The Walhalla, one of the most important German national monuments of the 19th century, towers above the Danube near Regensburg. The Bavarian King Ludwig I (reigned 1825 - 1848) had this temple of fame built by the architect Leo von Klenze (1784 - 1864) to create a place of remembrance to honour deserving German-speaking men and women. The foundation stone was laid in 1830 and the Walhalla was ceremonially opened in 1842. Klenze combined historical motifs with the achievements of contemporary building technology. The Parthenon Temple on the Athenian Acropolis served as an important model for the classicist monumental building with its majestic columns. Klenze built his marble-clad hall of honour over a massive stepped substructure. The interior is adorned with an antique frieze of figures by Martin von Wagner, which shows an idealised depiction of the migration of Germanic peoples from its beginnings to Christianisation in the early Middle Ages. Busts and commemorative plaques of famous men and women, dubbed the "Walhallagenossen" (Walhalla comrades), selected by Ludwig I and his advisors, were placed along the walls: Initially this included 96 busts and 64 commemorative plaques of 160 men and (a few) women, who were considered exemplary in the 19th century. Since 1962, the Bavarian Council of Ministers has been admitting new figures to the Walhalla every five to seven years on the recommendation of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences.
Subject
Architektur
Ort
Halle
Object Category
Bauwerk
Call Number / Inventory Number / Id Number
Identifier: 4064441-8
Holding Institution
Bayerische Verwaltung der staatlichen Schlösser, Gärten und Seen
Data Provider
Bayerische Verwaltung der staatlichen Schlösser, Gärten und Seen