The Early Development of the Rally Area
This map dated 1901 marks the undeveloped area that became the Bavaria State exhibition grounds in 1906, the zoo in 1912 and the Nazi Rally grounds from 1927.
The water areas are the Grosser and Kleiner Dutzendteich lakes created in the 14th century to create a water storage reservoir and facilities for fish farming. Within the Kleiner Dutzendteich are the Nummernweiher (Numbered Ponds) which appear on early maps.
They were used in the farming of carp.....the numbering (1–4) allowed fish farmers to manage different breeding stages and growth cycles efficiently.
To prepare for the 1906 Bavaria State Exhibition, a large area to the south-east of the city was cleared and levelled.
The plan of the 1906 exhibition grounds (click on the image for a larger version....opens in a new window)
(note the orientation of the map.....north is to the LHS)
Between May and October 1906, more than two and a half million people visited the exhibition making it a huge success.
Part of the extensive exhibition grounds
The famous fountain and water tower with the Maschinen-Halle in the background
After the exhibition closed, the grounds were converted into a recreational park known as the Luitpoldhain (Luitpold Grove).
In 1912, the area to the north of the Dutzendteich (Lake) was used for the Nuremberg Zoo.
The two areas are marked in red.....note the Luitpold Grove has two main installations (east & west side) with the fountain in between.
The Haupt-Industrie building was on the eastern side of the Luitpold Grove
From the foreground.......the Nummernweiher (four numbered ponds), the Zoo, the former Maschinen-Halle and the Luitpoldhain
Note the (red) marked grassy terracing which was the location of the main restaurant and the cleared area (the former Haupt-Industrie Gebaude - from the earlier image) later to become the location of the Ehrenhalle (WW1 memorial).
Later maps (this one is dated 1913) show the Luitpoldhain and the newly established Tiergarten (Zoo).
On August 25, 1909 during a demonstration flight, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin landed the LZ 6 on open meadow to the east of the Dutzenteich.
This event was a major public spectacle, linking the site to early aviation history long before it was transformed into the Nazi Party Rally Grounds.
Great excitement in the large crowd as Zeppelin LZ-6 airships lands near the Dutzenteich
Following WW1, this area was developed by the City of Nuremberg into an extensive sports and leisure park with an arena measuring 378x362m.
It was surrounded by earth embankments for the spectators to sit on.
Maps of this period show the area named as the Zeppelinfeld (as well as showing the Luitpoldhain and Tiergarten)
Note that the area already has good rail connections with the nearby Bahnhof Dutzenteich which opened in 1871