Hall of Fame and Statue of Bavaria
Munich, Bavaria, Germany
The Ruhmeshalle – Hall of Fame – is a Doric colonnade above the Bavarian open space known as Theresienwiese as a pantheon for celebrated Bavarian artists, politicians and scientists. It is fronted by a magnificent 18-metre high bronze of Bavaria, the female personification of the state of Bavaria.
About Hall of Fame and Statue of Bavaria
The Hall of Fame and Statue of Bavaria are a set of monumental buildings that sit on a hill at the west end of the Theresienwiese, Munich. Around the 18-meter-high bronze statue of Bavaria is the Hall of Fame, which contains a number of busts of significant Bavarians, and was built to ‘acknowledge fame and service to Bavaria.’
History of Hall of Fame and Statue of Bavaria
Commissioned by King Ludwig I of Bavaria and designed and built from Kelheim limestone by Leo von Klenze, the Ruhmeshalle – Hall of Fame – is a Doric colonnade with a wide main range and two wings. It was built between 1843 and 1853 using ancient Greek architecture as inspiration, and is 68-metres long by 38-metres deep.
Inside are over 90 busts of Bavaria’s most celebrated people including artists, politicians, and scientists as well as the Palatinate, Franconia, and Swabia.
At the front of the Hall of fame stands Bavaria, an 18.5-metre high bronze statue designed by Ludwig Schwanthaler and cast by Ferdinand von Miller. It sits on a 9-metre platform and weighs close to 90 tons. She is vested in a bearskin holding an oak crown and in her left hand and a lead attached to a lion at her side in her right – supposedly a symbol of Bavarian strength.
Her sheer size, scale, weight and intricate detail were hailed as a technological masterpiece when she was unveiled in the early 1850s.
Hall of Fame and Statue of Bavaria today
There is a spiral staircase inside the statue which you can climb and look out over Munich’s Theresienwiese, the location of the world-famous Oktoberfest, as well as other neighbourhoods in the city. The equally large open gallery behind contains the busts of many significant Bavarians.
Getting to Hall of Fame and Statue of Bavaria
From the centre of Bavaria, the Hall of Fame and Statue of Bavaria is reachable in around 15 minutes by car or 40 minutes by foot via Lindwurmstraße. Public transport is a good option, with the closest station being Schwanthalerhöhe, from where the statue is a 7 minute walk.
