Menu
Breslau, von 7 September 1906
Königliche Mittagstafel
Breslau, 7th September 1906
Royal Luncheon
Mecklenburgische Suppe
Mecklenburg Soup (cream of cauliflower)
Steinbutten
Turbot
Gedämpfte Rinderstuck mit Gemüse
Corned beef with vegetables
Frische Gänseleber en Bellevue
Fresh goose-liver medallions that have been
seared and cooled before being coated with
chaud-froid sauce, garnishes, and then
sealed in a layer of Port jelly.
Rehschnitten auf Ungarische Art
Venison casserole (Őzpörkölt) made from roe deer, red wine, paprika, tomatoes, green peppers, bacon and juniper berries
Poularden in Gallert, Salat
Jellied chickens and salad
Háselnussbombe
Domes of hazelnut ice-cream encased inside a layer of vanilla ice-cream
Käsestangen
Cheese sticks
On the day of this banquet Winston Churchill (third from left) and the Kaiser (second from right) view the military manoeuvres. along with the Earl of Lonsdale and General Hamilton.
Photo courtesy: Imperial War Museum.© IWM HU 68490
Menu dated 7th September 1906
Luncheon at the Royal Palace, Breslau (Wrocław), hosted by Their Imperial and Royal Majesties Kaiser Wilhelm II and Kaiserin Auguste Victoria of Germany.
A young 31 year-old Winston Churchill was amongst the personal guests of honour at this banquet hosted by the German Emperor, Wilhelm II, in 1906.
Along with the Duke of Connaught, Churchill was part of a small British delegation attending the spectacular annual military manoeuvres on the outskirts of Breslau (today Wrocław) in the then German province of Silesia. At the time, Churchill was Under Secretary of State for the Colonial Office.
Over 50,000 soldiers and officers partook in the manoeuvres to the delight of their Emperor, the King of Saxony and the British delegation.
Churchill had spent the past month on a yacht in Deauville before venturing to Paris and then to Switzerland where he scaled Eggishorn; and had now arrived in Breslau, via Berlin.
Meanwhile the Kaiser, accompanied by the Empress and three Imperial Princes, had arrived aboard the Imperial Train from Wildpark station at the Neues Palais.
“It was my fortune to be the Emperor’s guest at the German Army manoeuvres of 1906 and 1908”, recalled Churchill in his later years of this and his subsequent visit to Breslau.
“He was then at the height of his glory”, Churchill recounted of the Kaiser:
“As he sat on his horse surrounded by Kings and Princes while his legions defiled before him in what seemed to be an endless procession, he represented all that this world has to give in material things.
The picture which lives the most vividly in my memory is his entry into the city of Breslau at the beginning of the manoeuvres. He rode his magnificent horse at the head of a squadron of cuirassiers, wearing their white uniform and eagle-crested helmet. The streets of the Silesian capital were thronged with his enthusiastic subjects, and lined, not with soldiers, but more impressively with thousands of aged veterans in rusty black coats and stove-pipe hats, as if the great past of Germany saluted her more splendid future”.
Following the display of military manoeuvres, the Kaiser's personal guests, including Churchill and the British delegation, attended Breslau's Royal Palace for this luncheon.
The imperial fare was a mishmash of hearty dishes such as corned beef and a Hungarian casserole made from roe deer, red wine and paprika; served between finer fare such as seared medallions of goose-liver set in Port jelly.
On the day of this imperial banquet in 1906, Winston Churchill views the military manoeuvres with Kaiser Wilhelm II on the outskirts of Breslau.
Above photo (and in page masthead): Library of Congress