Olympic village in Munich: The great freedom in the cube bungalow
in the middle
Status: 08/03/2022 2:38 p.m
Concrete jungle for some, futuristic residential design for others: the Olympic Village in Munich was already controversial 50 years ago. But many who live here never want to go anywhere else.
It is a living monument, the Olympic Village north of Munich. It has long since served its purpose as accommodation for the athletes, but it still has the flair of the Olympic Games. Hardly anything has changed since the 1972 Summer Games. In 1998 the village was listed as a historical monument together with the Olympic Stadium, which is only an Olympic javelin throw away.
From the penthouse to the cube bungalow
From terraced houses to condominiums to sophisticated two-storey penthouses: you can quickly find every type of property in the complex, which was built in the late 1960s. The lower part of the village is administered by the Munich Student Union. Around 2000 students live here in small cube bungalows that have since been completely renovated.
Bruni Hülle was one of the first residents there. She lives here before the games, because from April 1971 to March 1972 the small bungalows were tested by students for the athletes. The later high school teacher Huel especially enjoyed living alone.
Bruni Hülle was one of the first residents and later also the “Olympic hostess”. The hostess dress from back then still fits her today.
Image: BR/Steinbacher
The “great freedom” – with gentlemen visiting
Because at the beginning of the 1970s it was “actually still normal and reliable for people to sublet somewhere – often with an elderly widow who had a large apartment,” says Hülle. “But with visitors it was very limited – especially with men.” In the new bungalows you then had “great freedom” – with gentlemen visiting even after 10 p.m.
Hull had to undress during the games, but she was still there – as a so-called Olympic hostess. After the games she returns to the village, meets her husband Wolfgang and moves with him in 1975 into one of the white blocks of flats in the so-called Oberdorf. The two were quickly the only ones who lived there. Because the Olympic Village was anything but popular after the Games.
Futuristic and a lot of concrete: Initially, the apartments in the Olympic Village were anything but in demand.
Image: BR/Steinbacher
Today the trees are big, the concrete has remained – but hardly any “villager” wants to move out.
Image: BR/Steinbacher
Below the cars, above only pedestrians and cyclists
With the help of special funding programs, among other things, the village slowly filled up. In 1975, Hildegard Schmid and her husband also moved into one of the terraced houses. At first she was not at all convinced of the construction method, says Schmid. But after a short time she became aware of the advantages.
One of them: they could let their children romp around outside without supervision. Because the planners had separated the living, traffic and play areas from each other – that still applies today. Cars only drive underground in the village. Residents come directly from the parking level to their apartment or terraced house. On the surface, pedestrians and cyclists are to themselves.
Today, Hildegard Schmid is the “care grandmother” at the Nieses. “I never want to go anywhere else,” she says, referring to the good neighborhood.
Image: BR/Steinbacher
“Just crawled out onto the street”
In the meantime, Sandra and Stefan Niese have bought the Schmids’ house. In addition to the greenery, they are particularly impressed by the special nature of the construction. As soon as they could crawl, their children “just crawled out onto the street,” says Sandra Niese – no problem if there are no cars driving there.
Incidentally, Hildegard Schmid moved into an apartment across the street – and today the foster grandma of the two daughters of the Nieses die. You often hear about the good and close neighbors in the Olympic Village. This is also due to the way the village is built, because meetings and conversations in the pedestrian zones are programmed without cars.
right in the middle of the Olympic Village in Munich: 50 years after the games
Moritz Steinbacher, BR, daily topics 10:15 p.m., August 2nd, 2022
The 1972 assassination – sometimes still an issue today
But living in the village also means living with contemporary history. The “merry” games in Munich ended on September 5, 1972, when a Palestinian terrorist squad broke into the quarters of the alleged men’s team at Connollystrasse 31 and took eleven athletes hostage. None of the hostages survived the attack.
Connollystraße 31 looks the same today as it did back then. As a resident of the village, you only sometimes think of what happened there 50 years ago, says Stefan Niese. But every now and then, according to Niese, the place’s past quickly comes back to life. This was also the case recently when he was approached by a gentleman who was looking for the location of the assassination. It turned out that the man was a wrestler in the East German Olympic team of 72, lived exactly opposite Connollystrasse 31 during the games and could still vividly relate the events of September 5, 1972.
Despite the history: the approximately 6,000 people who live here appreciate the advantages that the former Olympic Village offers. You can tell by the fact that as a “foreigner” you rarely find an apartment. The “villagers” prefer to trade with each other. Not a bad sign for a facility that nobody initially wanted to move into.