Munich's Olympiapark moves five years closer to Unesco World Heritage bid

Munich's Olympiapark can now be put forward for Unesco World Heritage status five years earlier than planned, after the city swapped places with the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen on the list of sites Germany intends to nominate. According to current plans, a decision from Unesco can be expected from 2033.

This list, known as the tentative list, contains the cultural monuments and protected areas that individual states intend to nominate for World Heritage status. Garmisch-Partenkirchen said it was happy to agree to the swap, as it currently sees no need to push its own bid, 'Alpine and pre-Alpine meadow, pasture and moorland landscapes'. That bid can now be submitted from 2038. Both bids were coordinated with the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts, which is responsible for World Heritage matters. The Olympiapark would become Bavaria's 12th World Heritage site, following the addition of King Ludwig II's palaces, Neuschwanstein, Linderhof with the Schachenhaus, and Herrenchiemsee, in July 2025.

The City of Munich has been preparing the application documents since 2024 and has involved residents in the process. The next step is a preliminary assessment. If that is successful, the final application can be submitted.

Munich's head of city planning, Professor Elisabeth Merk, thanked Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the ministry for making the swap possible. She said: 'The Olympiapark and its sports venues are a unique architectural and landscape design work of art that deserves to be preserved, living witnesses of their time.' She added that she was delighted at the unique opportunity to hold Olympic Games at a World Heritage site, should Munich be chosen as host.

Bavaria's science minister, Markus Blume, said: 'As a native of Munich, the Olympiapark is a piece of home for me, and at the same time a piece of world history.' He thanked Garmisch-Partenkirchen for its cooperative gesture.

On Heritage Open Day, 13 September, the association Aktion Welterbe Olympiapark is running a programme at various locations across the Olympic grounds. An information kiosk on the nomination will be open from 11am to 6pm in the former ticket office by the Hanns Braun Bridge, and Professor Merk will take part in a panel discussion, 'The future of the Olympiapark: World Heritage and vision', from 4pm to 5.30pm at the Restaurant Coubertin in the Olympiapark. The full programme is available at welterbe-olympiapark.de.