I Visited the Nuremburg Rally Grounds

The historic Nuremberg party rally grounds have been left relatively untouched after WW2. In this video we explore those ruins and the future of the site in the years to come.

Video sources used
From the Luitpoldhain to the Zeppelin Tribune – https://youtu.be/lmR7cxXrMtY?si=H5n5I6sZ5oH4SXuO
Airport Berlin Tempelhof Drone Footage 4K – https://youtu.be/eGDpYW5KrXM?si=nTuaeYZo737BRRzU

Chapters
0:00 Intro
2:04 Documentation Center
2:33 Congress Hall
5:43 The Great Road
7:03 Zeppelinfield Grandstand

nurmberg is a bustling Town located in the southern west of Germany in the region of Bavaria you know that region it’s famous for October Fest beautiful castles and for once being the Beating Heart of the Nazi party’s propaganda machine I recently took the time to visit and one of the things I saw here were the old Nazi party rally grounds you may have seen this place before but not noticed or realized where it is from in every World War II documentary there’s a clip with Hitler ranting and raving to massive crowds and that clip was filmed here in some ways this area could be thought of as a theme park for the Nazi party with many areas designed for hosting events with large turnouts all in close proximity and walking distance to each other why did they choose this location the Nazis themselves said it was for historical reasons there’s an almost mythical status with a town as it has connections to Germany’s history with ties to the Holy Roman Empire it was from a time when the empress held their first councils in ye olden days when the courts were not static and the King moved from place to place around their lands Newburg is where the First Council of a new Holy Roman Emperor would start their reign however in actuality Newberg was picked for a number of practical reasons not the least of which was it especially good rail links to the rest of the country that made it very easy from people all around to visit there was also available land for all the building projects the Nazis wanted to undertake additionally if Austria was to be considered part of Germany Newberg is located somewhere in the middle of the combined Nations after World War II the party grounds had symbols of the old regime removed for obvious reasons but other than that the place is relatively intact you don’t need a museum ticket to visit the grounds they are open to the public from the city center at new Newberg train station you can hop on a tram which will take you to the door of the Documentation Center the museum on the rally ground site this Museum was built to explain the rise of the party and how it affected Germany sadly when I visited it was closed for restoration however there was an interim exhibit to make up for it featuring some background information on the rise of the party and its effects on Germany the museum is situated in one of the two halls of the Congress Hall from the side it looks very similar to a Coliseum in Rome with his archways and large Granite blocks standing at 35 M tall construction was never fully completed due to the outbreak of World War II the exterior was completed but standing here on the inside you can see there was still a fair bit of work to be done the plan was to have seating for 50,000 people in a semicircle all facing the stage which would have been here there was a dome roof planned which would have brought the height of the Congress Hall to 70 m in the roof there would have been a large window above the audience to let light in in the afternoon the light would shine on the stage bathing it in natural light while having the seating in Shadow it was intended to elevate the speaker who would more often than not be Hitler himself when I was researching the Congress Hall I found the roof reminiscent of the pantheon this Temple dedicated to the gods of ancient Rome was built over 2,000 years ago and still stands to this day one of its great features is the large domed roof with a hole at the very top known as the Oculus similar to the window of the Congress Hall the Oculus was there to allow light to enter the building however the Congress all would have a glass window instead of an open hole like the pantheon it’s a running theme with Nazi architecture they loved building big in imposing structures with huge doors and archways everything had to be done on a large scale and many Design Elements were borrowed from the Romans so back to the Congress Hall after the war it was deemed too expensive to tear down at the time the local government was more interested in repairing the damage caused by the war rather than spending time and resources to Demolisher since then the inside of the archers were bricked up to block axis from outside and the area inside is now used for storage additionally there are now solar panels on the roof there are two big block buildings at the main entrance of the Congress Hall one is used by the Documentation Center and the other one is used as a concert hall there’s this glass bridge that I was hoping to get a view of the Congress Hall from but sadly it’s part of the museum that was undergoing restoration at the time of my visit now dear viewer I must warn you EXP exploring the grounds is going to be a long intense walk but rest assured in Newberg they sold these enormous half meter long hot dogs to make up for that admittedly I was a little confused as where I was supposed to be going it felt like I was walking the wrong way but nope the official Museum tour path recommends you walk around the concert hall and around the side of the Congress Hall towards its rear from here you can take in a view of the back of the Congress Hall with its Coliseum sty exterior this walk leads you to our next interesting thing which is nothing yes nothing this empty space or actually the road under our feet is what is important this is the Great Road this road was intended for only military parades crowds of people would watch on either side of the Great Road as the German Army conducted demonstrations it stretches 2 km long and is 60 M wide just like the Congress all the project was not fully finished due to the war with only 1.5 km of the 2 km long road finished there’s something interesting about the slabs that make up the Great Road What secrets do they hold not much for they are just slabs but each tile is 1.2x 1.2 M this is the approximate length of two Prussian Goose steps this was to help the troops stay in formation as they marched down the road there were also different shades of stones used as markers throughout the Great Road no Parade ever took place here because of the outbreak of the war after the war the road was used as a temporary Airfield for the US Army these days it’s used as an overflow car park for a local football stadium and his Festival grounds that have hosted a number of events from beer festivals to music concerts I should have rented a e scooter or something so I could get around fast because this is definitely not the place to visit when it’s raining after walking past a whole bunch of nothing we’ve now arrived at the main attraction of the grounds the Zeppelin field is a large grandstand overlooking a road and a grass field surrounded with areas for seating this is where Hitler stood as he was watched by over 250,000 people there was space in the field for 180,000 Plus 880,000 in the seats around the field then an additional 20,000 people in the main grand stand behind Hitler the grand stand was where the party officials would sit the way the seating arrangement worked in this area was the more important the official for closer they would sit to Hitler as for Hitler himself he would stand here at an elevated position to those behind him in its prime the entire complex would have been made into a spectacle during rallies during night rallies over 150 aircraft search lights were set up around the boundary of the field pointing straight upwards this was dubbed the Cathedral of light this grandstand was inspired by the pergamon altar which was an ancient Greek altar transported all the way to Berlin from what is now modern day Turkey you can see the similarities in both designs you may have noticed some parts of the structure are missing these pillars and blocks at the side were demolished in 1967 due to them becoming unstable to build this giant Monument relatively cheaply and quickly the grand stand was built with Limestone rather than stronger materials such as marble which the Greeks and Romans used in historical photos you can see two giant brazers these are still there but they were moved prior to demolition I’ll get to those in a bit the building was adorned with a giant golden swat sticker which was blown up by the American Army in 1945 you may have seen footage of this before and not realized it was from this building it felt very odd to me that the stands were just open to the public if you go there now you can walk all over them when I was was there I was expecting there would be closed off for preservation and what I found fascinating is that the building has remained relatively untouched over time sure the columns at the back have been destroyed as well as the bits on the side but other than that it’s pretty much the same it’s not even a museum you don’t need to pay admission or anything like that you can just walk onto the site off the road and there it is so why is this place called deplin field it’s because in 1909 count furland Von Zeppelin landed here yes that Zeppelin for one behind the development of the Zeppelin Airship it was a spectacular event for the city to witness as the Zeppelin was a symbol of German industrialization and Engineering originally the field was just a meadow when count Zeppelin visited nurenberg in his Airship he landed for a few hours and while he was mored news spread of the Airship Landing with people from the surrounding area coming to see the wondrous machine after that event the name Zeppelin field stuck there are these strange structures around the back of the stands around the edge of the field at first I thought there might be bunkers as they seem rather militaristic in nature but actually they’re toilets of course you’ll need facilities for the thousands of people attending events here at this point in my tour I was wondering is there anything behind the grandstand well I decided to take a look and there it was you remember those brasures well one of them is right here the other is inside behind this door in what is known as the golden Hall those important party members who sat near Hitler would make their way up to their seats through this Hall again everything in here was done on a large scale giant archways and a high ceiling engraved with real gold unfortunately I couldn’t see it in person as the golden Hall is Clos to the public I later found out that this was because the gold gold on the ceiling is in the shap of SW stickers which meant it couldn’t be open to the public there are plans in the future to open up the golden Hall and refurbish the grandstand as part of a new Museum development however these projects are yet to be started overall I do recommend that if you have any interest in history and happen to be visiting Newberg you should come out to the rally grounds it’s just a short hop on a tram from the city center try to visit on a less rainy day though if you are short on time I would recommend walking into the Congress Hall and to view it from the inside then depending on your mood if you’re up for a longer walk take the recommended walking tour this way you get to see the back of the Congress Hall and the Great Road if you just want to take it easy just head over straight to the Zeppelin field area I hope you guys enjoyed this video and I will see you again in the next one bye for now