Feldherrnhalle

thumb|320px|The Feldherrnhalle on the [[Odeonsplatz]]

The Feldherrnhalle ("Field Marshals' Hall") is a monumental loggia on the Odeonsplatz in Munich, Germany. Modelled after the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence, it was commissioned in 1841 by King Ludwig I of Bavaria to honour the tradition of the Bavarian Army.

In 1923, it was the site of the brief battle that ended Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch. During the Nazi era, it served as a monument commemorating the deaths of the 15 Nazis and one bystander killed during the revolt.

Structure

thumb|180px|Lions at the Feldherrnhalle by [[Wilhelm von Rümann]]

thumb|180px|upright|Statue commemorating the Franco-Prussian war inside the Feldherrnhalle

The Feldherrnhalle was built between 1841 and 1844 at the southern end of Munich's Ludwigstrasse next to the Palais Preysing and southwest of the Hofgarten. Previously, the Gothic Schwabinger Tor (gate) occupied that place. Friedrich von Gärtner built the Feldherrnhalle at the behest of King Ludwig I of Bavaria after the example of the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence.

The Feldherrnhalle was a symbol of the honours of the Bavarian Army, represented by statues of two military leaders Johann Tilly and Karl Philipp von Wrede. The first led Bavarians in the Thirty Years War; the second led the fight against Napoleon. The statues were created by Ludwig Schwanthaler.

Right from the start, some Munich folk used to (and still do) ridicule the two persons honoured in the "Bayerische Feldherrnhalle" (lit. 'Bavarian Hall of Field Commanders / Field Marshals') in reference to the descendance of Tilly and the military strategic capabilities of Wrede:

"The one / first was" indeed "never anything like a Bavarian and the second / other" imputedly "never anything like a Feldherr".

It is a citation from Lion Feuchtwanger's novel '.

A sculptural group by Ferdinand von Miller was added to the centre of the monument in 1892, after the Franco-Prussian War, representing the victory over the French and the unification of Germany. The lions are a work of Wilhelm von Rümann, added in 1906 in imitation of the Medici lions of the Loggia dei Lanzi.

Site of the Beer Hall Putsch

The Feldherrnhalle was the scene of a confrontation on Friday morning, 9 November 1923, between the Bavarian State Police and the followers of Adolf Hitler in which the Nazi Party attempted to storm the Bavarian Defense Ministry. This was the culmination of the Nazis' failed coup attempt to take over the Bavarian State, commonly referred to as the Beer Hall Putsch. In the ensuing gun battle, four policemen and 15 putschists were killed. Many more were wounded, including Hermann Göring. This incident was the beginning of Göring’s addiction to opiates. As a result of the failure of the so-called Beer Hall Putsch, Hitler was arrested and sentenced to a prison term.

Nazi memorial

thumb|Mahnmal der Bewegung as in 1933, installed at the eastern end of the Feldherrnhalle

After the Nazis took power in 1933, Hitler turned the Feldherrnhalle into a memorial to the Nazis killed during the failed putsch. A memorial to the fallen SA men was put up on its east side, opposite the location of the shootings. This monument, called the Mahnmal der Bewegung was created to a design by Paul Ludwig Troost. It was a rectangular structure listing the names of the martyrs. – Buchenwald, I am ashamed that I am a German.]]

At the end of the war the Feldherrnhalle was restored to its pre-Nazi appearance. Local people spontaneously smashed the Mahnmal der Bewegung to pieces on 3 June 1945.

Notes

References

3D computer model

Structure

Site of the Beer Hall Putsch

Nazi memorial

See also

Notes

References