Walhalla (memorial)


The Walhalla is a hall of fame that honours laudable and distinguished people in German history – "politicians, sovereigns, scientists and artists of the German tongue"; thus the celebrities honoured are drawn from Greater Germany, a wider area than today's Germany, and even as far away as Britain in the case of several Anglo-Saxons who are honoured. The hall is a neo-classical building above the Danube River, in Donaustauf, east of Regensburg in Bavaria.
The Walhalla is named for the Valhalla of Norse Paganism. It was conceived in 1807 by Crown Prince Ludwig in order to support the gathering momentum for the unification of the many German states. Following his accession to the throne of Bavaria, construction took place between 1830 and 1842 under the supervision of the architect Leo von Klenze. The memorial displays some 65 plaques and 130 busts covering 2,000 years of history, beginning with Arminius, victor at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9.

History

By 1806 Napoleon's First French Empire had annexed German lands along the Rhine River and the North Sea. Central German states formed the Confederation of the Rhine, which sided with Napoleon. Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, then formally dissolved the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and instead styled himself Emperor of Austria. The War of the Fourth Coalition pitted German forces on both sides against each other, and Napoleon again prevailed.
In 1807, 20-year-old Crown Prince Ludwig of the Kingdom of Bavaria, had the idea of reminding all Germans of their common heritage – of the great figures and events in ethnic German history. He commissioned several sculptors to create busts of famous individuals of his choice. Johann Gottfried Schadow's bust of Nicolaus Copernicus became one of the first completed, in 1807. Further suggestions for individuals to be honoured were solicited in 1808 from Swiss historian Johannes von Müller.
By the time of Crown Prince Ludwig's coronation as King Ludwig I of Bavaria in 1825, 60 busts had been completed. In 1826 Ludwig commissioned the construction of a memorial above the Danube River, near Regensburg, modelled after the Parthenon in Athens. The southern pediment frieze features the 1815 creation of the German Confederation; the northern pediment frieze features scenes from the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest of 9 AD. According to Pictorial Travels Continentally Described, the construction of the building cost £666,666.
A two thaler coin was minted commemorating the opening of the Walhalla, Krause catalog number KM# 811. It is moderately scarce.
At Walhalla's inauguration on October 18, 1842, there were 96 busts, plus 64 plaques for persons or events of which no portrait was available on which to model a sculpture.
When the memorial was opened in 1842, Joseph Hartmann Stuntz authored a poem about Germany's greatness which was set to music by Joseph Hartmann Stuntz.
Since being "of the German tongue" was the main selection criterion for the original 160 persons representing the 1,800 years of German history, the King included
individuals of the wider Germanic sphere, including ancient Germanic notables as well as people from the Holy Roman Empire.
Whereas the Valhalla of Norse mythology served as home to those gloriously slain in battle, Ludwig intended his Walhalla not only for warriors but also for scientists, writers, and clerics, and specifically included both men and women. Decades before the foundation of the modern German state in 1871,
"German" was understood as "Germanic", and included
ancient Germanic as well as medieval and modern Austrian, Dutch, Swedish and Swiss figures.
The first addition to the collection was the bust of Martin Luther.
Ludwig, as a devout Catholic, had hesitated to include Luther. Several of the sculptors, including Ohnmacht and Schadow, had urged the king to include Luther, as did Johannes von Müller. Heinrich Heine mocked the omission in his satirical poem Praise to King Ludwig, saying: often, in naturalist collections of fish, the whale is missing.
Ludwig finally commissioned Luther's bust in 1831 from Ernst Friedrich Rietschel.
It was not included at the inauguration of Walhalla in 1842, but added in 1848 by Ludwig himself.
Luther's bust was placed just after the last of the original busts, disregarding the chronological arrangement by year of death.
Four further additions were made during Ludwig's lifetime:
Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen,
Josef Wenzel Graf Radetzky von Radetz ,
Friedrich Schelling
and Ludwig van Beethoven.
In 1853, King Ludwig I established an additional Hall of Fame in Munich, specifically for Bavarians – the Ruhmeshalle. Nine of the Bavarian enshrinees have since become Walhalla enshrinees. Their busts in the Ruhmeshalle were destroyed in 1944, during a bombing raid, and have not been replaced. Instead, a plaque with their names tells of their transfer to Walhalla. King Ludwig I himself, who commissioned the Liberation
Hall and other monuments, was also enshrined both at Walhalla and in the Ruhmeshalle.
Helmuth von Moltke the Elder was the last addition of a military leader.
After World War I, new additions focussed on artists and intellectuals.
Beginning in 1933, when Kraft durch Freude and other National Socialist organizations promoted trips to Walhalla, visitor numbers increased exponentially. In 1937, when Hitler unveiled a Bruckner bust, 131,520 were counted.
The Walhalla memorial was reached by the Allied invasion of Germany in April 1945, by the US Third Army led by General George S. Patton.
Additions since 1945 are proposed by private individuals or private foundations, who will also pay for the production of the new bust. Suggestions are reviewed by the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, based on which a recommendation is made by the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior. The final decision lies with the Bavarian Council of Ministers. Official practice since 1945 has been to favour "eminent figures from science or art, or individuals with extraordinary social or caritative merit".
Nineteen busts have been added between 1945 and 2018, for an average interval of a little below four years between additions:
The addition of a bust of Max Planck is scheduled for 2019.

List of people

Busts

The original busts are arranged in rows by date of death
At the inauguration in 1842, a total of 96 busts were arranged, in two rows, in chronological order, beginning with Henry the Fowler and ending with Goethe.
The upper row comprised 70 busts, beginning with Henry the Fowler and ending with Maria Theresa.
The lower row comprised a total of 26 busts of modern scholars, beginning with Lessing and ending with Goethe.

Upper Row

;Busts to the left of the statue of Ludwig I
;68. Statue of Ludwig I of Bavaria
;Busts to the right of the statue of Ludwig I

Lower Row

;Busts to the left of the statue of Ludwig I
;68. Statue of Ludwig I of Bavaria
;Busts to the right of the statue of Ludwig I

Plaques

s were made for people of which no portraits or descriptions were available to model sculptures after. The timeline spans from Arminius a.k.a. Hermann der Cherusker to watchmaker Peter Henlein, who died in 1542. In 2003 a plaque was added to commemorate the German Resistance against Nazi Germany.
Plaque numbers 1-32 represent the upper row, 33-64 the lower row.
Each plaque includes a short characterization of the individual, with the year of death given in Roman numerals.
The year of death in the table below is that given on the plaque, even where modern historiography suggests a revised date.
NrNameDiedDescription
1Arminius21Leader of the Cherusci, victorious at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9.
2Marbod40Leader of the Marcomanni
3Veledaafter 65Prophetess
4Julius Civilisbefore 100Leader of the Batavi
5Ermanarich375King of the Ostrogoths
6Wulfilabefore 380Apostle of the Goths
7Fritigernafter 390Leader of the Tervingi
8Alaric I410King of the Visigoths
9Athaulf415King of the Visigoths
10Theodoric I451King of the Visigoths
11Horsa451Conqueror of Britain
12Geiseric477King of the Vandals
13Hengest480Conqueror of Britain
14Odoacer497King of the Heruli and Gepidae
15Clovis I511King of the Franks
16Theodoric the Great526King of the Ostrogoths
17Totila552King of the Ostrogoths
18Alboin573King of the Lombards
19Theudelindec. 626Queen of the Lombards
20Emmeram von Regensburg680Bishop and Saint
21Pippin of Herstal716Mayor of the Palace
22Beda Venerabilis735Abbot and historiographer
23Willibrord739Bishop and Saint
24Charles Martel741Charles "the Hammer", Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace
25Bonifatius755Bishop and Saint
26Pippin the Younger768Pippin "the Short", King of the Franks
27Widukindc. 800Leader of the Saxons
28Paulus Diaconusafter 800Paul Warnefried, historiographer of the Lombards
29Alcuin804Abbot and scholar
30Ecgberht of Wessexc. 810First King of England
31Charlemagne814Charles the Great, Roman Emperor
32Einhard839Historiographer, biographer of Charlemagne
33Hrabanus Maurus856Bishop and scholar
34Arnulf von Kärnten900Roman Emperor
35Alfred the Great900King of England
36Otto of Saxonybefore 919Duke of Saxony
37Arnulf of Bavaria937Duke of Bavaria
38Matilda of Ringelheim968Queen of Germany and Saint
39Hrotsvithabefore 1000Dramatist
40Bernward of Hildesheim1028Artist, Bishop and Saint
41Heribert von Köln1028Bishop and Saint
42Henry III1056Holy Roman Emperor
43Lampert von Hersfeld1077Historian
44Otto von Bamberg1139Bishop
45Otto von Freising1158Bishop and historian
46Hildegard von Bingen1179Abbess and Saint
47Otto of Bavaria1183Duke of Bavaria
48Engelbert of Cologne1226Bishop and Saint
49The anonymous poet of the Nibelungenlied-
50Walther von der Vogelweide1230Minnesinger
51Elisabeth von Thüringen1231Princess and Saint
52Leopold VI of Austria1234Leopold "the Glorious", Duke of Austria
53Hermann von Salza1240Grand Master of the Teutonic Order
54Wolfram von Eschenbach1251Minnesinger
55Master Gerhard1271Architect of Cologne Cathedral
56Arnold zum Turm1264Founder of the Rhenish League of Cities
57Albertus Magnus1280Bishop and scholar
58Rütlischwurafter 1306The three men of the Rütli oath, foundation of the Old Swiss Confederacy
59Friedrich der Schöne1330Anti-king during the Interregnum
60Bruno von Warendorp1369Leader of the Hanseatic League
61Arnold Winkelried1386Knight, Swiss hero at Sempach
62Wilhelm von Köln1388Painter
63Adrian von Bubenberg1479Bernese military leader
64Peter Henlein1542Inventor of the pocket watch

The 65th plaque, dedicated to the Widerstand against Nazi Germany, added in 2003, is not part of the two rows of 64 numbered plaques.