Munich is bursting with urban beauty and idyllic nature in many places. But there is another way: in and around Munich there are numerous spooky lost places for explorers. One of the city’s most fascinating urban ruins is hidden in the north of Munich, between the Olympic Park and industry : the former S-Bahn station Olympiastadion – a lost place that still attracts photographers, urban explorers and graffiti artists. We reveal what this mysterious place is all about – and what you can experience there today.
From Olympic glory to oblivion
The station was built in the run-up to the 1972 Summer Olympics to cope with the influx of visitors. Four long tracks, two central platforms: During the Games, special S5, S11 and S25 trains stopped, bringing tens of thousands of fans right into the heart of the new Olympic Park.
After the Olympic Games, however, the station was hardly used. The Munich S-Bahn only brought the site back to life for major soccer events. After the European Football Championships in 1988 and a tragic accident on parked tank wagons, the station was finally closed. The railroad cut the power lines, the station rusted shut – and the transformation into a ghost station began.
Concrete, graffiti, wilderness: the perfect lost place
Loneliness now dominates where Olympic splendor once reigned : long platforms, concrete pillars, rusty relics and vegetation that is reclaiming its habitat. Mosses, meadow herbs and bushes grow in the ballast bed of the tracks, graffiti blooms on the walls like in no other place in Munich. Its character as a “ghost station” is so iconic that the site is now a listed building and a magnet for creative minds.
If you love photos of decay, urban jungle and post-apocalyptic flair, you’ll get your money’s worth here: from detailed shots of rusty rails and decaying lamps to atmospheric plays of light and shadow between ruins – the Geisterbahnhof offers countless perspectives. The location is often used for urban photo shoots, parcours sessions or simply for exploring.
Between the future and the past
But it’s important to know that you are not officially allowed to enter. The station is fenced off and only accessible from the outside. The site now belongs to the city and there are already plans for the future. A “place for open, non-commercial youth culture” is to be created here. Skating, parkour and bouldering facilities are being considered. In the best-case scenario, the overgrown character of the site should be preserved.
Until then, however, the disused station remains one of the most exciting reminders of the Munich hype of 1972 and one of the most formative urban explorer destinations in the city. If you want to feel the flair of times gone by, Munich’s S-Bahn station Olympiastadion is an impressive relic amidst concrete, uncontrolled growth and street art. A real lost place that is guaranteed to make your head spin.