The last emperors of Germany were calledby the Kaiser. Although this German title of monarch in German-speaking countries was applied to emperors of all times and peoples, in other European countries this term was used in relation to only the last three representatives of the dynasty of Swabian origin (south-west Germany, the headwaters of the Danube and the Rhine) of the Hohenzollern - Wilhelm I, Friedrich III and Wilhelm II.
Kaiser Wilhelm II was not only the lastmonarch from the indicated dynasty, but also the last German emperor in general. This personality was very complicated. The first child of the eight children of Friedrich of Prussia and the English Princess Victoria was born as a result of difficult childbirth, which was so difficult that the future German Kaiser Wilhelm II for the rest of his life remained flawed, with severe physical disabilities.
Naturally, attention to him from the wholedynastic relatives were elevated - he was spoiled. In addition, the crowned parents compensated for their physical shortcomings with an excellent comprehensive education. And it is not at all surprising that the last German Kaiser Wilhelm II had not only a difficult, but terrible character - he was arrogant, arrogant and vindictive. His selfishness, according to contemporaries, had a "crystalline hardness." This monster plunged Europe into the First World War. Numerous photos captured for descendants the face of this cruel man.
It was born in 1859, already in 1888 hebecomes emperor. Kaiser Wilhelm I, a good, ruled by the “iron chancellor” of Otto von Bismarck, died in 1888, which in the history of Germany was called the “year of the three emperors”. His son Frederick III the Prussian Kaiser spent only 99 days, because he suddenly died of cancer of the larynx. June 15, 1888, Wilhelm II - a man with high self-esteem, inflexible faith in his genius and ability to change the world - ascended to the German throne.
Раньше фанатичному стремлению во всем быть первым Physical defects and difficulties of a psychological nature interfered. After the coronation of passion broke free. Ministers were forbidden to even think independently.
The economy created by Bismarck, by the end of the century has made Germany the leading country in Europe. Kaiser's appetites flared up, he proceeded to reorganize, equip and increase the army.
But with the outbreak of hostilities, the last Germanthe emperor somehow quickly lost interest in the slaughter started by him and by the beginning of 1915 did not interfere in anything. The war with the whole of Europe was waged by the generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff. The November revolution broke out in Germany on November 4, 1918. The empire came to a close, Wilhelm was removed from power, and he and his family fled to the Netherlands.
Under Otto von Bismarck, who was considered the “architect” of united Germany, not only was the Empire created, the economy developed, a single currency appeared in this country.
The Germans, like other nations, honor the memoryhistorical figures. Kaiser Wilhelm Church in Berlin - a kind of monument to the first and last emperors of Germany. Its other short name is Gödechtniskirche, and Berliners called it “hollow tooth”. The cult Protestant building was built according to the design of Franz Schwechten. This is a tribute to the grandson of his grandfather. Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church was built in 1891-1895. For a long time, it remained the highest in Berlin - it rises to 113 meters.
The original building was completely destroyed.Allied aviation on November 23, 1943. But the memory of her was so dear to the Berliners that when in its place the city authorities decided to build a new building, they defended the church. All newspapers were inundated with angry and indignant letters. The protest was successful. Kaiser Wilhelm’s church was reconstructed according to the design of Egon Ayermann. The ruins of a huge 68-meter tower were preserved, and around them the architect built modern structures, in particular, another octahedral tower, topped with a cross and consisting of hundreds of saturated blue color. On the tower the bell tolls hourly.
The originality of the restored cultfacilities allowed the guests of the capital to call him the "Blue Church". Countless glasses of this color are inserted into the concrete honeycomb, inside which is a source of light. All new tower acquires a mysterious blue glow. Light penetrating the outside and burning inside the building creates an amazing effect. The soaring almost 5-meter-high figure of Christ with arms outstretched seemed to have risen above the stylized altar. A new church was consecrated in 1961.
The memory of the last German emperorsaved in one more place. In the country there is a channel of the Kaiser Wilhelm. The Kiel Canal is navigable and connects the Baltic and North Sea. Its length from the mouth of the Elbe to the Kiel Bay is 98 kilometers. The width is 100 meters, which allows the battleships to sail from the Baltic to the North not around Denmark, but directly. The channel, which was officially launched by Kaiser Wilhelm II in June 1895, is currently being used very actively. It is open for international use.
