Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany



Architect
Behnisch Architekten
Date Built
Opened August 1972
Location
Olympiapark München
Description


The Olympiahalle occupies a site adjacent to the Schwimmhalle in Munich's Olympiapark.  The building sits beneath the sweeping tensile structure that will always be associated with the 1972 Summer Olympics.  Suspended from a series of steel masts, the tent-like structure covers the hall and spreads across to the engulf the schwimmhalle.










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Inside

During the 1972 Olympics, the hall was the venue for gymnastics and handball and depending on the configuration it could accommodate between 12,150 and 14,000 spectators.  The hall's website claims that, "... The Olympic Hall is an outstanding exemplar for the successful subsequent use of the venues after 1972 up till now."  Today, the hall is described as having up to 12,463 arena seats but it is capable of accommodating 15,500 when you include standing places.







In 2016 the arena is used for concerts, sporting events, exhibitions or trade fairs and, on the day I took these images, it was busy with people getting ready for the Munich Marathon.  Its Wikipedia website adds that, "... Several other major international events were held in this venue, including the 1974 and the 1991 World Figure Skating Championships and the 1975 preliminaries of the Ice Hockey World Championships and the 1983, 1993 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships finals. Important basketball events that were held in Olympiahalle include the Final phase of the 1993 European Basketball Championships, the 1989 and 1999 Euroleague Final Fours. World Wrestling Entertainment has hosted several house shows in the Olympiahalle since 1992 and most recently on September 27, 2008."  The hall's own website also points out that it has also hosted a wide range of musical events, ".... From Frank Sinatra to Helene Fischer, from André Rieu to Die Ärzte, from the alpine folk music show Musikantenstadl to the heavy metal heroes of Metallica."













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