He was a celebrity. His image was very well known and he was referred to as Fritz in Germany. He was even something of a tourist attraction and was regularly visited by the great and the good. He seemed to have enjoyed the attention and even entrained some of his old enemies. These included the Austrian Field-Marshals who had battled him and Kutusov – who was later to be the victor over Napoleon. In fact, Frederick persuaded Kutsov not to retire from the military. Frederick was so famous that even after he died his tomb became a place of pilgrimage. Napoleon worshipped Frederick and studied his battles and tactics.
In 1806 Napoleon destroyed the Prussian army at the battle of Jena, captured Berlin and took up residence in Frederick’s old office before expressing a wish to visit his tomb. Upon entering the crypt, Napoleon approach the tomb and was silent before the tomb for several minutes then he turned to his generals and declaring; “Hats off, gentlemen! If he were alive, we would not be here.” This comment referred to the French victory over the Prussians, Napoleon did not believe that he could have defeated Frederick the Great in battle.