Germany - Munich - Olympic Park view

The Olympiapark in Munich, Germany, is an Olympic Park which was constructed for the 1972 Summer Olympics. Found in the area of Munich known as the "Oberwiesenfeld" ("upper meadow-field"), the Park continues to serve as a venue for cultural, social, and religious events such as events of worship. The Park is administered by Olympiapark München GmbH, a holding company fully owned by the state capital of Munich.

After the International Olympic Committee in 1966 awarded Munich the Olympic Games, plans were solidified for the urban redevelopment of the Oberwiesenfeld area. Up until 1939, Oberwiesenfeld had largely been used as an airfield; however, the then-recently-opened Munich-Riem airport left the Oberwiesenfeld area largely idle. Under Nazi plans for the development of Munich into the "Capital of the Movement," this area was supposed to have served as the central slaughterhouse and marketplace. The Second World War, however, hindered the implementation of this plan. After 1945, the Oberwiesenfeld area remained fallow, and was known as a "Trümmerberg," which in German refers to a hill erected from the ruins caused by the destruction caused by bombings during the war. In October 1957, since the US Army had facilities at the Oberwiesefeld, most of the refugees from the Hungarian Revolution were camped at this facility. Apart from infrastructure projects such as the "Ice Stadium at Oberwiesenfeld," Oberwiesenfeld remained largely vacant, and as such was an ideal place for the construction of the Olympic Stadium. The concept of a "green Olympic Games" was chosen, and so too was the orientation toward the ideals of democracy. Officials sought to integrate optimism toward the future with a positive attitude toward technology, and in so doing set aside memories of the past, such as the Olympic Games of 1936 in Berlin. The architectural firm of Günther Behnisch and its partners developed a comprehensive masterplan for the sports and recreation area, which was under construction from 1968 until 1972. The landscape layout was designed by landscape architect Günther Grzimek. The eye-catching tensile structure that covers much of the park was designed by German architect and engineer Frei Otto. In all, the project spent 1.35 billion German Marks to complete. The name "Olympiapark" itself arose from the city's administrative commission for the naming of Bahn stations along the U- and S-Bahn routes in the city area, which on November 3, 1969 had chosen the name "Olympiapark" for the name of the Olympic station's stop along the U3 line of the Munich U-Bahn. This naming decision was based on the idea that the name "Olympiapark" related well to the central theme of a "green Olympic Games" and also to the central function of the U-Bahn station, which, in conjunction with the bus station, serviced all sports venues and important sectors of the area. Thereafter, the term quickly entered into quasi-official common parlance, and consequently into media coverage, so that in most situations, the meaning established by the administrative commission is used to describe the entire area, not merely the U-Bahn station, as was originally intended.