Kreisau in the 19th century

The history of the von Moltke family in Kreisau/Krzyżowa starts with the German field marshal and chief of staff of the Prussian army Count Helmuth Karl Bernhard von Moltke.

He led the Prussian army to victories over the Austrian and French troops in the wars of 1866 and 1871 respectively. In 1867 he bought the Kreisau/Krzyżowa estate as a retirement home. Two big frescos in the stairwell of the palace in Krzyżowa still commemorate Count Helmuth von Moltke. Painted on the occasion of his 100th birthday in 1900, they show the capture of Lübeck by French troops on November 8, 1806 (titled "The Shame") and the triumphal procession of German troops in Paris on March 1, 1871 (titled "The Revenge"). The frescos are a reminiscent of the nationalistic zeitgeist in Germany around 1900.