Dear worldwide inline skaters,

welcome to the – at least as far as I know - one and only elaborate English page about the “Munich Blade Night”!

For 2024 I was a bit late to update this website in time. Sorry. But now it reflects again the current situation.

[If Google lead you to this document and you only see text, but no menu on the left hand side, then please
click here to open the full website.]

World Biggest Skate Event (?)

The “Munich Blade-Night” most probably was the biggest inline skating event of the world:
The average number of participants in the years 2003-2005 was somewhere around 15-20.000 (in words: twenty thousand) people, totalling to much more than tw9 million skaters since 1999 and some tens of millions kilometers skated (that's like skating a few hundred times around the earth).
All time high was 37.000 skaters on one “Munich Blade-Night” in July 2001.
In 2006 the average participation was at ca. 11.000 skaters, 2007 we had ca. 10.000 skaters per night, 2008 a little bit less than that. In 2009 and 2010 the numbers were in the same size, as far as I know. in 2011 and 2012 the average fell to 5.000 skaters. 2013 turned the trend: 6.200. (2014 the numbers dipped down to 3.300, but imho this was a weather effect; I guess because of the continuous cancellations - 6 weeks in a row! - some skaters gave up the Monday hope.). 2014 and 2015 saw a stabilization, 2016 a trend slightly upwards. From then onwards I have no exact numbers. 2017 and 2018 there was no Bladennight because of a lack of funding. 2019 it took place again, 2020 and 2021 Covid-19 prevented it. 2022 saw it coming back with a new sponsor. 2023 the sponsor changed again, but it seems that this one committed for more than one year. My rough guess is that currently there are between 2.000 and 3.000 people skating on an average Bladenight.

I would not dare to make a final call on this world championship, because the contesting events are difficult to compare:
Berlin had a bigger skate gathering in 2002, but it was no weekly event
Paris did not reach these average and maximum numbers per event, but takes place
every Friday throughout the year irrespectively of the wheather.
The numbers in Munich have been counted by the police. The source of the other numbers is unclear. According to some media the total number of Bladenight skaters surpassed 2 million.

Regardless whether there is a world record or not, here are the most urgent things you need to know about the “Munich Blade-Night”.

Dates:
“Munich Blade-Nights” traditionally takes place on every Monday from beginning of May to 2 or 3 weeks before the beginning of the world famous Munich beer festival, the Oktoberfest (or "Wies'n" as the locals call it).
Rare exceptions: In case of big events which use up all capacities of the police - like soccer championships or a G7 summit in the vicinity - the Bladenight is not scheduled.
More frequent exception: Forecasted rain will lead to a cancellation of the Bladenight.

First “Munich Blade-Night” in 2024 is planned for the 6th of May, the last will take place on 16th of September


Date 2026 Skate start time Route
6th of May 21:00 Middle Route 12km
13th of May 21:00 Middle Route 12km
20th of May 15:00 Family Route 6km
27th of May 21:00 Middle Route 12km
3rd of June 21:00 Middle Route 12km
10th of June 21:00 Northern Route 13,4km
17th of June -- -- no Bladenight --
24th of June 21:00 Southern Route 14.3km
1st of July 21:00 Southern Route 14.3km
8th of July 21:00 Southern Route 14.3km
15th of July 21:00 Southern Route 14.3km
22nd of July 21:00 Northern Route 13,4km
29th of July 21:00 Western Route 14.5km
5th of August 21:00 Western Route 14.5km
12th of August 21:00 Northern Route 13,4km
19th of August 21:00 Northern Route 13,4km
26th of August 21:00 Northern Route 13,4km
2nd of September 21:00 Western Route 14.5km
9th of September 21:00 Southern Route 14.3km
16th of September 21:00 Southern Route 14.3km

Time:
Skating starting time is 21:00; the event area opens at 19:00 and closes at 23:00.
The only exception is the 20th of May: At that day the Blade Night turns into a family event. A significantly shorter route is travelled and skating starts at 15:00.

Cancellation possible:
“Munich Blade-Night” is cancelled if the weather forecast is promising bad conditions.
So, please check on Monday afternoon the official homepage of the
Munich Blade-Night, if the Blade-Night takes place or not. The decision is usually made at ca. 14:00.

Venue:
Start and end point will be at the "Verkehrszentrum" (verbal translation: traffic center; a branch of the famous "German Museum"). This a few meters west of the "Theresienwiese", where each year the famous "Oktoberfest" beer-festival ends after two weeks on the first Sunday of Oktober - except if that is the first of October, then the end will be on the second Sunday of October. Here is a link to Google Map of the area (satellite view is not very up to date, though).
The address for your navigation system: "Gasthaus Alte Messe", Theresienhöhe 15, 80339 München.
This area is in skating distance from the main station (German: Hauptbahnhof) or the suburban train (German: S-Bahn) station “Hackerbrücke”, which is the one station after/before “Hauptbahnhof”, depending if you are travelling from or to downtown. "Hackerbrücke" is also the location of Munich's central long distance bus terminal.
Even closer is metro station "Schwanthalerhöhe" of line U5, two stations from "Hauptbahnhof" in direction "Laimer Platz".
The start and finish point is a kind of party zone with a music stage and booths to get some food and drinks.


Routes:
To distribute the traffic restrictions which are induced by the Blade-Night as evenly as possible among the Munich population, there are different routes. The routes change from year to year because of construction sites etc. .

Here are short descriptions for the different routes.

Schwabing Route, official name: Strecke Nord
Detailled information on this route is not yet available to me. In 2023 it was the longest of all, skating almost 24km. This year it is announced to be 13.4km long.
Link to a map of the Northern Route

Nymphenburg Route, offical name: Strecke West = Western Route
This route reaches out to the canal of Nymphenburg Castle, follows it eastwards, turns northbound until it reaches the Dachauer Straße. On this road you skate almost to the main station and finally cross the rails on the Hackerbrücke (a bridge named after the nearby brewery). The length of the tour is 14.5 km.
Link to a map of the Western Route

Südpark Route, official name: Strecke Süd = Southern Route
Roughly a third of this route is accompanied by parks at one or the other side, leading to the false impresssion that Munich is a green city. It is not yet, and that's one of the reasons why the NGO who organized the Munich blade night for some years is named
Greencity . The route forms a large loop towards in a South Western direction. At the farthest point it has a flat-angle, but long descent which at the end can lead to high speeds. If you are a bit insecure when it comes to controlling your downhill speed, then better ask for help from the bladeguards. Total length of this route: 14.3 km
Link to a map of the Southern Route

Middle Route, offical name: Strecke Mitte
This is the only route which does two laps. The lap goes to the area north west of Theresienwiese. Late comers can skate only the second lap, early leavers only the first one. Each lap has 6 kilometers.
Link to a map of the Middle Route

Wiesn Route, official name: Strecke Familie = Family route
There is only once chance to do this shortest route: The family skate on Whitmonday, when the event starts already at 3pm in the afternoon. It is the same route like the middle route, but ends after the first lap. Its 6km should be skateable for most families.
Link to a map of the Family Route


Bladenight live map
You can see the route of the next/current bladenight at
Link to a live map of current route. It shows the length and location of the skate treck on the route - and other interesting data.


Level of Skating:
Average distance of the “Munich Blade-Night” routes is 17km (about 11 miles). But none of the route is average - see above.
Average duration of the skating event: 2 hours. This is counted from first skaters starting until last skaters arriving.
Average skating time for the individual skaters is between one and around 1 and ½ hour.
Average speed at the front of the treck: 13km/h.
From these numbers you can see that the “Munich Blade-Night” is neither a high speed nor a maximum endurance event. So, you don’t need to be Chad Hedrick (50ple speedskating world champion, now also a top speedskater on ice) nor to have a single number body fat percentage to take part in the “Munich Blade-Night”. But you should be able to keep a steady speed, break effectively and control your downhill speed.
Warning: The “Munich Blade-Night” is definitely not for bloody beginners – unless they hope for a painful transport in an ambulance car.
Unlike in Paris, there is no rest in the middle of the run where you can struggle for free samples from the sponsors. Please bring your own supplies.

Help:
First aid and more:
A special first aid task force on skates and extra ambulance cars accompany the treck. Just in case. Nevertheless, participation at the “Munich Blade-Night” is at your own risk.

Assistance:
If you need any assistance or support, please turn to the friendly “Munich Bladeguards”. Formerly the "Munich Bladeguards" could easily be recognized by their outfit which lead to their nickname “orange angels”. On their orange vests there was in huge letters the magic German word ORDNER which gives them almost the same amount of power as a judge, the president, a bishop and your mother in one person ;-). In 2007 the Bladeguards wear a kind of reflective suspenders and the magic letters were small and not reflective. So their superpowers faded a little bit. In 2008 they power returned: Orange again - but no sponsor on the vests. In 2010 and again in 2011 the sponsor wa a big health insurance. So you can guess what was on the vests etc. . 2013 the vest are in a kind of red color. 2014-2016 versions were again orangish - but we had a high vest-re-use rate among the guards. New sponsor, new color in 2019: Yellow is the new orange, also for the helmet. We guards look a bit like Grue's minions now ...

Support the Bladenight:
In 2007 the Bladenight found no main sponsor. Unfortunately this was the case again in 2008. In the economic situation then no miracle could be expected. Therefore the alternative established in 2007 to raise the money needed to stage the Bladenight from the participants. This was repeated in 2009. Although a big sponsor could be won in 2010, the tradition lived on: You could buy a "Starterband", a silicon bracelet with "BLADE NIGHT" printed on it, for 2 Euro (first version was labelled ""MÜNCHNER BLADE NIGHT"). Different stylish colors were available. All the money went directly to the Munich Bladenight. This nice "blacelet" was a nice souvenir of this phantastic event - and it even got you a 10% discount for some dishes in the beergarden at the starting area. Furthermore it was a prerequisite for renting skates, helmets, protection at the blade night start site (More details on renting see below.).
I am not clear if these bands still exist in 2024. But you can support the skate club who is organizing the event: Please have look to
donation site for the Munich Bladenight. You can also support via Paypal to service@skatemunich.de-


The 9 commandements of the “Munich Blade-Night”:

Rule 1: Follow the instructions of the Munich Bladeguards
They are sacrificing their Monday evenings for you to make the “Munich Blade-Night” possible. Their main task is to support the police in keeping the roads free car-free for the skaters, warn the latter in case of dangerous obstacles and to allow an efficient work of ambulances. And they do all this for free. Some nice words or signs from you to them are highly appreciated.
Please keep in mind, that without the Bladeguards the public administration would not grant a permission to perform such an event (Yes, you need a permission for this in Germany). And if not enough Bladeguards are present, because e.g. participants have been not friendly to them, then a Bladenight will also be cancelled.

Rule 2: Stay on the road during the Bladenight
While in Germany usually skating is not allowed on the roads if a walkway is present, “Munich Blade-Night” is an exception: There the opposite is valid. Please do not use the walkways, but stay on the road - especially in case of a skater jam.
Also the Bladeguards must use the same pretious road space as the participants to get forward. Please keep some space on the left side free and give way if you hear and/or see them coming.
After and before the event the bad old traffic rules for skaters are valid. So please, don’t skate on the roads after the Blade-Night. You might skate directly into the arms of the polite Munich police patroling the area.

Rule 3: Stay patient if the treck stops
Sometimes our “friends and helpers” request stops if the treck gets too long - 8km=5miles is the allowed maximum. (“friends and helpers” is a term sometimes used for the police in Germany; a title which is fully deserved with respect to the “Munich Blade-Night”).
Sometimes there is a real skater jam, if the road is too narrow to get all of you through at once.
In any stop case: Please keep calm and patient, stay on the road (see above) and do not push forward or boohoo like mad cattle.

Rule 4: Keep cool
Some car drivers, motorcyclers, cyclists, even pedestrians can hardly accept that the streets are not always reserved for them. Please prove your emotional intelligence and do not foster any aggressive behaviour. Just keep going and forget about it. In urgent cases you can inform a Bladeguard. They are trained to handle such (usually rare) situations.

Rule 5: Do drink and skate
Do not forget to bring some water with you. Dehydration is a common reason for fatigue, loss of concentration – and consequently painful falls.
Bring with you a (non-glass) bottle filled with some water (or diluted juice). Of course you do not litter empty bottles (otherwise other skaters might stumble). Water is preferable, also compared to these modern sport drinks, because it is more versatile. Or have you ever used “Skatorade” or alike for washing dirty hands?

Rule 6: Don’t drink and skate
Your alcohol level should be equal or very close to zero during the “Munich Blade Night”.“ I know this is hard in the world capital of beer, but your will can be stronger than your beer-thirst.

Rule 7: Protect yourself
“Munich Blade-Night” is proud to have been a few-injuries-event so far. The number of hurt skaters is quite low: According to the police statistics about 20 treatments for every 10.000 skaters. And no one was badly injured. The numbers went down during the years, especially by a careful selection of the routes which try to avoid downhill sections, uneven surface etc. .
But this fact is of little comfort for those who suffered some pain. Most of the injuries could have been prevented or at least diminuished with proper protection gear. I know quite a few experienced skaters who were too proud or regarded it as “un-cool” or uncomfortable to wear wristguards, ellbow-/and knee protection and a helmet – until it was too late. Please be more responsible to your body!
Remember: Under every helmet there is a clever brain. That’s why all Bladeguard wear one ;-) And there is a reason why in every speedskating event participation is only possible with a helmet.

Rule 8: Learn one sign
Very easy: Raised arms mean: Attention! Slow down!
By the way: There is no need to respect traffic signs or lights during the blade night. From a legal point of view, the treck is regarded as a veeeeery long vehicle. The driver at the front has to respect the traffic light, but there is no need to stop once the green light is behind him.
Rule 9: Do not trail
Ambulance cars are accompanying the treck for fast delivery of service. Keep a respectful distance and do not use them to save some energy.
Do not trail behind bicycles. They are anyway not allowed to take part in the Blade-Night.


Other tips:

Find your place in the track:
Depending on your skating abilities you should chose your place in the treck:
If you are a slow skater: Start at the front of the treck and fall behind gradually.
If you are a fast skater: Start at the end of the treck and catch up. But please respect the safety of those whom you overtake.

Become visible:
If you intend to skate back home/to your hotel, residence or friends’ flat from the “Munich Blade-Night”, then flashing lights are a good idea. They promptly change your status from I-wear-the-Lord-of-the-Rings to lighthouse.

Food supply:
Most certainly you will not starve during the 1.5 - 2 hours of the “Munich Blade-Night”, but you can refill all the calories you burnt during the work-out quickly at the food booths in the event area afterwards.

Use public transportation:
It is very advisable and cheap to come to the starting area by public transportation – if you are not skating to it. Parking space is scarce close to the starting area. But be aware: Skating is not allowed in the Munich public transportation system. Please avoid embarrassing discussions with the public transportation patrols and take an extra pair of shoes with you.

Don’t exaggerate:
If for any reason you feel that you cannot finish the Munich Bladenight, then stop. Don’t force yourself to go on. Ask a bladeguard for assistance, how to come back to the event area. Using the underground line to get back to your home/hotel/the starting area is preferable, because surface traffic might be blocked by the skater treck. Metro stations have widely visible white U signs on blue ground. If you can't spot one, ask one of the bladeguards or some friendly indigenous people for assistance.

Skate&Brake Check:
You are not sure, if you are skating well enough for the Munich-Bladenight? Come to the Skate&Brake check in the starting area. Between 19:30 and 20:30 officially licensed skate trainers check your skating&braking abilities. This service is free of charge!

Blade Nights for children?:

Babys and small children:
I have seen some skaters pushing baby carriages or strollers on the tour. It's not explicitely forbidden, but in my personal view I have some doubts that this is really fun for the little one. The absolute minimum should be to put a helmet on the head of the passenger - no matter if s/he is sleeping or not - and to fasten their seat belts tightly. Don't underestimate the danger to overturn the vehicle. You might severly injure your pretious one.

Kindergarten children (3-6):
For transport in carriages see above. To make them skating the whole track is not very reasonable, in my humble opinion. Be patient. They will detect this beautiful sport soon enough.

School children (6-14):
My advice is to refrain from taking them with you during the night, but it's up to you. If you are interested in the happiness of your sprout, check in advance that your beloved is able and motivated to skate for at least one hour without a break (this is usually not the case for children younger than 10 years). Let him/her do the tour only if this is the case. Otherwise you are doing your familial relations no favour.


Dating&Skating:
Being married to the same woman for more than a fourth of a century now, I am not the ultimate expert in this area. My wife is more jealous on the time I am spending for the Bladenights - and for this website - than on all the young, good-looking, intelligent and humorous male and female skaters which meet at every Bladenight.
Munich Bladenight is definitely a very good opportunity to meet nice and funny people, but it is also convenient seen the other way around: If you would like to stay alone or just stay with the friends you are meeting without feeling like chased game, then the Bladenight is also a good place to go.


Renting skates and equipment:
There is a possibility to rent protection equipment (so not excuse anymore for not wearing it) and skates. Better book your skates in advance at Renting skates for the Munich Bladenight, so the things you need are not rented out.


Your personal checklist:
* I can maintain adequate speed on inline skates
* I am able to break effectively on inline skates
* I know how to control my speed on a long downhill slope (e.g. a bridge over railtracks)
* My skates are in proper shape (no loose axles…)
* The brake of my skates is present and not worn.
* Wrist guards
* Knee protectors
* Ellbow protectors
* Helmet
* Drinking bottle (no glass)
* Last minute crosscheck: Blade-Night really takes place this Monday
* Friends join me
* Money for food/beverage refuel
* Identity Card
* Ticket for public transportation
* Appropriate clothing (check the weather forecast for the evening temperature)
* Flashing lights


Bladenight App:
There is a free "Bladenight München" Android app (no iOS, sorry) available with the following functions:
* Announcement if the next blade night will take place
* Overview of coming and past bladenights
* Map of the routes
* Live display of the skater treck in the map during a bladenight
* Live display of your position in the treck
* Add friends and see their position in the treck.


Final conclusion:
Have fun at the “Munich Blade-Night”.
I hope you will enjoy it as much as the rest of your visit to Munich.

For more information on Munich see
the official Munich tourist office website.

If you found this page useful, then please consider a small donation to a charity. My favourites are: Oxfam, UNICEF, amnesty international. Thanks very much!

Best regards
Clemens Suerbaum
skater with a big plastic goose on his helmet
Munich Bladeguard 2001-2007, 2013-2022, one of Munich Bladeguard vice team leaders in 2002.
Founder of "24skate - Skate around the world in 24 hours supporting UNICEF" (see
www.24skate.net)

For suggestions related to this website please send an email to me (clemens@24skate.net?subject=Munich Blade-Night: ) .


Liability and link disclaimer
No guarantee can be given for the accuracy of the information on this website. Liability for any damage resulting from using the information on this website is denied.
Any responsibility for the content of websites which are linked from here is denied. Before first inclusion of each link it was verified as far as possible, that there was no insulting or illegitimate content.


History of this page:
6th of May 2024: Update for 2024
27th of May 2023: Actualization for 2023
6th of June 2020: Probably no blade nights in 2020
10th of June 2019: Numbers of participants updated
21th of May 2019: Bladenight on 20th of May cancelled
18th of May 2019: Color of vests changed, guessed number of participants on 13th of May, Western Route corrected
28th of April 2019: Updated with fresh information from the blade guard instruction session
17th of April 2019: Start in 2019 moved one week to 13th of May
6th of January 2019: Munich blade night returns!
9th of March 2017: Announcement of a bladenightless 2017
30th of July 2016: This week was cancelled
19th of July 2016: Yesterday was cancelled
12th of July 2016: last week's number estimated, this week's cancellation
3rd of July 2016: 3.000 skaters last week
21st of June 2016: 4.000 skaters this Monday
13th of June 2016: Today's bladenight cancelled
7th of June 2016: First 3 nights cancelled, 6th of June took place, number of participants
16th of May 2016: Clean-up for the new season
13th of July 2015: guess for number of skaters last Monday added, today cancelled
5th of July 2015: 7.000 skaters last Monday
21st of June 2015: Statistic table updated
15th of May 2015: First bladenight 2015 hat 5.000 skaters!
4th of May 2015: First update for the 2015 season
14th of September 2014: Season's recap, information about the app
9th of June: 2014: Today's hot skate
26th of May 2014: Cancellation of today's skate
21st of May 2014: Number for 19th of May
18th of May 2014: Clean-Up for 2014. New routes, time table, links corrected etc.
26th of June 2013: It was raining again...
23rd of June 2013: Number of skaters on 17th of June
1st of June 2013: Restart for 2013
1st of May 2011: 9.000 skaters on 30th of May
13th of May 2011: First bladenight delayed to 30th of May
8th of May 2011: Update of routes
5th of May 2011: Season's start update
13th of September: Season's end update
26th of July 2010: Today's Bladenight cancelled
22th of July 2010: Numbers on 20th of July
16th of July 2010: Some particpation numbers added
18th of June 2010: Update of cancellations
20th of May 2010: Number of skaters at first bladenight, timetable updated to 2010
22nd of April 2010: First bladenight postponed to 17th of May
13th of April 2010: Clean-up from 2009 version to 2010
2nd of August 2009: Number for July, cancellation tomorrow
12th of July 2009: again a cancellation (last week)
2nd of July 2009: 7.500 skaters on 29th of June
20th of June 2009: more cancellation
8th of June 2009: today's cancellation
7th of June 2009: 4.000 skaters on 1st of June
26th of May 2009: 10.000 skaters yesterday
25th of May 2009: Cancellation last week
14th of May 2009: Number of skaters on first Bladenight 2009
24th of April 2009: Routes 2009 introduced, scheduled extended to 14th of September, editorial corrections, new info on skate rental
16th of April 2009: Date for first Bladenight 2009 was shifted from 4th to 11th of May
29th of March 2009: First draft calendar for 2009
15th of January 2009: First date in 2009 announced, some more updates for 2009
12th of August 2008: Two more cancellations
24+29th of July 2008: Participant statistics updated
16th of July 2008: Again a cancellation
10th of July 2008: Cancellation of last bladenight entered
2nd of July 2008: Numbers for 30th of June added
3rd of June 2008: Cancellation of last bladenight updated
28th of May 2008: Participant statistics 2008 updated
6th of May 2008: Numbers of first Bladenight 2008 introduced, start time for 12th of May corrected to 15:00
28th of April 2008: Cancellation of today's Bladenight
12th of April 2008: Timetable completed, routes updated
25th of March 2008: Timetable updated, new starting area for 2008 announced
24th of March 2008: Rudimentary update to 2008
2nd of August 2007: Number of participants 30th of July
30th of July 2007: Number of participants 16th and 23th of July
9th of July 2007: Cancellation of today's Bladenight
2th of July 2007: Cancellation of today's Bladenight
28th of June 2007: Routes were changed for some dates (reason: construction sites)
25th of June 2007: Statistics of 18th of June added, cancellation of today's Bladenight
11th of June 2007: Cancellation of today's Bladenight
9th of June 2007: Statistics of 4th of June
28th of May 2007: Cancellation of today's Bladenight
24th of May 2007: Statistics of 21st of May, corrected start time for 28th of May
15th of May 2007: Statistics of 14th of May
8th of May 2007: Cancellation on 7th of May
1st of May 2007: Statistics of 30th of April, links to maps of the skate routes, Bladeguards wear suspenders instead of vests, "Starterband"
30th of April 2007: Starting time for 7th of May corrected
31st of March 2007: Routes and dates for 2007 introduced
27th of February 2007: Start and end dates 2007 introduced, reset of schedule table for 2007
11th of September 2006: 2006 season end news
8th/14th of August 2006: Table updated
17th/12th/25th/31st of July 2006: Table updated
11th of June 2006: Table updated, possibly rent of skates in the start area
9th of June 2006: Table updated
22th of May 2006: Cancellation at 22th of May entered
16th of May 2006: Number of participants at 15th of May added
9th of May 2006: Number of participants at 8th of May added
2nd of May 2006: Routes and dates updated, timetable introduced, rent of protection added
19th of March 2006: Dates in running title updated
27th of February 2006: Dates and some other things for 2006 updated, email corrected
15th of July 2005: BN on 18th of July cancelled because of security measures during a Germany-Iraq economy conference, substitute date: 5th of September; ISPO BN removed
28th of June 2005: ISPO-Bladenight route added, rent-a-skate updated
24th of June 2005: ISPO-Bladenight details corrected
17th of June 2005: ISPO-Bladenight (4th of July) added, rent-a-skate updated
30th of April 2005: Dates and descriptions of the skating routes, skate&brake check added, more on family blade nights, some minor corrections.
26th of April 2005: First publication.