The Energiehal was an events hall built in a park in west Rotterdam in 1955, for the E55 exhibition. It was then relocated to the
Blijdorp district
Blijdorp () is a neighbourhood in northern Rotterdam and is part of the borough Noord, Rotterdam, Noord. The neighbourhood has around 9500 inhabitants.
Construction of the district
The construction of Blijdorp between 1931 and 1940 became poss ...
in north Rotterdam, being used for decades as a sports hall and for other events. In the 1990s, it became a
rave
A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...
venue and is famous in the history of
gabber
Gabber ( ; ) is a style of electronic dance music and a subgenre of Hardcore (electronic dance music genre), hardcore, as well as the surrounding subculture. The music is more commonly referred to as hardcore, and is characterised by fast beats ...
. It was demolished in 1999.
History
The Energiehal was a large events centre constructed in 1955 in Het Park, a park in west Rotterdam, for the E55 exhibition in Rotterdam. The E55 was opened by
Queen Juliana
Juliana (; Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was List of monarchs of the Netherlands, Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980.
Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Duke ...
on 18 May 1955 and had been devised as a "National Energy Event". It was hugely successful, attracting over three million visitors.
After the festival, the building was broken down and reconstructed in
Blijdorp district
Blijdorp () is a neighbourhood in northern Rotterdam and is part of the borough Noord, Rotterdam, Noord. The neighbourhood has around 9500 inhabitants.
Construction of the district
The construction of Blijdorp between 1931 and 1940 became poss ...
in north Rotterdam, next to
Blijdorp zoo. It was then used for several decades as a sport hall and for other events. During a series of events to celebrate the 300 year anniversary of the founding of the
Korps Mariniers (Netherlands Marine Corps) in 1965, a parade of 3,000 marines marched to the Energiehal and then ate lunch. In 1972, it hosted the
European Table Tennis Championships
The European Table Tennis Championships is an international table tennis competition for the national teams of the member associations of the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU). First held in 1958, the ETTU organised the European Championships ev ...
.
In 1988, a huge unexploded World War II bomb was discovered in Bellavoystraat, west Rotterdam and an entire district was evacuated. The plan was to house around 1000 people and their pets at the Energiehal, although in the end it was not necessary since the "Bellebom" was easily defused and moved. The frozen meals that the council had ordered to feed the families expected at the Energiehal were returned to the supplier.
Gabber venue
By the early 1990s the hall had fallen into disuse and it was then repurposed as a dance venue.
Gabber
Gabber ( ; ) is a style of electronic dance music and a subgenre of Hardcore (electronic dance music genre), hardcore, as well as the surrounding subculture. The music is more commonly referred to as hardcore, and is characterised by fast beats ...
was a style of
hardcore electronic music pioneered in Rotterdam by DJs such as
Paul Elstak. Together with Rob Janssen, he began a club night called Nightmare and after the first edition at the Parkzicht, they moved the rave to the Energiehal, where it regularly attracted 15,000 people. A subculture developed which featured people with shaved heads wearing tracksuits dancing to music of between 160 and 200 beats per minute.
The Energiehal was later described by ''
Resident Advisor
''Resident Advisor'' (also known as ''RA'') is an online music magazine and community platform established in 2001 and dedicated to showcasing electronic music, artists and events across the globe. Its editorial team provides news, music and ev ...
'' as "Rotterdam's real hardcore mecca".
After putting on raves in the Maasvlaakte, the Megarave organisation began to use the Energiehal for big parties. They would always have livesets such as
Neophyte
A neophyte is a recent initiate or convert to a subject or belief.
Neophyte may also refer to:
Science
* Neophyte (botany), a plant species recently introduced to an area
As a proper noun Arts and entertainment
* Neophyte, a character class ...
and
Rotterdam Terror Corps, alongside DJs such as
Lenny Dee, Paul Elstak, Drokz and Buzz Fuzz. George Ruseler of Rotterdam Terror Corps describes the Energiehal as "gabbertempel van Europa" ("the gabber temple of Europe").
The Energiehal was also used for concerts. In October 1998, it hosted 7,000 people who came to see
Cheb Khaled
Khaled Hadj Ibrahim (, ; born 29 February 1960), better known by his mononym Khaled (), is an Algerian raï singer, musician and songwriter. He began recording in his early teens under the name Cheb Khaled (, Arabic for "Young" Khaled, with " ...
. The organisers failed to guard the cloakroom and many coats were stolen, causing a riot at the end of the gig in which at least five people were wounded.
The Energiehal was demolished in October 1999. Before its destruction, the zoo had been considering building an attraction with animatronic dinosaurs in the building.
References
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{{coord missing, Netherlands
1955 establishments in the Netherlands
1999 disestablishments in the Netherlands
Sports venues demolished in 1999
Demolished buildings and structures in the Netherlands
20th-century architecture in the Netherlands