The work on the Glyptothek has officially ended, the destruction of its outdoor facilities by the IAA in front of the museum has been eliminated as promised. Nevertheless, there will be no peace at Königsplatz.
Before the storm is after the storm. Shortly before Christmas, the Bavarian Ministry of Art and Science praised what had already been celebrated several times before: the end of the renovation of the Glyptothek. Now, “the remaining work on the facade and outdoor facilities has also been completed,” the letter said. This second construction phase was as good as finished in July. After that, however, devastated the construction and dismantling work of the IAA the freshly sown outdoor areas again. After a week of mobility fair, which also featured numerous stands and large structures on Königsplatz in September, politicians from the district committee were appalled by the “40 to 50 centimeter deep furrows” in the green spaces, especially behind the museum. But the lawn in front of the house looked more like an agricultural area.
In the meantime, in accordance with the contract, all devastation has been eliminated, 8,000 square meters of fresh turf is said to have been laid for this, and winter calm has returned to Königsplatz. However, this will not last long. The IAA will not return to the square until 2023, but this summer the European Championships will tackle the buildings on Königsplatz and tear up the meadows again. In August, Munich’s historically changeable place will be transformed into a venue for competitions in beach volleyball and sport climbing. But what appears to some as the ideal complement to the celebrations to mark the anniversary of the 1972 Olympic Games is anathema to others.
Because sand is not simply dumped on the meadows for the beach volleyball competition. Immediately in front of the antique collections building, for example, the “Center Court” will be built, and the temple of culture itself will be used as a backdrop for the athletes in their bathing trunks. For a special grandstand with premium seats, even part of the base steps are to be built over. You can already guess what that will look like on the seat map for advance sales.
Now the beach volleyball players from the Antikensammlung are on their way
The antique collections are opposite the Glyptothek, on the south side of Königsplatz. The building was constructed from 1838 to 1848 by Georg Friedrich Ziebland, a few years after Klenze’s Glyptothek. The need for renovation of this house has also long been determined. Only at the end of 2020 did the large stone staircase of the classical building have to be built over with an “emergency safety device”. To make the wobbly stone steps safe for traffic again, a narrow staircase made of corroded sheet steel was installed above them in the middle area in front of the entrance. Since then, it has been laying over the steps like a rust-red carpet.
The Staatliche Antikensammlungen line the south side of Königsplatz.
(Photo: Lukas Barth / lukasbarth.com)
The collections of antiquities such as the Glyptothek were badly destroyed during the Second World War. The interior of the building was therefore gutted and redesigned in the post-war period, and the outer facade was renovated, but these measures – similar to those in the Glyptothek’s sister building – have long been showing their age. At the center of its gable is Bavaria as a innovator and protector of the arts. As a central acrot, a phoenix rises above the roof as a symbol of rebirth. One can only hope that a few thousand hopping beach volleyball fans on the Königsplatz don’t turn the shaky temple into rubble and the big old bird still has a little time to play.