The word Valhalla derives from Old Norse as a compound noun composed of valr meaning the slain and halla which originally referred to a rock or mountain. Philologists note that cognates exist in other Germanic languages such as Old English weall meaning slaughter and Old Saxon forms including wal meaning murder.
Five hundred and forty doors lead out of the hall allowing eight hundred Einherjar to exit through one door during battle. The description states that spear-shafts serve as rafters while shields form the roof like shingles and coats of mail are strewn over benches inside the structure.
Odin employed women called valkyries to carry the dead to his hall with the purpose of selecting the most glorious men who died in battle. Valkyries haunted dreams and looked over slaughter making them culturally dreaded creatures before their image softened into protective spirits serving men in feasts until Ragnarök.
Horses served as the main transportation method for the dead traveling to Valhalla according to Old Norse sources and kings like Haakon I of Norway received pagan burials sending them on their way to Valhalla. Death chants were poetic compositions made to appease Odin and earn a place for loved ones recorded by witnesses often including daughters of dying Vikings.
Leo von Klenze built the Walhalla temple for Ludwig I of Bavaria between 1830 and 1847 near Regensburg Germany. The construction period falls within the early nineteenth century and stands as a distinct architectural reference separate from ancient mythological texts.