from the Munich art publisher Franz Hanfstaengl.

For King Ludwig II, the process of German unification was a traumatic experience. Although there was no realistic alternative to Bavaria’s entry into the German Reich, and Ludwig had ultimately recognised this, he saw himself as a failure who had surrendered Bavarian sovereignty. Ludwig regarded the imperial proclamation at Versailles as a personal humiliation and did not attend. He was represented by his brother Otto and his uncle Luitpold. Ludwig also spoke of wanting to abdicate several times. All these events ultimately contributed to his further withdrawal and escape into dream worlds from 1870/71 onwards.

Matthias Bader