The Kingdom of Bavaria represented by the building (2)
On the tympanum at the base of the dome there are two female figures in relief „Victoria„ (victory) and „Pax„ (peace). The crowning feature of the portico is the state coat of arms approved by King Ludwig I in 1835 on the cap stone inserted into the west tambour window and representing for the first time the unification of Bavaria's four great regions, Franconia, Swabia, Bavaria and the Palatinate.	The arms with a central shield of 21 lozenges representing the mother country pertained until 1918. A second coat of arms is above the old main entrance in the portico on whose lower section is the MILITARY ORDER OF MAX-JOSEPH signalling the close relationship which existed between the government and the army.

(28) Victory *	(27) Royal arms with the Military Order of Max-Joseph *	(29) Peace *
(32) glass mosaic - symbol of war *	(30) Reclining lion on a blue-white lozenge background and rising sun. Framed by oak leaves (military ability) and laurels (confident of victory). *	(31) glass mosaic - symbol of peace *

Above the portico entrance the Kingdom of Bavaria is represented yet again by three glass mosaics imaginatively created by Academy Professor Carl Marr which have existed since 1902. Framed by the symbols of war and peace, a dormant lion (symbolising the sovereign's power) on the white-blue background symbolises the Kingdom. The rising sun on the east side (right) of the picture depicts the realm as a young and aspiring Kingdom. Four stone tablets indicated in relief style in the inner tambour area of the domed hall convey some idea of how the history of the Bavarian Army was once represented. The accompanying series of inscriptions is now missing.

The tablet in the north-east recorded such places as PRAGUE - BARENBERG - NÖRDLINGEN - ALLERHEIM reminding us of the decisive role played by Bavaria's in the Thirty Years' War. The tablet once in the south-east inscribed with VIENNA - OFEN - GRAN - MOHACS - BELGRADE honoured the triumphs of the Elector Max Emanuel over the Turks, and the tablet on the south-west side commemorated the battles of the Napoleonic era, EGGMÜHL - WAGRAM - POLOZK - ARCIS. Locations in the Franco-German war of 1870-71 were commemorated on a tablet inscribed with WEISSENBURG - WÖRTH - SEDAN - ORLEANS - PARIS.

To commemorate the main arms of the Bavarian forces, the CAVALRY, the INFANTRY and the ARTILLERY raised by Max Emanuel (1679 - 1726) on 12 October 1682, stone trophy reliefs were let into the arcade spandrels of the stairs and historic helmet designs into the keystones.
	(33) spandrel relief - north (view from the main stairwell of the vestibule) *
(34) Ulanen-Tschapka *	(35) Cuirassier helmet with the initial `L´ for King Ludwig I. *

The tablet on the front wall of the domed hall, opposite the banisters commemorates the founding of the first Army Museum in 1879 by King Ludwig II and the new building founded in 1904 by Luitpold, the Prince Regent. A likeness in the form of a portrait medallion of Luitpold the Prince Regent has been let into the entablature above the inscription which is bordered by a trophy relief partly reminiscent of Roman history.
The domed hall itself was decorated with 24 colours, prizes captured in battles and attached to the gallery balustrade. They were regarded as military trophies since the significance of a victory was measured by their number. The colours are now in the Bavarian Army Museum in Ingolstadt.	(36) Foundation tablet with portrait medallion depicting Luitpold, the Prince Regent in 1904 *
	The square between two grand, historical flagpoles (still on site) provided the ideal location for an equestrian statue. By order of Luitpold, the Prince Regent, Academy Director and Imperial Counsellor, Ferdinand von Miller, created an equestrian statue of the founding father of the Wittelsbach dynasty, Count Palatine Otto von Wittelsbach. It was through him that the Wittelsbach dynasty became the Dukes of Bavaria in 1180. The statue was unveiled by Prince Ludwig on the occasion of the Prince Regent's 90th birthday celebrations on 12 March 1911.
(37) Duke Otto von Wittelsbach, equestrian statue created by Ferdinand von Miller. *

(*: Please click on the picture to enlarge! )

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