Westfalenhallen

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Westfalenhallen Dortmund
Logo of the Westfalenhallen
The Westfalenhallen
The Westfalenhallen seen from the east
Data
place Strobelallee 45 Dortmund , North Rhine-Westphalia
GermanyGermany
Coordinates 51 ° 29 '47 "  N , 7 ° 27' 21"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 29 '47 "  N , 7 ° 27' 21"  E
owner Westfalenhallen Dortmund GmbH
operator Westfalenhallen Dortmund GmbH
start of building 1920s
opening 1925
1952 (after being destroyed in World War II )
surface Parquet
PVC - Flooring
ice
artificial grass
wooden velodrome (m 200 to 2011)
capacity 15,400 seats (maximum)

The Westfalenhallen Dortmund are a trade fair , congress and event center on the Rheinlanddamm in Dortmund . A total of three subsidiaries operate under the management of the parent company Westfalenhallen Dortmund GmbH: Messe Dortmund GmbH, Kongress Dortmund GmbH and Westfalenhalle GmbH. The city of Dortmund is the sole shareholder of Westfalenhallen Dortmund GmbH. The company's annual turnover is between 40 and 50 million euros.

The Westfalenhallen comprise a total of nine exhibition halls with a total area of ​​around 60,000 square meters and an entrance hall. The best known is the listed Westfalenhalle (no number). It is one of the most traditional event arenas in Germany. The area also includes the Messe Westfalenhallen Dortmund, the congress center Westfalenhallen and the Mercure Hotel Messe & Kongress Westfalenhallen.

The Westfalenhallen have around 1.7 million visitors annually. In 2009 the 100 millionth visitor since 1952 was welcomed.

history

SPD party congress in the Westfalenhalle in 1976

The Westfalenhalle

The Westfalenhalle is registered as an architectural monument in the list of monuments of the city of Dortmund .

1925 to 1943: construction and first events

The first Westfalenhalle was built between April and November 1925 in just seven months at the suggestion of the then city building councilor Hans Strobel as a wooden structure for 15,000 visitors in Dortmund and was at times the largest hall in Europe . It was officially opened on November 28, 1925.

The hall included several ballrooms, a riding arena and stables for 400 horses. It was the scene of trade fairs and stage festivals, track and field competitions, equestrian and ice sports tournaments and political events.

In 1927, the Westfalenhalle went down in boxing history when Max Schmeling defeated Fernand Delarge from Belgium and became European champion.

Between 1926 and 2008, a total of 67 six-day races took place in the Westfalenhalle . In 1935, the Münster-based architect Clemens Schürmann installed a 200-meter-long cycling track .

In 1932, Adolf Hitler visited the Westfalenhalle on March 10th and October 30th as part of his election campaign. After the National Socialists came to power, the hall was often used for propaganda purposes. After the start of the war with the attack on Poland, the Wehrmacht confiscated the Westfalenhalle. The Wehrmacht then set up the prisoner-of-war team main camp, or main camp VI D for short, in the surrounding wooden barracks in the hall and later, when there was not enough space in the hall . Up to 10,000 prisoners of war, mainly Poles, Russians and French, were housed in this POW camp at the same time. A total of 77,000 prisoners passed through Stalag VI D, who were employed as workers in Dortmund's heavy industry.

1944 to 1953: destruction and new construction

On May 23, 1944, the Westfalenhalle was destroyed by a bomb attack. Thousands of prisoners of war who were defenseless against the attacks died.

Immediately after the war, the Dortmund City Council decided in 1945 to rebuild the Westfalenhalle.

On February 2, 1952, Federal President Theodor Heuss opened the new 118 m long, 98 m wide and 29 m high hall. The hall planned as a concrete structure by the architects Walter Höltje , then 28 years old, and Horst Retzki has a cantilevered roof structure - so there are no annoying supporting pillars in the interior. The cycling track was replaced by a new track by Schürmann.

1968 to 2002: The U on the Roof and Pink Floyd

A large illuminated "U", which is the symbol of the Dortmund Union brewery , has been rotating on the roof since 1968 .

1981 was the Westphalia hall, next to Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena , Earls Court ( London ) and Nassau Coliseum ( New York ), one of only four worldwide venues in The Wall tour of Pink Floyd .

2003 to 2012: Renovation of the Westfalenhalle

In 2003 the cycling track in the Westfalenhalle was renovated.

The picture Mayday V by the German photographer Andreas Gursky , published in 2006, shows the glass facade of the Westfalenhalle during the annual techno event Mayday . By means of photo montage, Gursky creates the illusion of an 18-story tower.

In 2011 and 2012 the interior of the Westfalenhalle was rebuilt. The cycling track was expanded in 2011, as there was no longer any need for it due to the elimination of the six-day race in 2008. The resulting space gains increased the capacity to up to 15,400 spectators.

In the same year, a C was added to one side of the roof advertising, the logo of the advertising partner “Die Continentale ”.

Others

For many years the Golden Westphalia Hall was awarded in the Westfalenhalle . Prize winners include a. James Last , Udo Jürgens , Freddy Quinn and Otto Waalkes .

More than 30 world championships and over 50 European championships have already taken place in the hall. The concert statistics include well over 1,000 artist names. For some stars, such as Chris de Burgh and Marius Müller-Westernhagen , a concert in the Große Westfalenhalle was even the breakthrough on the way to becoming a superstar.

Concert recordings of their appearances in the large Westfalenhalle have been published on CD or DVD by a large number of well-known performers, including world stars such as Bob Marley , Iron Maiden , Joe Cocker and Prince .

The former Westfalenhalle 1 has only been called Westfalenhalle since April 1, 2019, because the focus is on the importance of the hall.

Development of the exhibition grounds and the other halls

The Westfalenhallen event, exhibition and congress center comprises a total of nine exhibition halls, including the Westfalenhalle.

The numbers of the halls mentioned correspond to the designation at the time of opening.

The Westfalenhalle in July 1963

1926 to 1953: congress center and gold hall

The rose terraces were opened in 1926. A year later, the Goldsaal followed, which, for example , made history for the establishment of the Bundesliga by the DFB resolution there on July 28, 1962 .

1954 to 1988: New halls and rooms

The first additional hall, Hall 2N, was opened in 1954. Hall 2 was added a year later. Halls 3 (from 2004: 3A), 4 and 5 were added in 1959. The exhibition area grew to 20,000 m² in a total of 6 halls. Halls 2 and 3A are part of the congress center.

In 1973 it was decided to build 13 new conference rooms for the congress center. This is seen as the actual birth of the convention center.

Former entrance to the exhibition center

Hall 6 was completed in 1985 and thus expanded the exhibition grounds by another 7,000 m² of exhibition space. In the same year a trade fair center was inaugurated, which connects Halls 4 and 5 and offered an additional entrance.

1989 to 2007: Growth almost doubled in area

Four years later, in 1989, the site was expanded to include an eighth hall, Hall 7 with 6500 m². Thus the Westfalenhallen offered an exhibition area of ​​42,000 m².

Another seven years later, in 1996, Hall 8 was opened, expanding the exhibition area to 47,700 m².

The largest hall, Hall 3 with 10,600 m² of exhibition space, was opened in 2004. Since then, the exhibition area has not grown any further and no further exhibition halls have been built.

A media center was set up in Hall 3 (then 3B) for the 2006 World Cup . The remaining areas were converted into overnight accommodation for external visitors and had a capacity of almost 4,000 beds. In addition, a big "Fan Fest" was held for four weeks.

On Maundy Thursday 2007, a memorial stone was inaugurated in front of Westfalenhalle 3 to commemorate the prisoner-of-war camp there

Memorial stone to the main camp VI D in front of today's Westfalenhalle III

2015 to 2019: New entrance to the fair and new numbering of the halls

The congress center was modernized in 2015 and 2016.

In January 2016, the Westfalenhalle announced the "Welcome2018" project. This project is about a 4500 m² entrance hall which should offer various advantages. On the one hand, the visitor guidance and the entrance area should be significantly simplified and also designed to be barrier-free and modern. Before that, the ticket counters were spread over the site and depending on the event, someone else had to be found. These areas were partly outside the halls and therefore required waiting outside of weather-protected areas. In addition, new catering areas were created, new conference rooms, a separate entrance for exhibitors and a new forwarding and logistics office. The north entrance to the trade fair opened at the end of March 2019 and was used for the first time in May.

Exhibition entrance north under construction (April 2018)

With the opening of the north entrance to the exhibition center in April 2019, the hall numbering was changed. The names of the halls changed as follows:

Numbering of the halls
Until March 2019 From April 2019
1 "Westfalenhalle" only
2 2U 1 1U
2N 1B
3A 2
3B 3
4th No change
5
6th
7th
8th

future

In spring 2019, the city of Dortmund worked with the Westfalenhallen on a future project over the next 20 to 30 years for the Westfalenhallen and the area around them. If Olympia 2032 comes to Dortmund, this project should be implemented within 15 years. The plan is to demolish halls 4 to 8 and build nine new halls and another entrance hall on the same area. The riding club will clear the area for this. The construction of the new halls should be more orderly in order to maximize the use of space, a 2-4-3 division of the halls is planned, with the middle four halls being longer than the five others. The northern row, however, also consists of three halls, one of which is the already built north entrance to the trade fair. The southern three halls will be built with a congress center and supplemented by a western south entrance. The halls in a row are of a comparable size. All halls are connected by two main roads.

In the traffic area, Strobelallee is to have two roundabouts, which will either divert traffic temporarily during events or permanently, even if no event is taking place. The exhibition center is to be given a road to bypass it in order to improve the logistics within the site. The northern parking lots are to be rearranged and the traffic flows of pedestrians and cyclists are to be changed.

The current A8 car park, west of the Westfalenhallen, is to be built with a congress hotel and also offer a logistics area.

The ice sports center is to be closed by a three to four-story building in the north. This new building is to be used for sports.

The financing is unclear, however. It is calculated with costs in the lower three-digit million range, since these are not to be financed by the city and the Westfalenhallen alone, state and federal funds are to be tapped.

Halls

The compact hall ensemble, which is spread over an area of ​​300 × 750 m, is characteristic of the trade fair. Each hall is a maximum of 200 m from the main entrance.

The Dortmund Exhibition Center has nine air-conditioned halls with an area of ​​between 1000 and 10,600 square meters. The newest hall, Westfalenhalle 3, was opened in autumn 2004 with an area of ​​10,600 m². In total, Messe Dortmund offers an exhibition area of ​​around 60,000 m². This puts Dortmund in the mid-size range on the German trade fair market.

Hall Exhibition space
Westfalenhalle 4,700 m²
1 1B 970 m² 1800 m²
1U 1,000 m²
2 1,730 m²
3 10,600 m²
4th 8,300 m²
5 5,100 m²
6th 7,200 m²
7th 6,000 m²
8th 5,500 m²

Convention center

The Westfalenhallen congress center comprises around 30 halls and halls in which congresses and meetings for 10 to 10,000 participants can be held. The congress center looks after around 1,000 appointments each year. The congress center also manages halls at Dortmund Airport .

In 2015 the congress center was modernized.

The Rosenterrassen restaurant is located there.

Corporate structure

Westfalenhallen Dortmund GmbH

The city of Dortmund is the sole shareholder of Westfalenhallen Dortmund GmbH. The company's annual turnover is between 40 and 50 million euros.

The company owns "Westfalenhalle GmbH", "Messe Dortmund GmbH" and "Kongress Dortmund GmbH".

executive Director

Previous managing directors of the Westfalenhallen since 1952:

  • 1952–1953: Wilhelm Wortelmann, sports journalist
  • 1953–1971: Helmut Körnig , former athlete
  • 1971–1985: Hermann Heinemann , politician
  • 1985– July 2011: Ludwig Jörder , lawyer and notary
  • since August 2011: Sabine Loos

Westfalenhalle GmbH

Hall at night

The Westfalenhalle GmbH includes the Westfalenhalle and Halls 1 to 2. The flagship of the corporate group is the Westfalenhalle with a capacity of 15,400 people.

Messe Dortmund GmbH

Messe Dortmund GmbH operates halls 3 to 8 and organizes, among other things, leading European or even world-wide trade fairs such as Jagd & Hund , Creativa , Intermodellbau or InterTabac.

Congress Dortmund GmbH

KHC stands for "Congress Center - Hotel - Catering", which outlines the company's three major fields of activity. In addition to the Mercure Hotel Dortmund Messe & Kongress Westfalenhallen and the Westfalenhallen congress center, Kongress Dortmund GmbH also operates the Rosenterrassen restaurant at the Westfalenhallen and external locations: the “Lokalmanufaktur” restaurant in Dortmund's town hall and the catering facilities and conference rooms at Dortmund Airport. The company offers high-quality catering, cooking events and cooking courses under the “cateringmanufaktur” brand.

Trade fairs and events

Regular events

Mayday 2009
  • ADAC Super-Cross

Regular trade fairs

More than 8,000 exhibitors take part in around 35 trade fairs every year.

Public fairs

Trade Shows

  • Glasses & co
  • Best of Events International (*)
  • Laundry and more ...
  • easyFairs bulk goods + other easy Fairs fairs
  • Electrical engineering
  • InterTabac / InterSupply
  • DKM - International Trade Fair for the Finance and Insurance Industry
  • THE INITIAL
  1. ↑ a b c d e f g is not organized by Westfalenhallen Dortmund GmbH

World championships

European championships

literature

Web links

Commons : Westfalenhalle Dortmund  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ City of Dortmund: Good business year 2016 for Westfalenhallen. Retrieved July 10, 2017 .
  2. ↑ No. A 0570. List of monuments of the city of Dortmund. (PDF) (No longer available online.) In: dortmund.de - Das Dortmunder Stadtportal. Monument Authority of the City of Dortmund, April 14, 2014, archived from the original on September 15, 2014 ; accessed on June 12, 2014 (size: 180 kB).
  3. ↑ Jacq van Reijendam: 6-daagsen statistics 2009 . No. 17. Published by the Union International des Vélodromes
  4. ↑ Westfalenhallen. In: arch INFORM .
  5. ↑ a b velodromes.com
  6. ↑ Florian Heine: With the eyes of the painter. Rediscovered arenas of art . CJ Bucher Verlag, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-7658-1612-3 (Chapter: Mayday V, p. 156f).
  7. ↑ The end of the Radrennbahn on derwesten.de v. November 2, 2010
  8. ↑ http://www.derwesten.de/staedte/dortmund/c-dockt-auf-westfalenhalle-an-dem-u-an-id6043572.html
  9. ^ A b Westfalenhallen Dortmund GmbH: Chronicle of the fair. Retrieved June 7, 2019 .
  10. ^ Westfalenhallen Dortmund GmbH: Chronicle of the Congress Center Hotel Catering. Retrieved June 7, 2019 .
  11. ↑ New North Entrance to Messe Dortmund Exhibition Center opened. March 27, 2019, accessed June 7, 2019 (German).
  12. ^ Westfalenhallen Dortmund GmbH: Modernization. Retrieved June 7, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Numbering of the halls until March 2019. Accessed on June 7, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Westfalenhallen Dortmund GmbH: Strategic development of the exhibition center /: March 28, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2019 .
  15. ↑ alexpressedo: City of Dortmund presents mega plans for event, sports and event mile around Strobelallee. April 16, 2019, accessed June 7, 2019 (German).