Olympic Stadium Munich

Munich’s Olympic Stadium with its striking tent roof is now one of the modern landmarks of the Bavarian capital. It was built in 1972 for the Summer Olympics. In 1974, the German national team won the soccer World Cup here and the Olympic Stadium was the home ground of FC Bayern Munich until 2005. You can read all about the famous stadium here.

Even after the First World War, there were plans to build a large stadium in Munich for the increasingly popular sport of soccer. However, the city initially opted for Teutonia-Platz, a large open sports ground built in 1921. At the beginning of the National Socialist era, a stadium for 60,000 to 80,000 spectators was discussed, which was to be similar to the Reichssportfeld in Berlin. However, these plans did not come to fruition, and even in the post-war period, ideas for a large stadium met with little approval – even though Munich was the only German city with two Bundesliga clubs at the time.

It was only the city’s bid for the Summer Olympics in 1972 that led to the decision to build a large and modern stadium. This was built on the largely undeveloped Oberwiesenfeld, which was to become the centerpiece of the sports facilities. Thanks to its proximity to the city center, the city was able to advertise with the motto “Olympia of short distances”, which contributed to the awarding of the games to the state capital.

In 1964, the city of Munich announced an architectural competition for the planning of a large stadium. The offices of Henschker from Braunschweig and Deiss from Munich won with their stadium design for 100,000 spectators. The plans were part of an overall concept that also included a multi-purpose hall and swimming pool. In 1966, the IOC announced that Munich would be awarded the Games.

However, the original plans for the construction of the stadium were criticized for their lack of urban cohesion. It was important to the Association of German Architects to avoid monumentality due to Germany’s National Socialist past. The plans were therefore rejected and a new architectural competition was held in 1967, with one of the designs coming from Behnisch & Partner. Due to the tent roof construction, the jury initially classified it as too daring, but the juror Egon Eiermann passionately supported it.

In the end, Behnisch & Partner won the competition to design the Munich Olympic Stadium. It was designed for around 80,000 spectators, impressed with its landscape architecture and was characterized by its tent roof construction. It thus fulfilled the Games’ leitmotif of “human scale, lightness, bold elegance and the unity of landscape and nature.”

To make room for the new arena, workers first demolished the terminal buildings of the old Oberwiesenfeld airfield. In the summer of 1969, construction work began on the Werner-von-Linde-Halle, a volleyball hall, the Olympic cycling stadium, the Olympic village and the Olympic stadium itself. Stations for the underground and suburban trains were also built.

During this time, there was a spirit of optimism throughout Munich. In preparation for the Olympic Games, a new pedestrian zone was created in the city center between Marienplatz and Stachus. Subway visions were realized and many other construction sites were created to prepare the city for the Olympic Games.

Architect Behnisch and Lord Mayor Hans-Jochen Vogel wanted the Munich Olympic Stadium to be a “democratic sports venue”. They wanted to create a contrast to the Nazi-influenced 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin and at the same time improve Munich’s reputation.

The Munich Olympic Stadium was completed in spring 1972 and was immediately used for test competitions. The official opening took place on May 26, 1972 with the international soccer match between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Soviet Union. The hosts won 4:1 in the sold-out stadium. Just one month later, FC Bayern became German champions in a match against FC Schalke 04 in the Olympic Stadium.

The 1972 Summer Olympics began on August 26, 1972 in Munich’s Olympic Stadium. The main users of the stadium during the games were the track and field athletes and the footballers. However, the festive atmosphere came to an abrupt end on 5 September 1972 with the hostage-taking in Munich: the Palestinian terrorist organization “Black September” murdered two members of the Israeli team and took nine others hostage. The failed rescue operation took place 18 hours later. The next day, a memorial service was held in the Olympic Stadium. After the attack, many called for the Olympic Games to be canceled. Although the competitions were postponed for a day, they continued.

By the way: You can read more about the 1972 Olympic Games here.

After the 1972 Summer Olympics, FC Bayern mainly played home games in the stadium. The club was based in Munich’s Olympic Stadium until 2005. The 1974 Football World Cup was also partly held in the Olympic Stadium, as were national team matches, athletics competitions, cultural and religious events and, since 1982, concerts. In 2002, the European Athletics Championships were also held in Munich’s Olympic Stadium.

When it was completed, the Olympic Stadium was the second largest stadium in Germany after the then outdated Olympic Stadium Berlin. It is one of the most important buildings of the post-war period and was the heart of FC Bayern Munich until the Allianz Arena was built. Even during the games, reporters around the world praised the special stadium architecture with its tent roof construction as “light and elegant”. To this day, the roof of the Munich Olympic Stadium is considered very modern and far ahead of its time. Art historians consider the construction to be the most significant building in Munich due to its shape, transparency and translucency. In 2015, Frei Otto, architect of the tent roof, received the Pritzker Prize for his life’s work. The Olympic roof is his best-known work.

The embedding of the stadium in the landscape architecture according to Günter Behnisch’s design is also still seen as positive today. The planners resisted the “danger of gigantism” and instead chose buildings that blended harmoniously into the Olympic Park. Due to the stadium’s earth structure, it doesn’t seem that big to visitors at first, but the view into the main stadium is all the more surprising.

The Munich Olympic Stadium with its tent roof construction has been a listed building since 1997, as has the Olympic Park ensemble. The arena is protected until 2080 by copyright, which is now held by Günter Behnisch’s son Stefan Behnisch. During this time, the stadium may not be demolished and may only be slightly altered.

Today, the Olympiastadion München is a multifunctional stadium in Munich with just under 70,000 seats. In addition to soccer and sporting events, many cultural events take place here, from Cirque du Soleil to music concerts and the German Chess League.

By the end of 2015, more than 50 million spectators had visited Munich’s Olympic Stadium. Since professional soccer moved to the Allianz Arena, there are fewer visitors to the Olympic Stadium, around 100,000 per year. An important attraction is the tent roof, which visitors can climb with climbing equipment. At the top there is a rope slide that leads into the stadium.

The Olympic Stadium is open daily from 9 am and closes at 5 or 6 pm depending on the month. Ticket reservations are not necessary. Admission without a guided tour costs 3.50 euros per person. Guided tours on the subject of sport and architecture, the tent roof tour as well as the flying fox flight and abseiling into the stadium can be booked on site or online.

You can find out all about the Olympic Stadium in Berlin here. We also present even more stadiums here.