The Bavaria statue on Munich’s Theresienwiese is 18.52 meters high.
The monumental bronze figure personifies Bavaria and stands beside the Ruhmeshalle, or Hall of Fame, above the Oktoberfest grounds. Its height is often confused with the monument’s overall visual scale because the stone base adds another 8.92 meters. Including the base, the ensemble rises considerably higher than the statue itself.
King Ludwig I commissioned the work as a patriotic monument. Sculptor Ludwig Michael Schwanthaler designed the figure, while Johann Baptist Stiglmaier and Ferdinand von Miller oversaw its bronze casting between 1844 and 1850. It was made in several large sections because conventional single-piece casting was impossible at that size.
The hollow statue weighs about 87.36 tonnes and contains an internal staircase leading to viewing openings in the head. Its unveiling took place on October 9, 1850, and the statue remains one of the most recognizable landmarks overlooking the Wiesn.