In 1923 it was the site of the brief battle that ended Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch. During the Nazi era it served as a sacred site commemorating the 16 Nazi SA martyrs who died in the failed putsch.
The Feldherrnhalle was a symbol of the honours of the Bavarian Army, represented by statues of two military leaders Johann Tilly and Karl Philipp von Wrede. The first led Bavarians in the Thirty Years War; the second led the fight against Napoleon. The statues were created by Ludwig Schwanthaler.