What you'll hear
A walk of about an hour and a half through Munich’s Olympiapark: from the Olympiaturm and the famous tent roof of the stadium, past the lake and the rubble hill, to the hermit Timofei’s garden, the memorial to the victims of the nineteen seventy-two attack and the painted bungalows of the Olympic Village. A story of the “cheerful Games”, of daring architecture and of the tragedy that overshadowed them. For anyone who loves architecture, sport and history; the route is mostly level, with one climb up the Olympiaberg.
On the way
Olympiaturm
We’re standing at the foot of the Olympiaturm, the main landmark of the whole park: wherever we end up today, its needle will show us the way. From here it’s not far, about a hundred and fifty steps to the west, to where the transparent roof of the Olympia-Schwimmhalle begins – that’s where we’re heading next. Let’s tip our heads…
Olympia-Schwimmhalle and Olympiahalle
We’ve stepped under the edge of the famous tent roof: on the right the swimming hall, beyond it the Olympiahalle. Now let’s walk under the roof past the hall to the west, across the square, to the Olympiastadion – about five minutes at an easy pace. Under the transparent roof on the right is the Olympia-Schwimmhalle. In the summer of…
Olympiastadion and the tent roof
In front of us is the Olympiastadion – the heart of the nineteen seventy-two Games; if the gates are open, we can take a look inside. From here we’ll go down to the south-east, to the lakeshore, where the stone steps of the Theatron run right down to the water – just a few minutes. Here it is, the famous…
Olympiasee and Theatron
We’re on the shore of the Olympiasee, by the steps of the Theatron, where we can see both the roofs and the green hill on the far bank. Let’s cross the lake by the footbridge and climb the winding paths to the top of the Olympiaberg – the climb takes about ten minutes, and it’s worth it. In front of…
Olympiaberg
We’re at the top of the Olympiaberg – the highest point of the park; let’s catch our breath and look around. Now we’ll go down the south-western slope to the foot of the hill: there, behind thick bushes by the ring path, hides Father Timofei’s garden, seven to ten minutes away. Beneath our feet is not just a hill. The…
Ost-West-Friedenskirche (East-West Peace Church)
We’re at the gate of the most unusual corner of the Olympiapark – the domain of the Russian hermit Timofei; the garden is open during the day except on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and visitors are asked to keep quiet inside. Next comes our longest stretch: we’ll head back north through the whole park, past the lake and the stadium, cross…
Memorial to the victims of the 1972 attack
We’ve reached the memorial to the victims of the nineteen seventy-two attack – here people speak quietly. From here we’ll go down to the houses of the Olympic Village, to Connollystraße, to house number thirty-one: just a couple of minutes. Let’s slow our steps here and lower our voices. In front of us is the Erinnerungsort Olympia-Attentat, the memorial to…
Connollystraße 31
We’re on Connollystraße, at house number thirty-one, where the Israeli team stayed in seventy-two; it’s a residential building, so let’s stand by the memorial plaque without any noise. Then we’ll walk east along the street, deeper into the village, to the colourful student bungalows – a few minutes. In front of us is what looks like an ordinary apartment building…
Olympic Village
We’re in the Olympic Village, which long ago became an ordinary and much-loved Munich neighbourhood, and across the road to the east we can already see the BMW cylinders. From here we’ll head back south, over the bridge, into the heart of the park – to the square between the Olympiahalle and the lake, about ten minutes. Let’s look around…
Free walk
That’s it: our route is over, and we’re back in the heart of the Olympiapark, between the hall, the lake and the stadium. From here we wander without a plan – along the shore, over the hills, under the transparent roof, wherever we fancy. It’s impossible to get lost here: the needle of the Olympiaturm is visible from everywhere, and…
