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

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

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{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