Who and How We Remember

A couple of weeks ago I visited the Bavaria statue. My primary goal was to see the statue--a representation of the strength and glory of Bavaria--and the area she surveyed.

My secondary goal was to climb the statue herself. That's right, you can actually wind yourself up inside this 61-foot massive bronze monument to peep out tiny openings in the top. Amazing!

View from the inside

View looking out one of the small openings

Behind Bavaria, up on a hill, sits the open-air Ruhmeshalle (Hall of Fame), with three wings of busts mounted on the walls. I climbed the stairs to the display, expecting to find Bavarian royalty or political figures.

Each bust had the person’s name and occupation, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the people represented were painters and poets, musicians and writers, scientists and researchers. In short, it was a monument to intellectual and creative excellence.

The hall also included panels noting the people whose
busts were destroyed during World War II bombings.

The hall, along with the statue, was built in the 1800s by order of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. There are obvious recent additions; the tradition of honoring Bavarian contributors to politics, science, and the arts resumed in 1966.

Although in my quick perusal I didn’t see names I recognized, I was appreciative of how these people were being remembered for their role in society. 

Usually we see monuments to political leaders and soldiers, and plaques or museum displays for other "notable" citizens. It was heartening to see an expanded pantheon of achievement.

Now to be fair, the Ruhmeshalle is not part of modern downtown Munich. It's not near the chief visitor sites, or part of one of the many clusters of museums. 

But with so much focus these days on larger-than-life world leaders and "me and mine," it was nice to be reminded--to see in one place--evidence of everyday people who brought into this world beauty and innovation and solutions to benefit the greater good.