[4K] The Olympiastadion, Berlin

The Olympiastadion, also known in English as the Berlin Olympic Stadium or simply the Olympic Stadium, is a sports stadium at Olympiapark Berlin in Berlin, Germany. It was originally designed by Werner March for the 1936 Summer Olympics. During the Olympics, the record attendance was thought to be over 100,000. Since renovations in 2004, the Olympiastadion has a permanent capacity of 74,475 seats and is the largest stadium in Germany for international football matches. The Olympiastadion is a UEFA category four stadium. Besides its use as an athletics stadium, the arena has built a footballing tradition. Since 1963, it has been the home of the Hertha BSC. It hosted three matches in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. It was renovated for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, when it hosted six matches, including the final. The DFB-Pokal final match is held each year there since 1985. The Olympiastadion Berlin served as a host for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup as well as the 2015 UEFA Champions League final. It hosted six games in UEFA Euro 2024, including the final. During the 1912 Summer Olympics, the city of Berlin was designated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host the 1916 Summer Olympics. Germany's proposed stadium for this event was to be located in Charlottenburg, in the Grunewald Forest, to the west of Berlin—thus the stadium was also known as Grunewaldstadion. A horse racing-course already existed there which belonged to the Berliner Rennverein, and even today the old ticket booths survive on the current Jesse-Owens-Allee. The government of Germany decided not to build in the nearby Grunewald forest, or to renovate buildings that already existed. Because of this desire, they hired the same architect who originally had built the "Rennverein", Otto March. March decided to build the stadium under the ground ("Erdstadion", in German). However, the 1916 Olympic Games were cancelled due to World War I. In the 1920s the first buildings of a school, the "Deutsches Sportforum" (German Sport Forum), dedicated to the teaching of professors of physical education and the study of sport science were built northeast of the stadium site. From 1926 to 1929, Otto March's sons (Werner and Walter) were assigned to build an annex for these institutions, though the finalization was delayed until 1936. In 1931, the International Olympic Committee selected Berlin to host the 11th Summer Olympics. Originally, the German government decided merely to restore the earlier Olympiastadion of 1916, with Werner March again retained to do this. When the Nazi Party won the election in Germany in 1933, they decided to use the Olympic Games to build a new stadium and Olympic Complex for Berlin in 1936. Fuhrer and Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler ordered the construction of a great sports complex in Grunewald named the "Reichssportfeld" with a new Olympiastadion. Architect Werner March remained in charge of the project, assisted by his brother Walter. When the complex was built it was owned by the Hohenzollern Royal Family (Constitutional Monarchy of Germany), who retained ownership after the games. Construction took place from 1934 to 1936. When the Reichssportfeld was finished, it was 132 hectares (330 acres). It consisted of (east to west): the Olympiastadion, the Maifeld (Mayfield, capacity of 50,000) and the Waldbühne amphitheatre (capacity of 25,000), in addition to various places, buildings and facilities for different sports (such as football, swimming, equestrian events, and field hockey) in the northern part. Werner March built the new Olympiastadion on the foundation of the original Deutsches Stadion, once again with the lower half of the structure recessed 12 metres (40 feet) below ground level. The capacity of the Olympiastadion reached 110,000 spectators. It also possessed a VIP stand. At its end, aligned with the symmetrically designed layout of the buildings of the Olympischer Platz and toward the Maifeld, was the Marathon Gate with a big receptacle for the Olympic Flame. The Bell Tower crowned the western end of the Reichssportfeld planted amid the tiers of the Maifeld stands. It was 77 metres (247 ft) high. From its peak could be observed the whole city of Berlin. During the games, it was used as an observation post by administrators, police officials, doctors, and the media. In the tower was the Olympic Bell. On its surface were the Olympic rings with an eagle, the year 1936, the Brandenburg Gate, the date 1–16 August in German, a motto between two swastikas: "I call the youth of the world"[5] also in German, and 11. Olympic Games Berlin – although the games were the 10th (Summer) Olympics, they were the Games of the XI Olympiad.