Glaspalast (Munich)

The Glaspalast (Glass Palace) was a glass and iron exhibition building located in the Old botanical garden - Munich in Munich modeled after The Crystal Palace in London. The Glaspalast opened for the Erste Allgemeine Deutsche Industrieausstellung (First General German Industrial Exhibition) on July 15, 1854.

Following other examples around Europe, the Glaspalast was ordered by Maximilian II, King of Bavaria, in order to hole the Erste Allgemeine Deutsche Industrieausstellung (First General German Industrial Exhibition) on July 15, 1854.

Originally it was planned to erect the building on Maximilianplatz. However, the relevant Commission decision preferred an area near the railway station. Designed by architect August von Voit and built by MAN AG, the building was built in 1854 to the north of the Old Botanical Garden close to the Stachus.

Following the completion of 1853 Schrannenhalle and the planned and conservatory of Munich Residence, a glass with cast iron design was used, using existing experience for this modern building.

As with the Crystal Palace in London, initial designs were relatively complex. Due to the short time available for construction, the design was significantly simplified and relied on use of standard components. Conventional construction methods were not possible due to the large amount of building materials required.

The two-storied building was 234 meters (768 ft) long, 67 meters (220 ft) wide and 25 meters (82 ft) high. The elongated rectangular glass palace, in the form of a five-nave and two-storey main building in the hall with a transept in the middle and rectangular extensions at the ends of the longitudinal ship had a length of 234 meters and was 67 meters wide; the height was 25 meters.

The building was built entirely of glass and cast iron, load-bearing walls were completely omitted. The 1,700 tons of prefabricated iron parts were made by Cramer-Klett in Nuremberg. The company Cramer-Klett was the leader at this time in southern Germany in the field of iron constructions, the company had previously built the Großhesseloher bridge in Munich and also the Maximilian II conservatory. For this construction, the glass was produced in the more traditional Schmidsfelden glass works.

Construction was a mere six months, beginning December 31, 1853 and ending June 7, 1854, during which time 37,000 windows were installed. The total cost of construction was 800,000 guldens.

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