Valhalla - Modern Influence

Modern Influence

The term has had some influence in modern popular culture, either directly influenced by the concept of Norse mythology or referring simply to a gathering of the chosen dead or a hall in honor of them. Examples of the latter include the Walhalla temple built by Leo von Klenze for Ludwig I of Bavaria between 1830–1847 near Regensburg, Germany, and the Tresco Abbey Gardens Valhalla museum built by August Smith around 1830 to house ship figureheads from shipwrecks that occurred at the Isles of Scilly, England, where the museum is located. A crater, Valhalla, located on the planet Jupiter's moon Callisto, is named after the hall.

References to Valhalla appear in literature, art, and other forms of media. Examples include K. Ehrenberg's charcoal illustration Gastmahl in Walhalla (mit einziehenden Einheriern) (1880), Richard Wagner's depiction of Valhalla in his opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (1848–1874), the Munich, Germany-based Germanic Neopagan magazine Walhalla (1905–1913), and the comic series Valhalla (1978, ongoing) by Peter Madsen, and its subsequent animated film of the same name (1986). Valhalla is prominently referenced—with the line "Valhalla, I am coming"—in the Led Zeppelin hit single "Immigrant Song" (1970).Bands like Blind Guardian or Bathory (band) have also made songs named Valhalla.

Valhalla is referenced in the video game titles Valhalla (1983), Valhalla: Before the War (1995), Valkyrie Profile (2000), Max Payne (2001), Valhalla Knights (2006), Final Fantasy XI (2002), Halo 3 (2007), The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011), and Final Fantasy XIII-2 (2011). Amusement park attractions named after Valhalla include Valhalla Borgen in Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark and Valhalla in Pleasure Beach Blackpool in Blackpool, England.

Locations named after Valhalla exist in North America (including Valhalla, New York, Valhalla Centre, Alberta, Walhalla, Michigan, Walhalla, North Dakota, Walhalla, South Carolina, and Walhalla, Texas), Australia (Walhalla, Victoria), and South Africa (Valhalla, Pretoria), as well as Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.

  • The Walhalla temple above the Danube near Regensburg, Germany.

  • Walhalla, Victoria, Australia township in 1910

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