Befreiungshalle (Liberation Hall) in Kelheim, Germany

A few weeks ago, I talked about the Völkerschlachtdenkmal, a grand monument in Leipzig, commemorating victory over Napoleon at the Battle of the Nations.  At the time of the Napoleonic wars, today's Germany was not yet unified and Leipzig was in Saxony.  Like Saxony, the Kingdom of Bavaria also sought to commemorate victory over France, and built the Befreiungshalle (or Liberation Hall) in Kelheim, Bavaria (about halfway between Nuremberg and Munich).

Befreiungshalle was built by decree of King Ludwig I on a picturesque hilltop above the Danube River.  Construction began in 1842, but it was not complete until it's opening on October 18, 1863 (the 50th anniversary of the Battle of the Nations).  

The area hasn't really changed that much since it was built.

Post Card from 1900

After Napoleon's disastrous retreat from Russia, his humbled military faced the newly united armies of the Sixth Coalition at the Battle of Leipzig (or the Battle of the Nations).  As the Sixth Coalition seized the initiative on the battlefields of Central Europe, French forces were successively driven back towards France.  This series of setbacks for Napoleon would eventually culminate in the liberation of German states and the eventual French defeat at Waterloo.  So while the English speaking world saw this as the gradual undoing of Napoleon, those in Germany saw these series of battles from 1812 to 1814 as their liberation from France.  It's only fitting then that so many locales chose to commemorate their freedom.

The approximately 150 foot tall memorial is heavy with symbolism related to the number eighteen.  This is because the Battle of the Nations occurred on October 18, 1813, and the Battle of Waterloo was fought on June 18, 1815.  On the outside of Befreiungshalle, there are eighteen statues holding placards for each of the historic Germanic tribes:  Franconians, Bohemians, Tyroleans, Bavarians, Austrians, Prussians, Hanoverians, Moravians, Saxons, Silesians, Brandenburgers, Pomeranians, Mecklenburgers, Westphalians, Hessians, Thueringians, Rheinlaenders, and Swabians.

Exterior Balcony

Inside, the large domed hall is supported by 54 columns (3 times 18) and an equal number of pillars, and 36 columns (2 times 18) in the upper gallery.  Around the edge of first floor are eleven-foot tall winged Victories in a ringed circle representing the members of the German Confederation, alternatively holding hands and shields.  On the shields are displayed the battles in the liberation of Germany and above the upper gallery are inscriptions for key generals and recaptured strongholds.

In the center of the hall on the floor is inlaid the following:

Translated into English, it reads:

May

the Germans

never forget what

made necessary

the struggle for freedom

and by what means they

won.

Of course the Nazis were always up for a good monument to honor German struggle and unity and the site wasn't overlooked for their exploitive purposes.

But I have to wonder what Hitler thought of the gold six-pointed stars surrounding Ludwig's words in the center of the hall.

Hamilton Mausoleum – Home to the World's Longest Lasting Echo

Congratulations to Rob from Amersfoort, winner of yesterday's Place-of-Mystery Contest.  He correctly identified the Hamilton Mausoleum in Hamilton, Scotland, as the place in the image.

Hamilton Mausoleum

Recently, I was reading about acoustics for musical venues when I read a line about the Hamilton Mausoleum in Hamilton, Scotland.  The person was commenting about the lengthy echo of the chamber.  At a full 15 seconds, it's reportedly the longest echo in any man-made structure.

The Hamiltons were one of the most influential families in Scotland and the Duke of Hamilton is the senior dukedom in the Peerage of Scotland (excepting the Sovereign's eldest son).  At one time they had a grand estate esteemed to be the largest non-royal residence in the Western world.

Hamilton Palace

The main house was built on the site of a 13th century tower house having been continually enlarged over the years beginning with the South Front erected in 1695 for the 3rd Duke of Hamilton.  The North Front was planned by the 5th Duke in the 1730s, but not complete until the time of the 10th Duke in 1842.  The home contained a great deal of fine furniture and art including works by Rubens, Titian, and Van Dyck.  The 10th Duke in particular was an avid collector of fine art and travelers from afar came to the home to admire his home, grounds, collections, and historical treasures.

The Gallery at Hamilton Palace

Chimneypiece in Gallery

Stone Hall

Library

Ambassadorial Throne and Canopy

Dutchess' Bedroom

Classical Statues in Stone Hall

Great Dining-Room

North Front Vantage

North Front Portico

South Front Vantage

Detail of the Center of the South Front

While it may have been fashionable in the 1800s to publicly display your wealth, large and opulent homes fell out of fashion by the 1900s.  By the twentieth century, nearby mining (from the family's own coal mines) had created noticeable subsidence.  Increasing tax levies and the cost of upkeep necessitated the eventual sale of some of the Hamilton treasures.  The Palace was used as a military hospital during World War I, but after the war, the state of neglect was beyond repair and in 1921 the Hamilton Palace was demolished.

Châtelherault Hunting Lodge

Hamilton Palace lay at the center of extensive lands owned by the Hamiltons, that included a hunting lodge with kennels and stables, known as Châtelherault, completed in 1734.

Ruins of Cadzow Castle as seen in 1882

Included in the grounds were the ruins of Cadzow Castle (Hamilton was originally known as Cadzow), an occasional royal residence since the time of King David (1084-1153) and an earlier hunting lodge for the kings of Strathclyde before him.  It was destroyed in the late 1500s in retaliation for the Hamilton's support for Mary, Queen of Scots, who stayed at the castle following her escape from Loch Leven Castle.  To this day, the Hamilton family retains Mary's death mask, the famous silver casket where the damming letters were located, and her sapphire ring.

Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, the 10th Duke of Hamilton

It was during the time of the 10th Duke, the one responsible for the enlargement of Hamilton Palace, that he decided to replace the family burial vault at the local church with a mausoleum on his grand estate.  Construction on the 123 foot structure began in 1842 and was complete in 1858, five years after the death of the 10th Duke.  It was originally conceived that the upper story of the mausoleum would be a working chapel holding his remains in an Egyptian sarcophagus from the Ptolemaic period he had purchased for that purpose below the chapel lay the crypt where he had moved the bodies of 17 of his ancestors.

Hamilton Mausoleum

After its completion, the Hamilton Mausoleum revealed a remarkable but unintended acoustic quality of allowing complex and noisy reverberations throughout the structure including an echo of up to 15 seconds in length.  This echo made the chapel unusable for its intended use, but became the subject of intense curiosity by travelers and tourists.  The high stone vault with its Roman styled dome and marbled floors produce the world's longest lasting echo of any man made structure in the world.  Like many domed structures of stone, tourists have fun whispering from one side wall to a friend at the other side who may perfectly hear the quiet words.

Hamilton Mausoleum Chapel Interior

Stonework Detail on Vault

Looking Upwards Towards the Oculus

The same subsidence that had required the destruction of Hamilton Palace also threatened the hunting lodge and the mausoleum.  The structural danger required the removal once again of the Hamilton family including the 10th Duke to a new resting place in nearby Bent Cemetery, still in his Egyptian sarcophagus.  Although both structures have felt the effects, efforts have been made to save and right the remaining buildings.

Now Empty Crypt Below the Chapel

Engraving from the 1800s Showing Visitors at the Mausoleum

Sarcophagus Photographed in the Hamilton Mausoleum

Black Marble Pedestal Today without Sarcophagus

Now for those of you musically inclined, you may be wondering about the acoustics.  I used to play the cello and I tried to imagine what a 15 second echo would produce.  Since the grounds became a county park back in the 1970s, there have been a number of concerts with most saying that the echo produces a unique challenge to the musician.  Here is a short video of the Kronos Quartet performing in the Mausoleum:

Finally, I had no place to put another little bit of Hamilton trivia, so I'll place it here at the end.  In later years, the 14th Duke of Hamilton, an accomplished aviator and the first to fly over Mount Everest in 1933, became the subject of intense interest during World War II, when Rudolf Hess, Deputy Führer of Nazi Germany, flew a solo mission and parachuted into Scotland on May 10, 1941.  Upon landing he asked to see the Duke of Hamilton for the purpose of negotiating a peace treaty between Great Britain and Germany.  Although the Duke had visited Germany during the 1936 Olympic Games, it is not known how well the two knew each other.  After visiting Hess in prison, the Duke of Hamilton promptly reported the matter to Winston Churchill and Hess was imprisoned for the remainder of the war.

Rudolf Hess with Hitler in 1938

Hess' Airplane Wreckage in Scotland

After the war, Hess was sentenced to lifetime imprisonment for his position in the Nazi regime and although later efforts were made to secure his release from an Allied prison in East Germany, he mysteriously took his life or was killed in 1987.  Today there is a small memorial to Hess' quixotic peace attempt in Scotland.

Details of this curious episode will not be known for years as the British files on the episode are sealed by state order until 2041.

Naqsh-e Rustam

Congratulations to Brian, who came in with a correct answer later last night for a Place-of-Mystery win!  He correctly identified the mystery location as Naqsh-e Rustam in modern day Iran.

There are many places in this world that I think are fascinating, even if somewhat "off limits" due to the current state of geopolitical affairs.  Iran is one such fascinating country with a long and rich history.  Some of you may remember the stories of Daniel and the Lions or Queen Esther from the Bible.  All those happened in Ancient Persia which is modern day Iran.

Naqsh-e Rustam are the rock-hewn tombs of the Persian kings from these very stories.  There is King Darius (from the Lions' Den), King Xerxes (from Queen Esther and also the Battle of Thermopylae), and Artaxerxes (from the books of Ezra and Nehemiah).  There are actually eight tombs here, but some of the rulers are lesser knowns.

The tombs resemble the Royal Persian Palace at Persepolis and although grand, were looted by the army of Alexander the Great during his conquests.

Oh, and that little box-like building in front of the tombs is called the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht.  It was probably wrongly assumed to be a Zoroastrian shrine, but is most likely a much earlier tomb or some kind of reliquary.

Das Völkerschlachtdenkmal (Monument to the Battle of the Nations) in Leipzig, Germany

Congratulations, I believe, are in order to Rob from Amersfoort, who although did not identify yesterday's Place-of-Mystery by name, certainly alluded to the fact that he knew it.

The Völkerschlachtdenkmal, aerial view

The Völkerschlachtdenkmal (or "Monument to the Battle of the Nations") is a monument commemorating Napoleon's defeat to the allied armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Sweden at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813.  After the battle (which also happened to be the largest in Europe until World War I), Napoleon retreated to France and the momentum swung to the Allies, eventually culminating in his defeat at Waterloo the following year.

Such a momentous event surely needed an appropriate monument and the year after the battle, proposals began.  For the 50th anniversary in 1863, a foundation stone was placed on the spot that Napoleon ordered his retreat, but no memorial followed.  It wasn't until after Germany became a unified nation that impetus for renewing the monument's construction took full form.  At the Battle of Leipzig, Germans from Saxony fought on both sides, so contemporary Germans not only wished to commemorate the victory over Napoleon, but also to emphasize the new unity of the German people.

The Völkerschlachtdenkmal under construction in 1907

Construction on the monument began in 1898 with conclusion timed to coincide with the hundredth anniversary of the battle in 1913.  It is heavy with Germanic symbolism.  The reflecting pool, evocative of the blood and tears of the wars is surrounded by stately oaks, the traditional symbol of German strength.  The entrance is a doorway below the Archangel Michael, sometimes considered the "War god of the Germans," and the inscription "Gott mit uns."  God with us, being the old motto of the German military.

Inside, there is a crypt on the first level surrounded by eight statues supposedly representing fallen warriors each flanked by two Totenwächter (or guards of the dead).

The Völkerschlachtdenkmal Crypt

The second floor contains four statues dedicated to the four German attributes of bravery, faith, sacrifice, and fertility between stained glass windows and under a dome adorned with horsemen in relief.

The Völkerschlachtdenkmal Dome

Visitors today can take in the breathtaking views atop the structure and the surrounding countryside.

Above the Völkerschlachtdenkmal

With such overt Germanic symbolism, it became a rallying point for nationalists.

Nationalist Rally at the Völkerschlachtdenkmal in 1924

Hitler speaking at the Völkerschlachtdenkmal in 1933

The Völkerschlachtdenkmal became so associated with German nationalism, that at the end of World War II, as the American Army approached, 150 Nazi SS soldiers made their last stand in the memorial.

An American soldier surveying the damage after clearing the Völkerschlachtdenkmal of Nazis

After World War II, Leipzig was placed under Soviet occupation and later East German rule.  The Soviets were eager to purge the country of anything related to the Nazi rule or German nationalism.  However, they were also eager to try and forge ties between the German and Russian people.  The Völkerschlachtdenkmal was a memorial to a victorious battle where Russian and German peoples had defeated a largely French army, so the Soviets allowed it to remain.

Anti-Nazi banner hanging on the Völkerschlachtdenkmal

Today, fringe right-wing groups use the monument as a symbol of neo-Nazi aspirations, so Leipzig has chosen to downplay the militaristic aspects of the memorial and holds social gatherings at the site with concerts and even an annual a bathtub race, the "Régates de Baquet," on the pond each year in early September.