Feldherrnhalle

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View from the Odeonsplatz on to the Feldherrnhalle (l) and the Theatinerkirche (r)

The Feldherrnhalle

The Feldherrnhalle (sometimes also written Feldherrenhalle, "Field Marshall's Hall") is a monumental loggia in Munich, Germany. It was built between 1841 and 1844 at the southern end of Munich's Ludwigstrasse next to the Palais Preysing and east of the Hofgarten. Previously the Gothic Schwabinger Tor (gate) occupied that place. Friedrich von Gärtner built 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. It contains statues of military leaders Johann Tilly and Karl Phillip von Wrede. The central sculptural group was added in 1882, after the Franco-Prussian War.

On Sunday morning, 9 November 1923, the Feldherrnhalle was the scene of a confrontation between the Bavarian State Police and an illegally organized march by the followers of Adolf Hitler. When ordered to stop the marchers continued; the State Police felt threatened and opened fire. Sixteen marchers were killed and a number were wounded, including Hermann Göring. As a result, Hitler was arrested and sentenced to a prison term. This was one of the efforts by the Nazis to take over the Bavarian State, commonly referred to as the Beer Hall Putsch.