Station: [10] The King's Living Room

You are in the King’s Living Room in the Margrave’s Tower. This room was once part of the royal couple’s private living quarters, known as the “King’s Apartment.”

Right on the round coffee table lies a special book. It is the guest book of Hohenzollern Castle. The first entry dates from October 3, 1867. It was written by King William I of Prussia on the occasion of the dedication of the third castle.

On the right-hand wall, you can see a portrait of this king. It depicts William I shortly after he ascended the throne in 1861. He is wearing the red ceremonial tunic paired with a dress uniform of the Garde du Corps regiment. He also wears the collar of the Order of the Black Eagle and the ribbon of the English Order of the Garter. He had been a Knight of the Garter since 1814.

Behind the guestbook is a color photograph. It shows the current head of the House of Hohenzollern and owner of the castle, Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia, with his wife Sophie, Princess of Prussia. The photo was taken on their wedding day in 2011. Next to it are black-and-white photographs of his father and his grandfather.

During his rare stays at the castle, Wilhelm I used the living room for more than just living quarters. It was also a study and workroom. The personal items on the desk attest to this. There, for example, lies a small book of Bible verses that the king and emperor always carried with him. The small table bell also speaks to his daily life; he used it to summon his valet.

The photographs on the desk show members of his family. And as in every study and bedroom of Wilhelm’s, a portrait of his mother—Queen Luise of Prussia—was a must here as well.

That is why you can see her portrait above the passageway to the bedroom. It was painted in 1802 by the French painter Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun. Luise was arguably the most famous Prussian queen. No other Prussian monarch was as revered as she was. She impressed people with her personality and beauty. And her untimely death in 1810 moved many people.

Her son, William I, also revered his mother, who died young, throughout his entire life. One memory from the year 1806 had a particularly profound effect on him. After Prussia’s defeat in the Battle of Jena and Auerstedt, Queen Luise was forced to flee with her children to East Prussia. On the way, a carriage wheel broke. The journey was interrupted. Luise and her children picked cornflowers in a field and wove them into wreaths. Wilhelm never forgot that moment. Later, the cornflower became his favorite flower.

If you now look at the small table by the window, you’ll rediscover this memory. The cornflower appears as a decorative motif on the glass jug there. In this way, this room quietly and almost tangibly connects political history, family memories, and very personal traces of the king.