Description
The Befreiungshalle (“Hall of Liberation”) is a monument built upon Mount Michelsberg above the city of Kelheim in Bavaria, Germany. King Ludwig I of Bavaria ordered the Befreiungshalle to be built in order to commemorate the victories against Napoleon during the Wars of Liberation that lasted from 1813 to 1815.
The following quote from King Ludwig I is embedded into the marble floor: “Möchten die Teutschen nie vergessen was den befreiungskampf nothwendig machte und wodurch sie gesiegt. (May the Germans never forget what made necessary the Struggle for Freedom and by what means they won).”
It also graces the reverse of this handsome bronze table medal, which measures 1 3/4″ in diameter. The medal was issued on 25 August 1913, when Kaiser Wilhelm II visited the Befreiungshalle to celebrate the Battle of Leipzig’s Centennial, one of the battles for which the monument was created. The medal’s obverse features a high-relief rendition of the monument. The occasion is noted around the medal’s edge, while the date is listed at the medal’s bottom, “25 VIII 1913.”
