Walhalla

Ludwig I commissioned Leo von Klenze to build a hall of fame for German-speaking people, completed in 1842 on a bluff above the Danube and modelled closely on the Parthenon, with a flight of about three hundred and fifty steps climbing to it from the river. Inside are marble busts and inscribed plaques for figures from across the German-speaking world, chosen for achievement in any field, and additions continue at intervals; recent inductions have included scientists and artists. Klenze's building sits on a massive substructure of vaults that carry it out from the hillside. Boats from Regensburg run to a landing below the steps.

History

In 1807 the 20-year-old Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria conceived a memorial to the great figures of German history and began commissioning busts, Johann Gottfried Schadow's Copernicus among the first; by his accession in 1825 there were 60. In 1826 he commissioned the building above the Danube near Regensburg, modelled on the Parthenon, with pediments showing the founding of the German Confederation in 1815 and the battle of the Teutoburg Forest of 9 AD. At its inauguration on 18 October 1842 it held 96 busts and 64 plaques for people or events with no portrait, chosen for being "of the German tongue" and including scientists, writers and clerics as well as warriors, and both men and women (Wikipedia, Walhalla (memorial)).

What's there

• The Parthenon copy - a Doric temple in marble above the Danube.
• The busts - marble portraits of figures from the German-speaking world.
• The staircase - about 350 steps climbing from the river landing.
• The substructure - vaulted terraces carrying the temple from the slope.

When to go

April to October; boats from Regensburg run in season. The interior is a single hall and the visit is short. Winter hours are reduced.

Things to know

It is one room of busts, seen in half an hour. The stair from the boat landing is long and steep. Boats are seasonal.

Nearby

Regensburg lies west; Weltenburg is upriver.

Key facts