RUHMESHALLE

Description

Essentials about the Ruhmeshalle in brief

The Ruhmeshalle (Hall of Fame) is an expression of Bavarian “Mia san mia” national pride. Anyone interested in the history of the Free State and its great personalities should pay a visit to the Ruhmeshalle above the Theresienwiese. The 68-meter-long and 32-meter-deep Doric columned hall was built in the mid-19th century by order of King Ludwig I, together with the statue of the Bavaria standing in front of it, and honors important people from Bavaria with a bust.

The history and architecture of the Ruhmeshalle

The Ruhmeshalle goes back to King Ludwig I, who in his youth experienced how Bavaria was a pawn of the great powers France and Austria and repeatedly became a theater of war. Against this backdrop, Ludwig began to think about a “Bavaria of all tribes” and a “greater German nation” while still a crown prince. These motives and goals subsequently motivated him to undertake several construction projects for national monuments, including the Valhalla near Regensburg and the Ruhmeshalle in Munich.

Ludwig was an ardent admirer of Greek antiquity and wanted to transform his capital Munich into a kind of “Athens on the Isar”. With this in mind, he had several monumental buildings and monuments erected in various variations of the classicist style even before the Ruhmeshalle, including the ensemble of buildings on Königsplatz and the Feldherrnhalle.

Ludwig had the idea for the Ruhmeshalle long before his accession to the throne. Even as crown prince, he developed the plan to erect a patriotic monument in Munich. In 1809, he commissioned the historian Lorenz Westenrieder to draw up a list of “great” Bavarians of all ranks and professions, which was supplemented in later years. In 1824, Ludwig chose the edge of the slope above the Theresienwiese as the site for his Bavarian Hall of Fame.

It was not until 1833 that Ludwig announced a competition for the construction of the building, inviting four of the most famous architects of his time to participate. In 1834 Ludwig decided in favor of the design by Leo von Klenze. In his capacity as court architect, Klenze had a clear advantage over his competitors. He had knowledge of Ludwig’s plans long before his competitors and knew the king’s ideas in detail. Moreover, von Klenze had insight into the incoming designs of his competitors.

Von Klenze’s design of the Ruhmeshalle can be described as rather conservative. Similar to the Valhalla, he proposed a Doric columned hall, this time on a U-shaped ground plan. New and unusual, however, was his proposal to place a colossal sculpture in front of the hall, which was to symbolize the fatherland Bavaria as an allegory. The surrounding structure of the Ruhmeshalle was to be rather small and merely serve as framing architecture for the statue of Bavaria. Ludwig seemed to have been particularly impressed by Klenze’s idea of a colossal statue, since such a large sculpture had not been realized since antiquity.

The ensemble of the Ruhmeshalle and the Bavaria was built between 1843 and 1853, with the Ruhmeshalle being built according to Klenze’s ideas, while the Bavaria was Germanized in the Romantic sense by Ludwig Schwanthaler. The figure is dressed in a bearskin, carries the sword of peace and has a lion at her side as an attribute of strength.

Inside the Ruhmeshalle, the busts of 74 people to be honored were placed in 1853, and ten new ones were added in 1868. In 1888, on the occasion of the celebrations of the 100th birthday of Ludwig I, a bust of the king himself was placed in a central position of the central wall in the Ruhmeshalle.

During World War II, the Ruhmeshalle was hit in 1944 during one of the air raids on Munich. In 1966, the Bavarian Council of Ministers decided not only to preserve the Ruhmeshalle as a museum, but to continue it in such a way that Bavarian personalities who had rendered outstanding services to the people and the state would continue to be honored by having their bust installed. This decision brought movement to the reconstruction of the wartime ruin, which was repaired in the year of the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. Some of the damaged busts were restored or recreated from illustrations, while others were lost forever. Not replaced were also busts for people who have since been included in the Valhalla.

The busts in the Ruhmeshalle

The busts should and should continue to appear as lifelike as possible, which was or is relatively easy with still living or recently deceased persons. Historical figures were recreated on the basis of existing pictorial material or descriptions. For Ludwig I, as with the Valhalla, the accuracy of the busts was a personal concern, as various pieces of correspondence show.

The selection of early busts reflects Ludwig I’s political and educational intentions. On the one hand, the specific selection of Franconia, the Bavarian Palatinate and Swabia was intended to strengthen the patriotic feelings of these new Bavarian “tribes”, which had only become part of Bavaria after 1800. On the other hand, the chosen greats show those aspects in philosophy, theology, art and science that Ludwig I wanted to bring to his people.

The Bavaria statue in front of the Ruhmeshalle

At 18 meters high, the statue of Bavaria is the imposing symbol of the secular patron saint of the Free State of Bavaria. Cast in bronze by Munich artist Ludwig Schwanthaler, the statue is a technical masterpiece. Those who wish can take a look inside the Bavarian patron saint. A spiral staircase leads up to the head of the Bavaria, from where you have a great view of the Theresienwiese. Especially during the Oktoberfest, the Bavaria is a highly sought-after vantage point for taking a few panoramic photos of the world’s largest folk festival.