It all began 50 years ago

Guided tours and an exhibition accompany the anniversary of the Olympic Tower's construction! Not only is it a globally-recognised symbol and, since the Olympic Games, a tourist attraction visited by 36.2 million people, but it is also the tallest building by far. It's the Giant of Munich. The building, with its unmistakable outline, is visible from far afield, even way outside the city. And it's the location with the best views of Munich, Upper Bavaria and the surrounding hills. The building work began half a century ago, in 1965. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Olympic Tower's construction, a special photo exhibition featuring stunning pictures from the building's development is now on show. An exclusive public guided tour will offer a glimpse of the hidden corridors of this Munich giant. The dates of the tours are the 13th of August, 3rd of September and 12th of October, each starting at 6 p.m. The entrance fee is Euro 10 and tickets for the tour can be requested by calling 089 3067-2414 or e-mailing besucherservice@olympiapark.de When the Munich City Council decided in January 1964 to build, in collaboration with the German Post Office, a telecommunications tower on the Oberwiesenfeld, there was not even a whisper of the Olympic Games in Munich, even when the first spade was struck in 1965. It was only two months later that NOK boss Willi Daume suggested the Summer Games before the IOC gave Munich the nod in April 1966. The colossal structure, which opened on 22 February 1968, fitted in perfectly with the architecturally unique collection of buildings in the Olympiapark, instantly earning it the name of Olympic Tower. Measuring 289 metres and 53 centimetres in height, it has three viewing platforms at 185, 189 and 192 metres and a revolving restaurant at 182 metres which takes 53 minutes to complete one revolution, offering what is arguably the most comfortable and impressive tour of the city there is. Its total weight is 52,500 tonnes, which is as heavy as 275 jumbo jets. The cylindrical tower made from reinforced concrete tapers from 24.5 metres to 4.5 metres in diameter at a height of 248 metres. Inside the tower there are two lifts which ascend at seven metres per second, a service lift, a staircase with 1,230 steps and shafts for supply cables and technical equipment. The base of the Olympic Tower weighs 12,500 tonnes, extends eight metres into the earth and has a diameter of 40 metres. In 2005, the tower soared even higher: with the attachment of a new antenna, the Olympic Tower became 1.75 metres taller. Today, the tower measures 291.28 metres. Further information can be found at www.olympiapark.de