Befreiungshalle

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Befreiungshalle
Befreiungshalle Kelheim
Befreiungshalle Location in Germany
General information
Architectural style	Neoclassical
Town or city	Kelheim
Country	Germany
Coordinates	48°55′06″N 11°51′38″E / 48.91833°N 11.86056°E / 48.91833; 11.86056Coordinates: 48°55′06″N 11°51′38″E / 48.91833°N 11.86056°E / 48.91833; 11.86056
Client	King Ludwig I of Bavaria
Owner	Bavarian Administration of State-Owned Palaces, Gardens and Lakes
Design and construction
Architect	Friedrich von Gärtner, Leo von Klenze
Designations	Baudenkmal (listed monument)

The Befreiungshalle ("Hall of Liberation", German: [bəˈfʀaɪ̯ʊŋsˌhalə]) is a neoclassical monument on the Michelsberg hill above the town of Kelheim in Bavaria, Germany. It stands upstream of Regensburg on the river Danube at the confluence of the Danube and the Altmühl, i.e. the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal. It is just downstream of the Danube Gorge, towering above its lower end. It was commissioned by King Ludwig I of Bavaria to commemorate the victory over Napoleon in the Befreiungskriege of 1813–1815.

History[]

Befreiungshalle at night

Interior with sculptures by Ludwig Schwanthaler

Floor inscription

King Ludwig I of Bavaria 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 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. At the behest of the King, Leo von Klenze 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 (Völkerschlacht) near Leipzig.

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 written a poem dedicated to the soldiers who had fought in the Napoleonic Wars. Joseph Hartmann Stutz had set it to music:^[1]

Today[]

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (March 2019)

The hall is open to the public. The upper exterior gallery is closed to visitors.^[2]

See also[]

• Völkerschlachtdenkmal (Monument to the Battle of the Nations, Leipzig, Germany)
• Walhalla temple (Hall of the Slain, Regensburg, Germany)
• Ruhmeshalle (Hall of Fame, Munich, Germany)
• Heldenberg Memorial (in Austria)
• Prussian National Monument for the Liberation Wars, Berlin, Germany

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Befreiungshalle.

• Official Website
• Befreiungshalle – Photos