Exploring Berlin's Olympiastadion (Olympic Stadium)
Berlin’s Olympiastadion, or Olympic Stadium, is one of the remaining pieces of Nazi architecture as part of the intended Welthauptstadt Germania. It was built to house the infamous 1936 Olympics, where Hitler presided over events and took the opportunity to spread propaganda.
Despite its disturbing origin story, the Olympic Stadium has become an important part of the fabric of Berlin. It’s a multi-purpose arena today, used for sports and performances alike. Here are some of the things you’ll see if you tour the stadium. Too far away to visit it yourself? Check out our video at this link! You’ll see everything described below, and more.
Arriving at the Olympic Stadium
The Olympic Stadium is easily accessible by train. Take either the U2 to the Olympia-Stadion station or the S5 to the Olympiastadion station. (Yes, these are two separate stations with almost identical names.) From either of these stations, it’s a short walk to the stadium. Head to the east side, as that’s where the entrance is.
After buying your ticket (8 euros per adult as of September 2017), you’ll pass through a gift shop full of the usual souvenirs and knick-knacks tangentially related to the stadium (or just to Berlin). While there’s also an informative video constantly playing here, it’s only after you’ve made your way through the shop that the fun starts.
The Buddy Bears
Immediately once you exit the ticket/gift shop building, you’ll see a row of five Buddy Bears. This style of bear, which you’ll now find scattered all over Berlin, originated as a street art project in 2001. Look closely at the bears to see various symbols and drawings related to the stadium, the Olympics, and the world of sports.
Between the bears, there’s an empty spot for posing as one of them. It’s surprisingly hard to keep one’s hands flat in that position!
The Podbielski Oak Tree
Viktor von Podbielski was heavily involved in building the predecessor to today’s Olympic Stadium. This earlier version was intended to host the 1916 Olympics, which never happened due to World War I.
In 1914, after the earlier stadium was built, an oak tree there was named the Podbielski Oak Tree in Viktor’s honor.
Various sources are oddly vague or completely silent about what happened to this original Podbielski Oak Tree. One can only assume it was removed during the construction of the Olympic Stadium in the 1930s.
At that point, in the 1930s, an oak tree growing just within the front gates was left standing and became the new Podbielski Oak Tree.
The symbolism of the oak is important culturally; it’s the national tree of Germany and has been culturally significant at least since the Napoleonic Wars, according to the sign near the tree.
The Stelae
Whether you turn left or right to walk around the outside of the Olympic Stadium, you’ll pass between rows of stelae (commemorative stone columns). If you turn left upon entering the grounds, the stelae you’ll see commemorate the 1936 Olympic gold medalists.
If you turn right, you’ll pass between stelae honoring German medalists from the Olympics since 1952 (the first year Germans were re-allowed to participate in the Olympics).
The Olympiapark Schwimmstadion Berlin
The Olympic swimming venue from 1936 still stands and is still in use today. In fact, it’s open to the public and even offers facilities for children and toddlers.
If you turn right upon entering the Olympic grounds and walk a quarter of the way around the main stadium, you’ll have an elevated view of the diving structure at these pools.
The Bell (and Bell Tower)
The Olympic Stadium complex remained remarkably intact during World War II, when many other parts of Berlin were badly damaged. It wasn’t until after the war, in 1947, that the complex faced its worst damage. The bell tower, which was unstable due to fire damage, was demolished. This sent the Olympic Bell crashing over 200 feet to the ground, where it cracked.
Around a decade later, the bell was placed in its current location, and the Nazi symbolism was poorly disguised by filling in parts of the swastikas with more metal. Unfortunately, it’s still obvious what the symbols once were, as you can see in our video.
The bell tower was rebuilt in the 1960s. Because the crack in the original bell renders it unusable, a replacement hangs in the tower. Since the 1980s, the original bell has served as a memorial to war victims.
The Olympic Stadium Itself
I hate to admit it because of the Nazi connection, but the architecture of the Stadium is breathtaking. The partially open roof serves as a visual mirror to the field below, offering a sense of grandeur and expansiveness.
From within, the stadium feels breathtakingly large (though, to be fair, I don’t spend enough time in stadiums to be able to offer a realistic comparison).
When it was built in the 1930s, the Olympic Stadium had a capacity of around 110,000. Today, it seats just over 74,000.
A surprising amount of the stadium is open for individual exploration, so there’s no need for a guided tour. We only encountered a couple areas that were blocked off, and that seemed to be mostly in preparation for an upcoming event.