Olympiapark Munich

The site was a wasteland and a rubble tip until it was chosen for the 1972 Games; the hills in the park are made from that rubble. Günther Behnisch and Frei Otto designed a roof of acrylic panels hung on a net of steel cables sweeping over stadium, arena and swimming hall, a structure whose engineering required some of the earliest computer modelling in architecture and which changed how large roofs were built. The Olympic Tower rises 291 metres with an observation deck and a small rock and roll museum. Roof tours allow visitors to walk on the structure with harnesses.

History

Until 1939 the Oberwiesenfeld was used mainly as an airfield, losing its role once the Munich-Riem airport opened that year; after 1945 it lay fallow as a tip for the city's rubble, which formed the hills of today's park, with little more than an ice rink built there over the following decades. When the International Olympic Committee awarded Munich the Games in 1966, plans were made to redevelop the area for the Olympic Stadium and park (Wikipedia, Olympiapark (Munich)).

Highlights

• The tent roof - acrylic panels on a steel cable net over the venues.
• The Olympic Tower - a 291-metre tower with an observation deck.
• The rubble hills - park mounds built from wartime debris.
• The roof walk - harnessed tours across the structure itself.

When to go

April to October for the park and roof tours, which are weather dependent. The tower is open year-round. Concerts and events use the venues through summer.

Before you go

Roof tours are cancelled in rain or wind and must be booked. Venues close during events. The park is large with long walks between points.

Nearby

BMW Welt is across the road; Nymphenburg lies southwest.

Key facts