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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. LOCATION AND STRUCTURE The use of the term ''Olympiapark'' to designate the overall area has prevailed as a semiofficial practice, but no official name for the entire area exists: Rather, the general area comprises four separate sub-areas:
The borders of the area are the Lerchenauer Straße to the east, the Moosacher Straße to the north and the Landshuter Allee up to the bank of the Willi-Gebhard to the west. The southern boundary of the Area first proceeds down the Ackermannstraße and subsequently around the Kleingarten grounds to the Winzererstraße. Finally the Winzererstraße up to the Lerchenauer Straße closes off the last portion of the eastern border. The Georg-Brauchle-Ring serves as the dividing line of the area into two halves: Olympic Village and Olympic Media City to the north and Olympic Area and Olympic Park to the south. HISTORY After the International Olympic Committee in 1966 awarded Munich the Olympic Games, plans were solidified for the urban redevelopment of the Oberwiesenfeld area. From 1939 on, 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. 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 blueprint for the sports and recreation area, which was under construction from 1968 until 1972 . The landscape layout was designed by landscape architect Günther Grzimek. In all, the project cost 1.35 million German Marks to complete. The name "Olympiapark" itself arouse 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. ACCESSIBILITY For individual travelers, the Olympiapark is easily reachable via the Mittleren Ring. The Olympic Village itself is closed off from traffic. Using public transportation, the Munich U-Bahn's Olympic line (U3) provides a direct route: From Münchner Freiheit (a plaza in the Munich district of Schwabing, located on Leopoldstraße), the line connects to Olympiapark via Schwabing and the midtown area. Beginning in 2007 , the U3 line will be lengthened and will open up into an Oberwiesenfeld Bahn station at the northern end of the Olympic Village and Olympic shopping village at the far areas of the Park. The continuation until Moosach, where the line connects to the S-Bahn S1 line, is predicted to be completed by the end of 2011. The Olympic Center U-Bahn station is a central stop for the Munich MVG bus line. The southern and western portions of the Olympiapark will also be connected via the Straßenbahn lines 12, 20, 21, and 27, which, given their remoteness from the northern part of Olympiapark, are primarily of interest for the yearly Tollwood Festival of music held there each summer. Between 1972 and 1988 the S-Bahn "Olympic Stadium" station existed, which was oft-snubbed at events. Currently, the station remains and continues to decay. The station is expected to be demolished over the course of building the Transrapid system to the airport. THE AREA IN DETAIL Olympic Area The Olympic Area lies south of the Georg-Brauchle-Ring and north of the Olympic See; it is the smallest portion of the entire Olympiapark area. It comprises the following competition sites: The central Stadium, constructed from 1968 to 1972 , was designed by the architecture firm of Behnisch and Partners. It is currently home to the highest number of staged national and international competitions in Germany. Originally constructed to hold 80,000 visitors, this number was reduced at the end of the 1990s to 69,000 due to security concerns. Following the close of the Olympic Games, the Stadium became used primarily for soccer matches, and served as the home stadium of the FC Bayern München and TSV 1860 München teams. Since the opening of the Allianz Arena in 2005 , the site is used almost exclusively for cultural events. Olympic Hall Also designed by the architecture firm of Behnisch and Partners, Olympic Hall is a sport- and recreational facility located northeast of the Olympic Stadium. Its capacity is 12,150 with seats, or 14,000 without seats. Small Olympic Hall Smaller event facility at the Olympic Hall for up to 1,000 seated individuals, according to stage size. Olympic Swim Hall Olympic Ice Rink Werner-von-Linde Hall Olympic Tennis Facility Olympia Cycle Center Olympic Tower Olympic Village See Olympic Village, Munich
Olympic Media City The Olympic Media City lies west of the entire Olympiapark between Landshuter Allee in the east and Riesstraße in the west. The center was the building at 50 Riesstraße. Olympiapark Olympic Mountain Olympic Sea The "Sea Stage" Open-Air Theatron Carillon The carillon, built in 1972 , is one of five carillons in Bavaria. Munich Olympic Walk Of Stars In 2003 the Munich Olympic Walk Of Stars was constructed as a path from the Olympic Sea, als Weg am Olympiasee, in the style of the Hollywood Walk Of Fame . The famous leave their hand- and footprints behind in the concrete. Howard Carpendale was the first to be memorialized here, and since then roughly 30 personalities from culture and sport have left impressions of themselves behind. Russian-Orthodox Chapel Pavilion-Roof Construction Further environment REGULAR EVENTS (APART FROM CONCERTS) Olympic Hall
Olympic Swim Hall Open-Air Theatron Others
PUBLIC ESTABLISHMENTS Education and learning
Health
Sport
Memorials
TRIVIA The futuristic buildings of the Olympic Park area as well as the BMW high-rise served as the backdrop of the 1975 film "Rollerball". SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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