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Henry the Lion founded Munich in 1158. Munich was ranted town rights in 1214 and became the seat of power of the duchy of Bavaria-Munich in 1255. Gustav Adolf of Sweden occupied the city during the Thirty Years War; in 1806 Munich became the capital of the kingdom of Bavaria.
During the reign of King Ludwig I such famous buildings as the Glyptothek, Old and New Pinakothek, the royal palace, Feldherrnhalle and Siegestor were built. Munich developed into one of Europe's most important cultural centres. Kurt Eisner proclaimed the Free State of Bavaria in 1918 and was elected Prime Minister of Bavaria.
In 1933 the National Socialists, the Nazis, seized power in the City Hall. Allied air bombardments caused widespread destruction in Munich in 1944. Today the Bavarian capital on the river Isar is an economic and media metropolis with an international reputation.
Munich enjoys a special place of honour in the world of sports as venue of the 1972 Olympic Summer Games. Since then innumerable events of national and international importance have been staged in the Olympiastadion in the middle of a beautiful park. These included the 1974 World Cup final, the final of EURO '88 and the UEFA Champions League Final in 1997.
Munich has been one of Europe's most important sports cities since the 1972 Olympic Games. The first traditional sports clubs were founded in the last century, among them the "Turn- und Sportverein München von 1860" - TSV 1860, which together with FC Bayern München dominates Munich football. FC Bayern is the most successful German club with 18 national titles, nine Cup wins and additional titles in all European competitions. Munich offers 373 sports facilities to its 732 clubs with a total of 292,829 active members.
Major Events at the Munich Olympiastadion
Sporting highlights like Champions League matches, Final Four in basketball, Six Day cycle races in recent times, and international track and field meetings (2002 European Championships) are regularly staged in the Bavarian capital Munich and the Olympic Park.
Stadium: Stadion München
Scheduled Work: A brand new stadium
2006 Capacity: 66,000 Seats
The originally planned reconstruction of the Olympic Stadium was rejected after a local referendum voted in favour of a new, purpose-built football stadium in München.
- In July 2001, the city council announced their support for a new stadium in the Fröttmaning area to the north of the city.
- The people of München echoed their approval in the referendum of 21 October 2001. The project is being funded by the Bavarian capital’s two Bundesliga clubs, TSV 1860 München and FC Bayern München.
- On 8 February 2002, the senior experts’ committee decided in favour of a design by architects Herzog & de Meuron..
- The design is an innovative, futuristic interpretation of a football stadium. The smooth external façade has a translucent, diamond-shaped shell, which acts as a projection surface to enshroud the stadium in a kaleidoscope of colour, giving it an almost magical aura. With three tiers of seats inside, each and every one of the 66,000 capacity crowd is guaranteed to be right on top of the action.
- All seats are covered.
- In March 2004, FIFA confirmed the official Opening Ceremony for the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ will take place in München, immediately before the Opening Match on 9 June 2006. In addition, the 2006 FIFA Congress will be held in the city. München is also home to the International Media Centre.
- After the Opening Match, the new München stadium will stage one of the semi-finals and four further matches.
- The stadium is scheduled for completion in summer 2005.
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