The area has been redeveloped into Messestadt Riem, a new borough consisting of housing projects, a shopping mall, recreation areas and the new convention center Munich Trade Fair.
Construction started in 1936. The first plane landed on 25 October 1939, signalling the beginning of air traffic. At this time it was one of the most modern airports in the world. It replaced the airfield at Oberwiesenfeld (now the site of the Olympic Village).
In World War II it was home to Adolf Galland's legendary Jagdverband 44. It was almost completely destroyed by bombings on 9 April 1945. Until that day, civilian air traffic had also been handled in Riem. George Raffeld of the United States Rainbow Division was the first of the allied forces to arrive at the airport. He reported to his superior officers that the airport had been abandoned by the Germans.
After the war Munich-Riem was the first airport in Germany to be used for civil aviation. Post-war operations started on 6 April 1948 with the landing of a DC-3 operated by Pan American World Airways. On 12 October 1949 the Flughafen München-Riem GmbH (Munich-Riem Airport Ltd.) was founded. Wulf-Dieter Graf zu Castell became one of its managing directors. The airport's runway was lengthened to 1,900 metres (6,234 ft) in November 1949.
On 29 October 1958, the first jet aircraft, a Sud Aviation Caravelle operated by Air France, landed on the runway that had been lengthened by further 700 metres (2,297 ft). In 1962 more than one million passengers had passed through the airport. As early as 1963 the Öchsle Commission initiated a search for a new airport location as it was obvious that further extension would not be legally or politically possible. Constructing additional runways parallel or perpendicular to the existing one would require relocating a number of nearby communities. A number of accidents further encouraged the decision to build a new airport further away from the city and to close down Riem. In October 1965 a new maintenance hangar for jets, that had been built at a cost of DM 10 million, was put into operation and transferred to Lufthansa. In 1969 the Flughafen München-Riem GmbH was renamed Flughafen München GmbH. The main runway (07R/25L) was upgraded to its final length of 2,804 metres (9,199 ft) after it was closed for resurfacing for 3 weeks in August, 1969. In 1971 a new arrivals hall was put into operation, the passenger throughput having attained 4 million. On 31 December 1972 the long-time managing director Wulf-Dieter Graf zu Castell retired.
Since the 1980s and into the early 1990s, the airfield was heavily congested. Originally the terminal was intended to house between 5 and 8 million passengers per year, but by 1991 the passenger numbers had skyrocketed to twelve million passengers per year, which was up to 50% to more than double the number of passengers that the airport was originally designed to handle. Because the airport's taxiing system had been designed to be used as a smaller medium-size airport, it was unable to handle the large numbers of aircraft that used the airport. To continue operations preliminary annexes to the terminal were built, including a special hall for charter flights. During the night from 16 to 17 May 1992, operations moved to the new location near Freising. The IATA airport code MUC and the ICAO airport code EDDM were transferred to the new Munich Franz Josef Strauss Airport.
Later use of the site
Re-use as cultural center (1993–1996)
During an interim time after the move, the remaining terminal buildings such as Zeppelinhalle, Charterhalle, Terminal 1 and Wappensaal were used as venues for large events such as concerts and raves. Riem was well known internationally in the techno, alternative, and rock scenes. For example, the last concert ever of the rock band Nirvana was given there on 1 March 1994. On 17 June 1994, the Ultraschall techno club opened in the former kitchen of the cafeteria. The cultural centre was closed in the summer of 1996 because the area was needed for the Messestadt Riem.[1][2]
Messestadt Riem
The transformation of the former airport to the Messestadt Riem (Convention City Riem) with a name-giving convention centre, apartment houses and parks was one of the largest projects in urban planning of the city of Munich in the late 1990s and at the beginning of the 21st century. In 1999, the first residents moved into the new district. The only structures that remain of the airport today are the tower and the original terminal building, the Wappenhalle (hall of the coats of arms). Both structures are protected monuments. Moreover, a small stretch of the former runway still exists at the eastern end. In 2005, the former airport was the site of the Bundesgartenschau (Federal Horticultural Show).
Accidents and incidents
On 6 February 1958 an Airspeed AS 57 Ambassador charter plane crashed soon after take-off. The accident – known as the Munich air disaster – cost the lives of 23 people including eight football players from Manchester United. There were 21 survivors. The British pilot, James Thain, was initially blamed for the disaster after investigators claimed that ice on the wings had caused the take-off attempt to end in tragic failure. However, Thain was finally cleared of any responsibility for the crash in 1969,[3] by which time he and his family had suffered numerous incidents of verbal abuse, hate mail and even death threats from people accusing him of causing the crash. The cause of the crash was ultimately established as slush on the runway; there had been no ice on the wings.[4]
On 17 December 1960, a Convair C-131D Samaritan operated by the United States Air Forcecrashed shortly after take-off, killing all 20 passengers and crew on board as well as 32 people on the ground.[5] It is one of two confirmed crashes involving an airplane and a tramway.
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
^Hecktor, Mirko; von Uslar, Moritz; Smith, Patti; Neumeister, Andreas (1 November 2008). Mjunik Disco – from 1949 to now (in German). ISBN978-3936738476.
^Schauberger, Anja. "11 verrückte Clubs in München, die Geschichte schrieben" [11 crazy clubs in Munich that made history] (in German). Mit Vergnuegen. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
^DRAPER, FRANK (10 June 1969). "Munich crash pilot cleared". Evening Standard. London. p. 21. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
munich, riem, airport, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, 2009. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Munich Riem Airport news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message Munich Riem Airport German Flughafen Munchen Riem was the international airport of Munich the capital city of Bavaria and third largest city of Germany It was closed down on 16 May 1992 the day before the new Munich Airport commenced operations It was located near the old village of Riem in the borough of Trudering Riem in the east of Munich Munich Riem AirportFlughafen Munchen RiemIATA MUCICAO EDDMSummaryAirport typeDefunctOwner OperatorFlughafen Munchen GmbHServesMunichLocationTrudering Riem BavariaOpened25 October 1939 1939 10 25 Closed16 May 1992 1992 05 16 Coordinates48 08 16 N 011 41 25 E 48 13778 N 11 69028 E 48 13778 11 69028MapMUCLocation within BavariaRunwaysDirection Length Surfacem ft07R 25L 2 804 9 199 Concrete closed 07L 25R 814 2 671 Concrete closed The area has been redeveloped into Messestadt Riem a new borough consisting of housing projects a shopping mall recreation areas and the new convention center Munich Trade Fair Contents 1 History 2 Later use of the site 2 1 Re use as cultural center 1993 1996 2 2 Messestadt Riem 3 Accidents and incidents 4 References 5 External linksHistory Edit Lufthansa McDonnell Douglas DC 10 30 in Riem 1989 The remaining control tower surrounded by new buildings in 2018Construction started in 1936 The first plane landed on 25 October 1939 signalling the beginning of air traffic At this time it was one of the most modern airports in the world It replaced the airfield at Oberwiesenfeld now the site of the Olympic Village In World War II it was home to Adolf Galland s legendary Jagdverband 44 It was almost completely destroyed by bombings on 9 April 1945 Until that day civilian air traffic had also been handled in Riem George Raffeld of the United States Rainbow Division was the first of the allied forces to arrive at the airport He reported to his superior officers that the airport had been abandoned by the Germans After the war Munich Riem was the first airport in Germany to be used for civil aviation Post war operations started on 6 April 1948 with the landing of a DC 3 operated by Pan American World Airways On 12 October 1949 the Flughafen Munchen Riem GmbH Munich Riem Airport Ltd was founded Wulf Dieter Graf zu Castell became one of its managing directors The airport s runway was lengthened to 1 900 metres 6 234 ft in November 1949 On 29 October 1958 the first jet aircraft a Sud Aviation Caravelle operated by Air France landed on the runway that had been lengthened by further 700 metres 2 297 ft In 1962 more than one million passengers had passed through the airport As early as 1963 the Ochsle Commission initiated a search for a new airport location as it was obvious that further extension would not be legally or politically possible Constructing additional runways parallel or perpendicular to the existing one would require relocating a number of nearby communities A number of accidents further encouraged the decision to build a new airport further away from the city and to close down Riem In October 1965 a new maintenance hangar for jets that had been built at a cost of DM 10 million was put into operation and transferred to Lufthansa In 1969 the Flughafen Munchen Riem GmbH was renamed Flughafen Munchen GmbH The main runway 07R 25L was upgraded to its final length of 2 804 metres 9 199 ft after it was closed for resurfacing for 3 weeks in August 1969 In 1971 a new arrivals hall was put into operation the passenger throughput having attained 4 million On 31 December 1972 the long time managing director Wulf Dieter Graf zu Castell retired Since the 1980s and into the early 1990s the airfield was heavily congested Originally the terminal was intended to house between 5 and 8 million passengers per year but by 1991 the passenger numbers had skyrocketed to twelve million passengers per year which was up to 50 to more than double the number of passengers that the airport was originally designed to handle Because the airport s taxiing system had been designed to be used as a smaller medium size airport it was unable to handle the large numbers of aircraft that used the airport To continue operations preliminary annexes to the terminal were built including a special hall for charter flights During the night from 16 to 17 May 1992 operations moved to the new location near Freising The IATA airport code MUC and the ICAO airport code EDDM were transferred to the new Munich Franz Josef Strauss Airport Later use of the site EditRe use as cultural center 1993 1996 Edit During an interim time after the move the remaining terminal buildings such as Zeppelinhalle Charterhalle Terminal 1 and Wappensaal were used as venues for large events such as concerts and raves Riem was well known internationally in the techno alternative and rock scenes For example the last concert ever of the rock band Nirvana was given there on 1 March 1994 On 17 June 1994 the Ultraschall techno club opened in the former kitchen of the cafeteria The cultural centre was closed in the summer of 1996 because the area was needed for the Messestadt Riem 1 2 Messestadt Riem Edit The transformation of the former airport to the Messestadt Riem Convention City Riem with a name giving convention centre apartment houses and parks was one of the largest projects in urban planning of the city of Munich in the late 1990s and at the beginning of the 21st century In 1999 the first residents moved into the new district The only structures that remain of the airport today are the tower and the original terminal building the Wappenhalle hall of the coats of arms Both structures are protected monuments Moreover a small stretch of the former runway still exists at the eastern end In 2005 the former airport was the site of the Bundesgartenschau Federal Horticultural Show Accidents and incidents EditOn 6 February 1958 an Airspeed AS 57 Ambassador charter plane crashed soon after take off The accident known as the Munich air disaster cost the lives of 23 people including eight football players from Manchester United There were 21 survivors The British pilot James Thain was initially blamed for the disaster after investigators claimed that ice on the wings had caused the take off attempt to end in tragic failure However Thain was finally cleared of any responsibility for the crash in 1969 3 by which time he and his family had suffered numerous incidents of verbal abuse hate mail and even death threats from people accusing him of causing the crash The cause of the crash was ultimately established as slush on the runway there had been no ice on the wings 4 On 17 December 1960 a Convair C 131D Samaritan operated by the United States Air Force crashed shortly after take off killing all 20 passengers and crew on board as well as 32 people on the ground 5 It is one of two confirmed crashes involving an airplane and a tramway References Edit This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency Hecktor Mirko von Uslar Moritz Smith Patti Neumeister Andreas 1 November 2008 Mjunik Disco from 1949 to now in German ISBN 978 3936738476 Schauberger Anja 11 verruckte Clubs in Munchen die Geschichte schrieben 11 crazy clubs in Munich that made history in German Mit Vergnuegen Retrieved 21 February 2022 DRAPER FRANK 10 June 1969 Munich crash pilot cleared Evening Standard London p 21 Retrieved 5 March 2023 ASN Aircraft accident Airspeed AS 57 Ambassador 2 G ALZU Munchen Riem Airport MUC Accident description at the Aviation Safety NetworkExternal links Edit Media related to Munich Airport Riem at Wikimedia Commons 1 webarchive History of Messestadt Riem including history of the airport in German What became of Munchen Riem in German Little Town History of Old Riem in German Archived from the original on 14 July 2011 Retrieved 20 May 2010 Austrian Aviation Net Ruckblick Munchen Riem Archived from the original on 23 July 2011 Retrieved 20 May 2010 Munchen Riem Airport Historical approach and aerodrome chartsPortals Germany Aviation World War II Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Munich Riem Airport amp oldid 1154224081, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
