Olympic Park, Munich

1 more image

On 5 September 1972, 11 Israeli athletes competing in the XX Olympiad in Munich and a German Police Officer were killed by terrorists.

The memorial is very probably walked past by many visitors to the Olympic Stadium and Park with no thought given to what it is or why it is there.

If you pass this memorial after reading this section - please stop and pay your respects - the traditional values of the Olympic Games should be well above that of politics!

Football World Cup 2006 is approaching quickly and Munich is preparing by building a brand new stadium. The existing Olympic Stadium is a beautiful stadium in the middle of a huge park with sport and relaxation facilities, restaurants, beer gradens and a huge tower, built for the Olympic Games in 1972.

Literally the newest HIGHlight on the grounds is a tour on the roof of the stadium. Secured with ropes and hooks you climb the roof, walk along safe steps and footpaths and finaly climbing up to the very top and sit down for a few minutes to enjoy the views.

You might have silght problems if you don't have a head for heights, but apart from that it is totally safe. It's not even climbing but walking causally, looking down at the football pitch, over to the tower, across the park, to the city and mountains in the distance.

Great experience!!! The tour starts with a movie about the construction works of the stadium and especially the roof and overall the whole visit takes about 2 hours. Don't forget to bring a hook to secure your camera to your harness.

Maybe I was still a kid when it happened, but its story moved me so much that it had been one of my fondest dreams to visit the site of the 1972 Munich Olympics.

There was not much to see except for the site itself. Thus, there were only very few tourists, and most likely, they were there to view the latest models of BMW which was having a car show at the time of our visit.

From Marienplatz, take U3 going to Olympic Zentrum. The stadium is 15-20 minutes on foot from the zentrum.

Its hard to go off the beaten path in a city especially when its one as well laid out as Munich but the most tranquil places we could find were down by the river and in the park opposite the olympic stadium, both made more beautifull by the snow.

The Olympiaturn. The tower next to the Olympic stadium. For DM 3.50 you can go to the top for stunning views of the stadium and the city, if it's a clear day you can see the alps too.

You can swim on the Olympic Park swimmingpools for 4DM.
http://www.olympiapark-muenchen.de/english/index.html

Another great site to visit in Munich, is the Olympic Park and Sports complex, located an easy subway ride from the city center.