The Alte Utting is a bar,

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

and

music venue A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Ty ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. The decommissioned, land-bound

passenger ship A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

is placed on a railway bridge that crosses an inner-city arterial road, and is regarded as one of the most spectacular nightlife spots of the city.

History and description

Use as a passenger ship (1950–2016)

The ship, which has a length of , a width of and a capacity of 400 passengers, was built by the ''Deggendorfer Werft und Eisenbau Gesellschaft'' in 1949 and she was used as a passenger ship MS ''Utting'' on the

Ammersee Ammersee (; English: Lake Ammer) is a '' Zungenbecken'' lake in Upper Bavaria, Germany, southwest of Munich between the towns of Herrsching and Dießen am Ammersee. With a surface area of approximately , it is the sixth largest lake in Germany ...

lake in

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (, ; ) is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat of the district gove ...

from 1950 to 2016.

Use as a nightlife spot (since 2018)

The ship was decommissioned in 2016 and then bought by the ''Kulturverein Wannda e.V.'' in Munich, which by then already had made a name for itself with other subcultural projects such as the nightclub Bahnwärter Thiel or the permanent festival ''Wannda Circus'', and which was able to finance the project from the revenues of these event locations. On 21 and 22 February 2017 the hull of the ship and the superstructures were transported from the Ammersee lake to Munich. For the night-time transport to Munich, the

Autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...

had to be closed by the police. After its arrival in Munich, the 144-ton ship was deployed on a former railway bridge close to the

Wholesale Market Munich The Großmarkthalle München (Wholesale Market Munich) is a German-international wholesale market located in the Munich borough of Sendling. In an area of 310,000 m2, 270 importing companies and wholesalers offer 140 different product classes fro ...

that crosses an inner-city arterial road, and the conversion to a nightlife and cultural venue started. Due to tremendous static and safety-relevant requirements the opening of the venue was delayed for more than one year. On 12 July 2018 the former ship was christened to the name ''Alte Utting'' on the railway bridge by the head of the municipal planning and building control office Julia Schönfeld-Knor. After completion of the reconstruction measures, the party ship has been open daily since 26 July 2018 and is primarily used as a bar, restaurant, discothèque (in the engine room), music venue and cabaret stage. As the Alte Utting quickly established itself as an attraction that is known far beyond the city borders, local politicians plan to preserve it permanently.

Reception

The Alte Utting and its cultural events regularly receive media attention by local, nationwide and international media. The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described the Alte Utting as an example of hip night life spots in Munich "that could give Berlin a run for its money". According to the ''

Süddeutsche Zeitung The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest and most influential daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of ''SZ'' is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and ...

'', the Alte Utting has become "a kind of landmark" of the city of Munich.

Gallery

Utting 5877.jpg, The Alte Utting on the opening night (26 July 2018) Alte Utting 6164.jpg, Party guests on the upper deck having a view over nightly Sendling Alte Utting 6169.jpg, The enginge room of the Alte Utting is used as a discothèque Alte Utting 6170.jpg, Beer garden behind the stern of the ship Alte Utting 6159.jpg, Live concert in front of the bow of the ship Alte Utting 2018.jpg, Party guests on the Alte Utting (2018) Ammerseeutting1991c90co.jpg, The MS Utting as passenger ship on the Ammersee lake (1991) MS Utting 2017-02-22 0360.jpg, The lifting of the Utting (Febr. 2017) MS Utting 2017.jpg, The MS Utting during its conversion (March 2017)

External links

References

{{coord, 48, 7, 11.9, N, 11, 33, 22.6, E, region: DE-BY_type:landmark, display=title Nightclubs in Munich Buildings and structures in Munich Music venues in Munich Culture in Munich