The Befreiungshalle (''"Hall of Liberation"'', ) is a neoclassical monument on the Michelsberg hill above the town of

Kelheim Kelheim () is a town and municipality in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the district Kelheim and is situated at the confluence of the rivers Altmühl and Danube. Kelheim has a population of around 16,750 (2020). History Kelheim is t ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, Germany. It stands upstream of

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

on the river

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

at the confluence of the Danube and the

Altmühl The Altmühl (, la, Alchmona, Alcmana, Almonus)
s.v. is a river in

, i.e. the

Rhine–Main–Danube Canal The Rhine–Main–Danube Canal (German: ''Rhein-Main-Donau-Kanal''; also called Main-Danube Canal, RMD Canal or Europa Canal), is a canal in Bavaria, Germany. Connecting the Main and the Danube rive ...

. It is just downstream of the Danube Gorge, towering above its lower end. It was commissioned by King

Ludwig I of Bavaria en, Louis Charles Augustus , image = Joseph Karl Stieler - King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes - WGA21796.jpg , caption = Portrait by Joseph Stieler, 1825 , succession=King of Bavaria , reign = , coronation ...

to commemorate the victory over

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

in the ''

Befreiungskriege The German campaign (german: Befreiungskriege , lit=Wars of Liberation ) was fought in 1813. Members of the Sixth Coalition, including the German states of Austria and Prussia, plus Russia and Sweden, fought a series of battles in Germany ag ...

'' of 1813–1815.

History

King

ordered the ''Befreiungshalle'' to be built in order to commemorate the victories against Napoleon during the Wars of Liberation that lasted from 1813 to 1815. The construction was started in 1842 by

Friedrich von Gärtner Friedrich von Gärtner (10 December 1791 in Koblenz – 21 April 1847 in Munich) was a German architect. Biography His father was also an architect, and moved in 1804 to Munich, where young Gärtner received his first education in architect ...

in a mixture of Neoclassical and Christian styles. It occurred on Michelsberg, in a place previously occupied by a part of the ruins of a pre-historic fortification or town, thought by some to have been

Alcimoennis Alcimoennis or ''Alkimoennis'' is the name widely attached to a Celtic ''Oppidum'', or hill fort above the modern town of Kelheim in Bavaria, Germany. The name comes from Ptolemy, who in his ''Geography'', only mentioned the name and described ...

. At the behest of the King,

Leo von Klenze Leo von Klenze (Franz Karl Leopold von Klenze; 29 February 1784, Buchladen (Bockelah / Bocla) near Schladen – 26 January 1864, Munich) was a German neoclassicist architect, painter and writer. Court architect of Bavarian King Ludwig I, Leo ...

later altered the plans and completed the building in 1863. The ceremonial opening took place on 18 October 1863 – the 50th anniversary of the

Battle of Nations The Battle of Leipzig (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...

(''Völkerschlacht'') near

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

. The following dictum by King Ludwig I, embedded into the marble floor, commemorates the occasion of the construction of the ''Befreiungshalle'': : MOECHTEN : DIE TEUTSCHEN : NIE VERGESSEN WAS : DEN BEFREIUNGSKAMPF : NOTHWENDIG MACHTE : UND WODURCH SIE : GESIEGT. : (May : the Germans : never forget what : made necessary : the Struggle for Freedom : and by what means they : won.) This inscription of dedication is to be found above the ornamented door frame of the entrance portal: : DEN TEUTSCHEN : BEFREIUNGSKAEMPFERN : LUDWIG I : KOENIG VON BAYERN : (To the German : Liberation Fighters : Ludwig I : King of Bavaria) For the celebration of the first stone laying on 19 October Ludwig I had a poem written dedicated to the soldiers who had fought in the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. Joseph Hartmann Stutz had set it to music:

Today

The hall is open to the public. The upper exterior gallery is closed to visitors.

Architecture

The powerful-looking rotunda made of Kelheim limestone rests on a three-tier base, which is designed as an

octadecagon In geometry, an octadecagon (or octakaidecagon) or 18-gon is an eighteen-sided polygon. Regular octadecagon A '' regular octadecagon'' has a Schläfli symbol and can be constructed as a quasiregular truncated enneagon, t, which alternates tw ...

. The outer facade is divided by 18 pillars with 18 colossal statues by

Johann Halbig Johann Halbig, (also Johann von Halbig) (13 July 1814 – 29 August 1882) was a German sculptor of the Classicism school. Biography He was born at Donnersdorf in Lower Franconia and was educated at the Polytechnical School and at the Academy of ...

as allegories of the German tribes that took part in the battles. These are: " Franconian,

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

, Tyrolean, Bavarian,

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

, Hanoverian, Moravian,

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, Silesian,

Brandenburger The Brandenburger is a warmblood horse breed originating in Germany. Characteristics The Brandenburger is a well-balanced horse with a lively temperament, an easy to get along with character, and is known for being energetic with little ...

, Pomeranian,

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

Thuringian Thuringian is an East Central German dialect group spoken in much of the modern German Free State of Thuringia north of the Rennsteig ridge, southwestern Saxony-Anhalt and adjacent territories of Hesse and Bavaria. It is close to Upper Saxon spo ...

, Rhinelander,

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

" (circulating in this order with an arbitrary start) . The round hall has a height of 45 m and a diameter of 29 m. Its interior is illuminated by a dome. The inner gallery can be reached via 82 steps. Another 40 steps lead to the outer viewing terrace, from which one has a wide view of the

and Altmühl valleys. Since the 2008 season, the cupola hall has also been accessible by elevator for wheelchair users and the disabled. The interior of the hall is designed as a large domed hall, which is lit by an

oculus Oculus (a term from Latin ''oculus'', meaning 'eye'), may refer to the following Architecture * Oculus (architecture), a circular opening in the centre of a dome or in a wall Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Oculus'' (film), a 2013 American ...

at the apex of the dome. The walls are articulated by 18 segmental arched niches, above which there is an area for inscriptions, and a final gallery of columns of

Tuscan order The Tuscan order (Latin ''Ordo Tuscanicus'' or ''Ordo Tuscanus'', with the meaning of Etruscan order) is one of the two classical orders developed by the Romans, the other being the composite order. It is influenced by the Doric order, but with u ...

. In front of the niches, which bear the names of the battles of the wars of liberation, there are two 3.30 m high goddesses of victory, resulting in a total of 34 statues. The goddesses of victory join hands in a solemn dance, with the exception of the two figures standing directly next to the entrance. The latter were made of

white marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphosed ...

from Tyrol. Since this was very expensive, the remaining Victorias were made of white

Carrara marble Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...

. They were designed by

Ludwig Schwanthaler Ludwig Michael Schwanthaler, later ennobled as Ritter von Schwanthaler (26 August 1802 – 14 November 1848), was a German sculptor who taught at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich. Biography Schwanthaler was born in Munich. His family had been ...

, who also made two Victories himself, namely the two end figures at the entrance. The other stills were created with the sculptors Arnold Hermann Lossow and

Max von Widnmann Max von Widnmann (ennobled as Maximilian Ritter von Widnmann; 16 October 1812 – 3 March 1895)Th-B, "Widnmann, Max von, sculptor", ''Dictionary of German Biography'', ed. Walther Killy and Rudolf Vierhaus, with Dietrich von Engelhardt ''et al'' ...

. In the niches between two Victories there are 17 gilded bronze shields, which, like the 7 m high entrance gate of the hall, were cast from captured artillery pieces. The large number of goddesses of victory, who shake hands in a gesture of unity, refers to the member states of the

German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...

, which actually fluctuated between 35 and 39. The monument thus also contained a commitment to the political status quo, in this case to the princely state

federalism in Germany Federalism in Germany is made of the states of Germany and the federal government. The central government, the states, and the German municipalities have different tasks and partially competing regions of responsibilities ruled by a complex sys ...

, which, in contrast to the establishment of an all-German national state demanded by the bourgeoisie, meant that the individual German states were largely independent. The obvious preference for the number 18 is due to the fact that both the

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...

and the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

took place on an 18th day of the month. It can also be found in the number of 54 columns and 54 pillars (3 × 18), in the twice 36 columns in the upper gallery (2 × 18) and in the inscriptions for 18 generals and recaptured fortresses.

References

External links

Official Website
– Photos {{Authority control Landmarks in Germany Monuments and memorials in Germany Buildings and structures in Bavaria Kelheim (district) Halls of fame in Germany Tourist attractions in Bavaria Leo von Klenze buildings German patriotic songs Statues in Germany

History

Today

Architecture

See also

References

External links