Deutschlandhalle
Encyclopedia
Deutschlandhalle is an arena
Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...

 in the Westend
Westend (Berlin)
Westend is a locality of the Berlin borough Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf situated on the Spandauer Berg, the northern peak of the Teltow plateau between the river valleys of Spree and Havel...

 neighbourhood of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It was inaugurated on 29 November 1935 by Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

. The building has been granted landmark status in 1995.

Built primarily for the 1936 Summer Olympics
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...

, the Deutschlandhalle holds 8,764 people. The Olympic boxing
Boxing at the 1936 Summer Olympics
These are the results of the boxing competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Medals were awarded in 8 weight classes. The competitions were held from August 10, 1936 to August 15, 1936....

, weightlifting
Weightlifting at the 1936 Summer Olympics
The weightlifting competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin consisted of five weight classes, all for men only.-Medal summary:-Medal table:-References:...

 and wrestling
Wrestling at the 1936 Summer Olympics
At the 1936 Summer Olympics, 14 wrestling events were contested, for all men. There were seven weight classes in Greco-Roman wrestling and seven classes in freestyle wrestling.-Freestyle:- Greco-Roman:-See also:...

 competitions took place here. On 19 February 1938 test pilot Hanna Reitsch
Hanna Reitsch
Hanna Reitsch was a German aviator and the only woman awarded the Iron Cross First Class and the Luftwaffe Combined Pilots-Observation Badge in Gold with Diamonds during World War II...

 demonstrated the first indoor flight in the arena with a Focke-Wulf Fw 61
Focke-Wulf Fw 61
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Coates, Steve and Jean-Christophe Carbonel. Helicopters of the Third Reich. Crowborough, UK: Classic Publications Ltd., 2002. ISBN 1-903223-24-5....

 helicopter.

Heavily damaged by air raids
Strategic bombing during World War II
Strategic bombing during World War II is a term which refers to all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature between 1939 and 1945 involving any nations engaged in World War II...

 in 1943, the Deutschlandhalle was rebuilt after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and since 1957 has served as a multi purpose arena and sports venue, in the last years primarily for ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

, but also for indoor soccer
Indoor soccer
Indoor soccer or arena soccer, or six-a-side football in the United Kingdom, is a game derived from association football adapted for play in an indoor arena such as a turf-covered hockey arena or skating rink. The most important difference in play is that the indoor field is surrounded by a wall...

 and again for boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

.

The arena hosted the 1980 basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 euroleague
Euroleague
Euroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...

 final between Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv (basketball)
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv B.C. is a professional Israeli basketball club based in Tel Aviv. The team plays in three leagues: the Euroleague, the Israeli Basketball Super League, and the Adriatic League....

 and Real Madrid
Real Madrid Baloncesto
Real Madrid Baloncesto is a Spanish professional basketball team founded in 1932 as a division of the Real Madrid club. They play in the Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto ....

 (Madrid won 89-85), the 1995
1995 in basketball
-Professional:*Men**1995 NBA Finals: Houston Rockets over the Orlando Magic 4-0. MVP: Hakeem Olajuwon*** 1995 NBA Playoffs***1994–95 NBA season***1995 NBA Draft**Eurobasket: Yugoslavia 96, Lithuania 90*Women**Eurobasket Women: Ukraine def. Italy...

 basketball Korać Cup
Korac Cup
The Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA between the 1971-72 and 2001-02 seasons. It was the third-tier level club competition in European basketball, after the European Champions' Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup...

 final in which local ALBA Berlin
ALBA Berlin
-Depth Chart:* Denotes injured player.-Championships:*German Championships: 8 *German Cups: 6 *Korać Cups: 1 -Notable players:- Season by season :-External links:...

 won the trophy and the 1995 World Amateur Boxing Championships
1995 World Amateur Boxing Championships
thumb|German stamp from 1995The Men's 1995 World Amateur Boxing Championships were held in the Deutschlandhalle in Berlin, Germany from May 4 to May 15. The eighth edition of this competition, held a year before the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, was organised by the world governing body for...

.

The building has also been used for musical events: Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...

 performed here in 1960; the concert was recorded as Ella in Berlin
Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife
Ella in Berlin is a live album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald. This album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old, and that have "qualitative or historical...

. On 4 September 1970, it was the site of Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...

's second-to-last performance.

The 1981 film Christiane F. shows a performance by David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

 in the Deutschlandhalle.

After the 1990 German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...

, the Deutschlandhalle lost its position as Berlin's primary arena, replaced by the newly erected Velodrom
Velodrom
The Velodrom is an indoor track cycling arena, in the Prenzlauer Berg, locality of Berlin, Germany. Holding up to 12,000 people, it was also Berlin's largest concert venue, until the opening of O2 World in 2008....

, Max-Schmeling-Halle
Max-Schmeling-Halle
Max-Schmeling-Halle is a multi-purpose arena, in Berlin, Germany, named after the famous German boxer Max Schmeling. Apart from the Velodrom, it's one of Berlin's biggest sport places and holds from 8,861 people, up to 10,050 people....

 and O2 World
O2 World
O2 World is a multi-use indoor arena, in the Friedrichshain neighborhood, of Berlin, that opened in September 2008. Developed by Anschutz Entertainment Group, it was named O2 World, when O2 Germany purchased the naming rights...

. After the building had to be closed for repairs several times in recent years, most recently in 2009, the Berlin Senate in May 2008 finally decided to demolish it and build a new ice arena on the site. However, the demolition is not expected to occur before 2011.

External links

  • Deutschlandhalle (German
    German language
    German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

    )
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