From November 2027 to January 2029, the LWL Prussian Museum in Minden will be entirely dedicated to one of the most famous female figures in Prussian history: Queen Luise of Prussia (1776–1810). The major special exhibition “Really, Luise?!” examines her short life against the backdrop of profound social and political upheavals—from the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars to the dawn of industrialization. In doing so, the exhibition presents Luise as a queen, a mother, and a public figure.
How did she come to be the object of almost cult-like veneration even during her lifetime? How did she later become a symbolic figure for Prussia’s resurgence? Her encounter with Napoleon in Tilsit in 1807, in particular, is considered a central component of the Luise myth: Although her attempt to secure more lenient peace terms for Prussia was politically unsuccessful, Prussian historiography retrospectively stylized the meeting as a symbolic “act of sacrifice.”
“Really, Luise?!” bridges the gap between such historical interpretations and the present day, addressing current debates on gender roles, social expectations, and women’s political participation in its accompanying program. In doing so, the exhibition links Prussian history to questions that extend far beyond the biography of the famous queen.
