Die Walhalla bei Donaustauf

An audio tour of the most famous German national monument of the 19th century.

The Walhalla near Donaustauf is the best-known and most impressive German national monument of the 19th century. King Ludwig I of Bavaria had it built as a national hall of fame in 1830-1842. In it, rulers, generals, scientists, artists and others are honored for their outstanding achievements with a portrait bust or a memorial plaque. According to the wish of the Bavarian king, the honored people as a whole should proclaim the greatness and importance of the nation and raise the patriotism and national feeling of the visitors. Ludwig I did not think of national borders, but meant the German-speaking area. The establishment of the Walhalla was also not linked to the vision of a national unity in Germany, which did not exist in 1842. Ludwig I left no doubt that he wanted to maintain the state sovereignty of the Kingdom of Bavaria. The more one would like to know the historical conditions under which the Walhalla was built, as the first plans go back to 1807.

The Walhalla app is dedicated to the conception of the monument, describes the execution by the architect Leo von Klenze, tracks the king's intentions to mediate and asks about the later use of the house. Last but not least, she uses selected memorial plaques and busts, which can also be viewed from a 360 ° view, to introduce the personalities honored in the Hall of Fame. Formative personalities are still accepted into the Walhalla today, and numerous busts have been added since it opened. In the beginning it was the king who made the selection, now it is the population whose proposals are carried out. But not only the selection process has changed, the meaning of the monument has also changed. The Walhalla app reports on it.