37: The Prussian Royal Family on visit in Sayn

The Prussian King enjoyed spending the summer at Stolzenfels Castle near Koblenz, which was rebuilt from ruins by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Our gaze falls on a watercolour that shows the visit of the royal family on the terrace of Sayn Palace. A wide flight of steps led the guests from the palace gardens up to the terrace, which was enclosed by a cast-iron balustrade. Franz X. Becker, who worked in product design for the iron foundry in Sayn, was the one to capture this occasion: Sitting at the table under the awning, you can spot, besides the hosts Louis and Leonilla, their friend King Friedrich Wilhelm IV with Queen Elisabeth as well as his brother Prince Wilhelm, the later Kaiser, with his wife Augusta and the Princess Louise. Among the king’s great entourage was also the later chancellor Otto von Bismarck.