The Congress Hall

 If you were ever stationed around Germany near Nuremberg.....you've probably heard or even visited the Congress Hall.  

There is a bit of history to it.  

Some locals hyped up the idea in the early 1930s....that Nuremberg needed an open-air theater of huge proportions.  Along came the Nazi Party, and via some sales gimmicks....they got some 'thumbs-up' from Hitler.

The design?  I'd say it's about 90-percent of what you'd see in a NFL stadium....horse-shoe shaped....on the SE part of town.  Work started around 1937, and the basic structure was mostly done by 1940, but the war business trimmed back manpower and capital.  So it's unfinished.

Size?  What you generally see is three connecting parts.  The main part is 275 by 26 meter, and around 65 meter tall.....the two connecting pieces? 24 meters by 57 meters.  Yeah....it's huge.

It is from a architecture prospective....impressive....yet unfinished.  

From 1945 on....it's just stood there.  Occasionally the state or federal government would slide some money over to do some  renovation but it's never been picked up and carried to the finish-line.

Yesterday....the city finally said 'enough' and there's some seven-year project announced, and in the range of 150-odd million Euro to wrap this up.  The odds of problems and this going up to 300-odd million?  Better than 50-percent I would wager.

Purpose and use?  An outdoor theater....more or less.  

Negativity over this?  A lot.  The historians generally see it as a Nazi memorial of sorts.  Some just want it left as it is.....useless and empty.  Tearing it down?  There was a lot of effort to make this a success....something in building construction today that is hard to find.  

The interesting thing to me is that the parking lot around the 'arena' has been used (at least prior to Covid) for local fairs/shows.  The fact there are two U-Bahn/tram stations within ten minutes walking of the arena?  There are tons of things you could use the facility....if it were ever finished.  

So around 2028....you might hear a bit over the new 'finally' completed Congress Hall....that only took around 90 years to complete.