Adolf Abel

The architect Adolf Abel was a freelancer from 1921-25 and taught at the Technical University in Stuttgart. In 1925 he was Director of Town Planning in Köln, while in 1930 he became Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the Technical University of München. Between 1933 and 1945 Abel worked as a self-employed architect.

After World War II Abel was engaged in various positions with the reconstruction, before he began teaching in 1949 at the Technische Hochschule Darmstadt. In Köln, he was not only involved in the construction of the Müngersdorfer Stadium, but also on the buildings of the Köln Fair, the University and the Mülheim Bridge.

The Müngersdorfer Stadium was designed by Abel for the 1928 Olympic Games. The construction was initiated by the then Lord Mayor of Köln, Konrad Adenauer, from 1921-26, who was later German Chancellor, and was created and upgraded in 1928 making it at the time the largest sports facility in Western Europe. The facility consisted of a stadium for 60,000 spectators, an out-of-stadium point (ASV Stadium), swimming pool, hockey rink, velodrome, tennis courts and other sports venues. Events previously held there included the 1926 German Fighting Games, and the 1928 German Gymnastics Festival. This complex was a reason to bid to host the 1936 Olympic Games, but this was not successful.

In 1975, a new stadium was built on the same site, which was eventually replaced in 2001 by a pure soccer stadium (officially now the “RheinEnergieSTADION”) for the 2006 World Cup.