History—The history of Messe München

The beginnings of Messe München date back to the time of the economic miracle. Trade fairs took on an importance unlike anything seen before.

It all began on April 1, 1964: Münchner Messe- und Ausstellungsgesellschaft (MMG) was established and laid the foundation for a professionally run trade fair company in Munich.

To the chronology

Just over ten years after Messe München was founded, the management presents impressive record figures in an "Analysis of the situation of the Munich trade fair industry": 10,000 exhibitors, one million visitors from 50 countries, 20 events in the 1974 reporting year alone.

In 1978, Dr. Werner Marzin, one of the founding fathers and pioneering visionaries, takes the helm of the company, a man who will have a major influence on Messe München in the 1980s. His time in office was particularly marked by the relocation of the exhibition grounds from the Theresienhöhe in the city center to the new exhibition grounds in Riem.

To the chronology

In July 1985, trade fair boss Werner Marzin calls for the trade fair to be relocated to a new large site in a historic memorandum: “A healthy further development of Munich as a trade fair location (...) can ultimately only be found with a new location (...).”

In 1987, the decision was made to build a new building on the Riem airport site: a completely new district was to be created in Munich Riem—with apartments, kindergartens, schools, green spaces and stores in the immediate vicinity of the New Munich Trade Fair Center. There is no comparable project anywhere in Europe.

To the chronology

The laying of the cornerstone in 1995 and the topping-out ceremony in 1996 for the new exhibition center in Riem marked the progress of construction. The photovoltaic system was spectacular, the largest of its kind back then and unique among all trade fair buildings.

Manfred Wutzlhofer was appointed Chairman of the Management Board in 1996 and became a member of the Management Board of Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen GMH.

The start of 2000 was shaped by the expansion to China. China became an important growth market for Messe München and its customers—the establishment of the subsidiary Messe Muenchen Shanghai Co., Ltd. was the logical next step to take in 2001.

To the chronology

Dedication of the Construction Section North in 2004 created desperately needed space for the company’s own events like BAU or ISPO. In 2006, the trade fair became the venue for the International Broadcasting Center (IBC) for the FIFA World Cup, while Pope Benedict XVI also held a mass on the grounds. The establishment of Messe Muenchen India in 2007 marked a further step in the internationalization of the company.

To the chronology

Six decades after the company was founded, Messe München is an internationally recognized, globally operating trade fair company with around 90 trade fairs. Messe München is very successful in its domestic market in Munich as well as in other countries. It is active in all important growth markets: China, India, Brazil and Turkey.

The two new exhibition halls C5 and C6 and the CCN – Conference Center North Messe München were opened with a ceremony on December 13, 2018. That completed the exhibition center in Riem, which opened in 1998, according to the original plans.

To the history of our exhibition grounds: New trade fair halls

To the chronology