Reichshund ("dog of the Empire")Henry Vizetelly, ''Berlin under the New Empire: Its Institutions, Inhabitants, Industry, Monuments, Museums, Social Life, Manners, and Amusements'', Volume 1 London: Tinsley, 1879,
p. 420
Bryce, p. 126. was an informal term used in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

for '' Reichskanzler''

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...

's dogs and more generally for similar dogs, particularly

Great Dane The Great Dane is a German list of dog breeds, breed of large mastiff-sighthound, which descends from hunting dogs of the Middle Ages used to hunt bears, wild boar, and deer. They were also used as guardian dogs of German nobility. It is one o ...

Bismarck's dogs

Keeping dogs in Germany became increasingly fashionable as the 19th century continued, and people in public life often did so as part of their image. Wolfgang Wippermann, "Biche und Blondi, Tyras und Timmy. Repräsentation durch Hunde", in: Lutz Huth and Michael Krzeminski, eds., ''Repräsentation in Politik, Medien und Gesellschaft'', Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann, 2007, , pp. 185–202
p. 192
Bismarck reportedly took a blonde Great Dane called Ariel with him when he entered the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

in 1832. He continued to keep Great Danes throughout the rest of his life.Occasionally the dogs are described as bulldogs, for example: Christopher McIntosh, ''The Swan King: Ludwig II of Bavaria'', rev. ed. London: Tauris, 2012,
p. 172
Klaus Schlichtmann, ''Japan in the World: Shidehara Kijūrō, Pacifism, and the Abolition of War'', AsiaWorld, Lanham, Maryland: Lexington, 2009,
n. 222, p. 88
quoting a speech by Kijūrō Shidehara, or mastiffs, for example: Frank Preston Stearns, ''The Life of Prince Otto Von Bismarck'', Philadelphia/London: Lippincott, 1899,
p. 423
David Clay Large, ''Berlin'', New York: Basic, 2000,
quoting Baroness von Spitzenberg
James Bryce, Viscount Bryce, "Lecture V. Diplomacy and International Law", in: ''International relations: Eight Lectures Delivered in the United States in August, 1921'', The Institute of politics publications, Williams College, New York: Macmillan, 1922, , pp. 148–75
p. 152
"a wolfhound, or something between a wolfhound and a mastiff". His favourite was Sultan (shortened to 'Sultl' to avoid diplomatic repercussions with

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

); on his deathbed he berated himself for not treating the dog better. Sultan was a gift from the

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

n Count Holnstein. After Sultan's death on 26 October 1877, Bismarck could only be consoled by the gift of another Great Dane from Count Holnstein, Tyras. Tyras died on 18 January 1889; Emperor Wilhelm II gave Bismarck Tyras II for his birthday the following April 1. The dog died on 11 May 1896.Konrad Breitenborn, ''Bismarck: Kult und Kitsch um den Reichsgründer'', Frankfurt: Keip, 1990,
p. 111
Bismarck also owned female Great Danes named Flora (nicknamed 'Flörchen'), who was Sultan's mate, and finally Rebecca (nicknamed Beckchen),Breitenborn
p. 110
who died in 1897. After receiving Tyras II from the emperor, Bismarck regretfully gave Tyras I's offspring, Cyrus, whom he had hand-reared, to his head forester. Bismarck's dogs were buried at his estate in Varzin, in

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

(now Warcino, Poland); the gravestones were rediscovered by students at the forestry institute that now occupies the manor. Accounts of the dogs' temperament vary. Some historians have regarded Bismarck's choice of the largest available breed and his habit of having a dog with him, which would disconcert foreign diplomats, as calculated demonstrations of power. Former diplomat James Bryce, Viscount Bryce referred to the dog as "now and then growl ngand show ngits teeth in a threatening way", and diplomat and President of Japan Kijūrō Shidehara said in a speech that "the dog threatened to bite anyone who would provoke his master's displeasure." Robert K. Massie describes Tyras as "terrori

ing Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 199 ...

the Chancellory staff" and writes that those who spoke with Bismarck were "advised to make no unusual gestures which Tyras might interpret as threatening." Robert K. Massie, '' Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the Coming of the Great War'', 1991, New York: Random House-Ballantine, 1992,
n.p.
/ref> On the other hand Tyras was said by one contemporary to have "never been guilty of any such ill-mannered act before" his celebrated misbehaviour, and the English periodical ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'' described him at the time as "a very quiet creature, with a most pacific reputation.""News of the Week"
''

'', volume 51, no. 2608, 22 June 1878.

Public attention

Bismarck's dogs came to the public's attention and began to be called 'Reichshund' after Tyras attacked the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n chancellor, Alexander Gorchakov, at the

Congress of Berlin At the Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878), the major European powers revised the territorial and political terms imposed by the Russian Empire on the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of San Stefano (March 1878), which had ended the Rus ...

in 1878. In some accounts, he knocked him to the ground, according to Massie after he raised his arm to make a point, but according to ''The Spectator'' after he had stumbled and Bismarck had rushed to aid him. However, '' Kladderadatsch'' published a front-page poem describing him as having torn the envoy's trousers. Its title was "An den Reichshund" - "To the Dog of the Empire". The poem misidentifies the offending dog as Sultan, who had already died. The term Reichshund came to be used for Great Danes or similar dogs in general. In

Nancy Mitford Nancy Freeman-Mitford (28 November 1904 – 30 June 1973) was an English novelist, biographer, and journalist. The eldest of the Mitford family#Mitford sisters, Mitford sisters, she was regarded as one of the "bright young things" on the ...

's '' Wigs on the Green'' Eugenia's "enormous mastiff" is called the Reichshund "after Bismarck's dog". Some of the statues of Bismarck in Germany depict him with a dog, for example Max Klein's statue of him in Grunewald, Berlin (1897; melted down during World War II and recreated by Harald Haacke in 1996), Adolf Lehnert's statue of him in the Johannapark in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

with a dog for whom Tyras II served as model (1895; destroyed) and the statue of a young Bismarck by Norbert Pfretzschner erected by members of the student 'corps' on the Rudelsburg at Bad Kösen in 1896 (destroyed; recasting erected in 2006) depicts him with attributes of a corps member including a dog for whom Tyras I served as model. Late-19th century student corps members included keeping large dogs among their traditions.Barbara Krug-Richter, "Hund und Student – eine akademische Mentalitätsgeschichte (18.–20. Jh.)", ''Jahrbuch für Universitätsgeschichte'' 10 (2007) 77–104
pdf
p. 4 File:Bismarckfigur 200x256.jpg, Max Klein's statue of Bismarck with Reichshund in Grunewald (1897) File:Denkmal Bismarck Grunewald 01.jpg, Harold Haacke's recreation of Klein's statue (1996) File:Bismarckdenkmal Leipzig IllustrirteZeitung.jpg, Adolf Lehnert's statue of Bismarck with Reichshund, Johannapark, Leipzig (1897 engraving) File:Rudelsburg Junger Bismarck 2.jpg, Young Bismarck monument at Rudelsburg, by Norbert Pfretzschner (1896; 2006 recasting)

Notes

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Bismarcks dogs, Bismarck's dogs
de.wikisource: "An den Reichshund"
Dogs as pets Otto von Bismarck Individual dogs in politics

Bismarck's dogs

Public attention

See also

Notes

References

External links