Olympiapark

The 1972 Munich Olympics were supposed to be the "Cheerful Games" — Germany's deliberate contrast to the militaristic spectacle of Berlin 1936. Architect Günther Behnisch designed a park that rejected monumental grandeur in favour of lightness and transparency. The iconic tent-like roof structure, engineered by Frei Otto using pre-stressed cable nets suspended from pylons up to 80 metres high and covered in acrylic glass panels, was a revolution in architecture. It made the stadium look like it was floating. The entire site was built on a hill of World War II rubble — the debris from a bombed city, landscaped into an optimistic vision of the future.

Then came September 5, 1972. Palestinian terrorists from the Black September group took eleven Israeli athletes hostage in the Olympic Village. A botched rescue attempt at the military airfield in Fürstenfeldbruck ended with all eleven hostages, five of the terrorists, and a German police officer dead. The massacre shattered the Games' hopeful narrative and changed security at international events forever. A memorial now stands at 31 Connollystrasse in the Olympic Village, marking the building where the athletes were held.

The park has emphatically refused to become a relic. Since 1972, it has hosted over 14,800 events attended by more than 221 million people. The Olympic Tower rises 291 metres and offers panoramic views extending to the Alps on clear days. The Olympic swimming hall, the events arena, and the stadium itself — where Franz Beckenbauer's West Germany won the 1974 World Cup — remain in active use.

What makes Olympiapark remarkable is that it holds its contradictions without resolving them. It's a place of architectural joy and historical grief, of athletic celebration and political violence. The acrylic roof still lets light through exactly as Otto intended, and the memorial for the murdered athletes is a five-minute walk away. Both things are true at the same time.