Olympic Village 1936
The abandoned Olympic Village of the 1936 Summer Olympics lies about 18 kilometers West of the Berlin Olympic Stadium.
Already during construction, it was clear that after the games, the area would be used as barracks by the Wehrmacht - although the Nazis dubbed the place "Village of Peace". The village is situated right next to a huge military training area, so from the beginning, it was a part of the Nazis' plan for a secret rearmament.
The village was built in the years 1934-36. During the games, 3.600 male athletes and their staff were accomodated here, while the female athletes were accomodated near the Olympic Stadium.
Every house got the name of a German city; the village consisted of a reception building, more than 140 residential houses, a large dining hall, a kitchen building, a gym, a swimming pool, a sauna and a hospital.
The dining hall was made up of 38 seperate dining rooms, one for each participating nation. After the 1936 games, an infantry school was moved to the area. The dining hall was used as a military hospital - this use had already been planned during construction of the Olympic Village. After the end of World War II, the Soviet Army moved into the area and occupied the Olympic Village until 1992.
