Bodybuilder, actor, governor – Arnold Schwarzenegger is known for all this and more. The Austrian from Styria has been living in the USA for decades, but first made a stopover in Munich, which was to be groundbreaking for his future career. The gym where he worked out back then no longer exists, but the building is still standing – and you can visit it.
Arnie’s path to Munich
Arnold Schwarzenegger entered a gym for the first time at the age of 14 and tried strength training. He followed the recommendation of his soccer coach, who had advised him to build up the muscles in his legs. This quickly developed into an interest in bodybuilding, which was still a relatively unknown discipline at the time. Over time, he gave up soccer.
In 1965, at the age of just 18, Arnold won his first competition in Stuttgart. The chairman of the German Bodybuilding Association, Rolf Putziger, sat on the jury and offered him a job in his Munich studio. He hoped that this would make him more competitive against his rival Reinhold Smolana. Arnold accepted the call to Munich and became a trainer at the Herkules studio.
The Herkules Studio at Schillerstraße 36
At the beginning, Arnold not only worked at the studio, but also lived there. In return, Putziger demanded sexual favors from the young Austrian, which he refused. Arnold was able to keep the job, but his boss now refused to pay the travel costs to the Mister Universe competition in London, contrary to his promise. Instead, Smolana financed the trip and Arnold came second.
A year later, Arnold even took first place, which prompted Putziger to rename his studio Universum-Studio. His sporting success contributed significantly to the establishment’s reputation and made it a hot spot for the bodybuilding scene. Thanks to him, the clientele increased from 100 to 400.
During this time, Schwarzenegger also met Albert Busek, editor and co-founder of Putziger’s bodybuilding magazine Sportrevue. He helped the young man get used to the Herkules at the beginning and supported him. In 1968, the two men brought the Mister Europe competition to Germany together. They became close friends and Busek was even best man at Arnold’s wedding to Maria Shiver. Arnold was present when he opened his own bodybuilding studio in Rosenheimerstraße in 1983.
Arnie’s apartment at Christopherstrasse 1
Fortunately, Schwarzenegger didn’t have to live in Putziger’s studio for long. He got hold of a one-bedroom apartment in Christopherstrasse, near the Hofgarten. Here he lived with his collection of electric cars and made an impression on his neighbor Emmi Gerlein. He once forgot his key and rang her doorbell in desperation. She let him onto her balcony so that he could climb onto his own and open the tilted window from the outside.
Bodybuilding colleagues Franco Columbu and Helmut Riedmeier are said to have already visited him here. Columbu and Schwarzenegger met at the same competition in Stuttgart where Putziger discovered him. During his time in Munich, the two became training partners and best friends. He was also best man at his wedding to Maria Schiver.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s places of work today
Christopherstrasse 1 is still a residential building today. Neighbor Emmi has since passed away, but the janitor Marija Moralic is still active and remembers the anecdotes that Emmi liked to tell. Arnold lived here for two years and walked 20 minutes to work at the Universum studio every day before emigrating to the USA in 1968.
Today, however, there is no gym in Schillerstraße. Instead, the building houses the Hotel Brunnenhof. As a result, you can no longer see much of the former premises inside, but the staircase has remained the same. If you would like to walk the same steps as Arnold Schwarzenegger once did, you can book into the hotel for a night.
The Austrian lived here for just two years and yet left a big mark. At the same time, his time in Munich was a decisive springboard for his career and he is still associated with our city to this day. The star comes to the Wiesn every year and always takes pictures with his fans in front of Schillerstraße 36. However, he does spend the night here; instead he prefers to stay at the Bayerischer Hof.