Leopold of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

Leopold was the 13th child and the youngest son of Duke Karl I of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel and his wife Philippine Charlotte of Prussia, a sister of the Prussian King Frederick II.

The legend that the Duke tried to rescue citizens trapped by the flood from mortal danger and died in the process, was born immediately after the accident in Frankfurt and spread at lightning speed.

Socially and politically aspiring citizens saw in the “report” of Leopold's speech, deed and death, their own ideal of overcoming their limits in the corporate society emerged.

So Chodowiecki unselfishly determined the proceeds from the sale of his copperplate engravings to help the water-damaged, and Frankfurt, Berlin, Brunswick and other Freemasons worked intensively, the news of Leopold's selfless commitment to his fellow citizens and of his heroic downfall throughout the Reichto spread and celebrate it.

Although Leopold was urgently advised not to venture into the dangerous water without necessity, he ignored the warnings and boarded a boat, not to save people, but, as he said to the skippers accompanying him, to look after them personally have his living on the other side soldiers [6] to care.