Munich: Ghost station “Olympic Stadium”
In the vicinity of Munich’s Olympic Stadium is a train station overgrown with brush and weeds. The tracks stretch north and south, but go nowhere.
Munich played host to the Summer Olympics in 1972; physical reminders include the Olympiadorf (Olympic Village), Olympiapark, and the Olympiastadion (Olympic Stadium). In 1988, the train station “München Olympiastadion” closed to train service for the final time. Rail tracks which connected the station with the North Ring freight tracks were cut, isolating the station and leaving it to decay.
Since 2001, the Olympic Village has been listed as part of the heritage Olympiapark ensemble which includes the abandoned station. But will the station be left to decay? Or will the station be refurbished in some way to become a living memorial?
Historical maps of the MVV U- and S-Bahn system show how train service from central Munich to Olympic Stadium was utilized. S-Bahn train service carried passengers along the central trunk to Olympic Stadium via Hauptbahnhof, Laim, and Moosach; check out the system maps for June 1972 and June 1988.
Geisterbahnhof München Olympiastadion
Entrance to former station “Olympiastadion” (HL).
Upper concourse; square block in the cement was likely once a kiosk or shop (HL).
North retaining wall, from the station concourse (HL).
Recent (2018): facing north towards the towers in the Pressestadt at upper-centre (HL).
Past (1984): facing north to the Pressestadt towers. Picture by Fritz-F on Wiki (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Gleis (track) 1, facing south (HL).
“Maximum enjoyment.” Track 1, facing north (HL).
Track 1, facing north (HL).
Tracks 2 and 3, overgrown: facing south (HL).
Tracks 2 and 3, overgrown: facing north towards the Pressestadt towers (HL).
Decay, tracks 2 and 3 (HL).
Overgrown (HL).
Along track 1, next to road Bundesstrasse 304 (HL).
Münchner Nordring (Munich North Ring) mostly freight; I’ve highlighted with a bright purple filled circle the location of the former Olympiastadion station and its former connection with the Nordring. Map by Pechristener on Wiki (CC-BY-SA 2.0).
Munich rapid transit system map from 1972. The arrow points to the location of station Olympiastadion, connected as an express link to Moosach in the west and Johanneskirchen in the east (2. Stammstrecke München).
Munich rapid transit system map from 1988. The arrow points to the location of station Olympiastadion, connected merely as a spur in the station’s final year of operation (2. Stammstrecke München).
Directions:
Take the U1 or U7 U-Bahn to Georg-Brauchle-Ring station; enjoy the station interior before heading up to street-level. Walk east on the pedestrian path along Georg-Brauchle-Ring in the direction of the O2 Telefónica tower. Go past the tower towards the overpass (road B304). Staying on the path, the road turns gently left/north at the overpass; walk up the sloped ramp to the ghost station. After safely navigating around and walking about the ruins, the pedestrian bridge directly across from the station takes you over the busy road Bundesstrasse 304, and east into Olympic Park, Olympic Stadium, and memorials marking the 1972 Massacre.
I made all images labelled “(HL)” above on 2 June 2018 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-cnH.
6 Responses to “Munich: Ghost station “Olympic Stadium””
Henry, since I was born and lived for 38 years in Munich, this post is most interesting for me. Back than un 1972 I worked as a bookseller in the shopping mall of the Olympic Center and was there when the terrorist attack happened at the Olympic Village Center were all the athlets lived. It is the most horrible memory I’ve had, the entire shopping mall was flooded with police and shop got closed. It’s sad to see all these images here , that everything is being abandoned and overgrown, indeed it looks ghostly.
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Hi, Cornelia. I’m fascinated by your history that’s contemporaneous with the 1972 Summer Olympics. But I can’t imagine what people must have felt during that 1st week of September. From the footage (that’s shown at the memorial), I can only get a glimpse of the dread and uncertainty during the crisis. As for the “ghost station,” I hope some people will able to preserve the station representing another aspect of the “historical ensemble” for the 1972 Summer Olympics. Thanks for your comment and for stopping by!
P.S. The YouTube link of the history of Munich rapid transport might help relive some memories. Munich is presently constructing a 2nd core or trunk rail route to alleviate (S-Bahn) congestion through the Altstadt.
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Ghost station, that’s so sad…
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Hi, Amy. I don’t think this station will ever be resurrected, given what I’ve seen of the long-term transport plans of Munich. But as a historical piece associated with the 1972 Summer Olympics, I’d agree with many that some money should be put into preserving the station in some way. As for how sad “ghost stations” can be, you may well be aware of the many stations that found themselves “unused” and/or “no-go areas” when Berlin was divided for 28 years between 1961 and 1989. Thanks for stopping by!
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Thank you Henry for pointing out the video links, it’s a pretty amazing project in work. I can only use the word horrible, to describe what went in those moments of the attack. Thank you so much for your kind response. Have a great weekend.
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[…] station which serves U-Bahn lines U1 and U7. I used this station to visit the ruins of the Olympiastadion ghost station and memorials to the massacre at the 1972 Summer […]
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