Germany is known as a soccer nation and FC Bayern Munich is one of the absolute top teams in Germany and Europe. But other sports also have a long tradition, such as ice hockey. We give you an overview of ice skating in Munich.
The beginnings of ice hockey in Munich
Ice hockey was already well known in Munich at the beginning of the 20th century and has been played in the city since at least 1909. In that year, the MEV 1883 (Münchner Eislaufverein) played the first documented ice hockey game according to Canadian rules against the Innsbrucker EV. Munich won 15:6.
The first Munich ice hockey championship was held in the 1911/1912 season and the Bavarian capital even hosted its fourth European Championship in 1913. The games were played both on the frozen Kleinhesseloher See and on the Unsöld artificial ice rink. Only Belgium, Bohemia, Austria and Germany took part in the championship, with Belgium coming out on top. At the same time, MTV München (men’s gymnastics club) finished runner-up in the German championships.
Munich has hosted the World Ice Hockey Championships three times, the first time in 1975, then in 1983 and 1993, with the Soviet or Russian national team winning each time.
Development to today’s EHC Red Bull Munich
After the end of the Second World War, many ice hockey teams and clubs came and went in Munich. The MEV team, which played its first game in 1909, continued to exist until the 1960s, before merging with the ice hockey section of FC Bayern Munich. This in turn finally disbanded in 1969.
The first club with the name EHC was founded in 1970. The EC Hedos emerged from it in the early 1980s. The team played in the German Bundesliga from 1989 to 1994, before the DEL (German Ice Hockey League) was founded in the same year. The team was involved in the DEL under the name Maddogs and was the first Munich team to take part in the European Cup, but was unable to play in the final because the team ceased playing.
In 1998, the ice hockey club HC München was founded and officially changed its name to EHC München in 2002. Since 2012, the club has been sponsored by Red Bull and bears this in its name. Until 2013, the club colors were white and blue, since then red has been added. In 2010, the club was promoted to the DEL and in 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18, EHC Red Bull won the German championship in three consecutive seasons. The team claimed the title again in 2022/2023
Ice hockey in Munich today
To this day, the EHC is the highest-ranked ice hockey club in Munich. Since August 2024, the team has called the new SAP Garden in the Olympiapark its new home. It offers space for 10,796 spectators. Basketball matches are also regularly played here.
The women’s team ESC Planegg from the Munich area played very successfully in the women’s national league from 1991 to 2024. They won the championship title a total of seven times. The team stopped playing in 2024.
During the season, you regularly have the opportunity to cheer on EHC Red Bull at home games in the SAP Garden. Tickets start at €32 in the cheapest category.