Munich City Archive takes over the records of the Münchner Forum

Munich City Archive has taken over the records of the Münchner Forum, the association that has followed the city's planning closely, critically and independently for decades. The collection totals eight metres of archive material, which the City Archive says holds a special place among its holdings.

The Forum grew out of opposition among architects and students at Munich's universities to the first steps taken under the city development plan of 1963, including the construction of the Old Town ring road and the tunnel beneath the Prinz-Carl-Palais. That resistance led to the founding of the Münchner Bauforum association, which was registered as a non-profit association in 1968 under the name Münchner Forum (Discussion Forum for Development Issues). Since then it has followed every major transport and planning project in the city, during a period when Munich was transformed after being awarded the 1972 Olympic Games. That era saw the construction of the S-Bahn and U-Bahn and the completion of the Middle Ring road. Some planned projects were never built, either for lack of funding or because of public protest.

Dr Daniel Baumann, head of the City Archive, said: "The records offer a different perspective on the major infrastructure programmes of the last 50 years. That is why the Münchner Forum's files are particularly valuable for research into these subjects."

Martin Fürstenberg, a long-standing member of the Münchner Forum, said: "Even though we did not always agree with the city administration and politicians, we were glad to contribute our perspectives and suggestions in order to keep Munich a city worth living in."

The post-Olympic years are also the subject of an academic conference, "Planning, Protest, Participation", organised by the City Archive together with the University of Augsburg and the Institute for Contemporary History Munich-Berlin (IfZ) on 13 and 14 October at the IfZ. Over two days, researchers discuss the processes, structures and people that shaped politics in Munich during those years. On 13 October at 7pm, Professor Dr Martin Baumeister gives a public lecture in the rotunda of the City Archive at Winzererstraße 68. Further details about the conference are available at https://stadt.muenchen.de/infos/muenchen-nach-olympia.html.