06.04.2023
Messe Augsburg was inaugurated on April 9, 1988 - the start of a 35-year history of trade fairs, in which small events grew into world-leading showcases and extraordinary event highlights shaped the entire region.
“We are delighted to be celebrating 35 years of Messe Augsburg - 35 years packed with so many exciting events and occasions. History has shown how closely the development of the trade fair company is linked to the growth of the city, the region and the local economy. It is precisely with this industrial connection that Messe Augsburg continues to lead the pack today, and we see ourselves in the tradition of the founding principle,” says CEO Lorenz A. Rau.
The Schwabenhalle and five other halls of lightweight building construction were erected on the trade fair grounds for a cost of roughly 30 million Deutschmarks, all of which today comprise the address: “Am Messezentrum” while back then visitors were directed to Friedrich-Ebert-Straße. The total hall area at that time was a little under 18,000 square meters. This was a vast area for the trade fair company, which was still small in 1988. At the peak of the construction phase, around 250 workers were busy on the site at the same time finalizing all the elements. The completion went according to plan, and we had a precision landing in time for the opening ceremony, which was held just as Ute Lemper's final preparations for her tour, which took place in the Schwabenhalle. All the people who had been involved were talking about a “construction site within a construction site” and were amazed that everything had gone so smoothly.
The launch day was celebrated with a ceremony, after which over 30,000 visitors flocked to the Open Day when the new exhibition center was presented to the public and the people of Augsburg - a true baptism of fire, and the first stress test that the exhibition center passed with flying colors. In the days that followed, the opening week presented the Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung (an Austrian humorous pop band), a fashion gala, the Musikantenstadl (a live television folk/rock music and comedy show with interviews broadcast in German to the DACH countries) and a rock fair. A few weeks later, the first Augsburg spring exhibition took place on the exhibition grounds, which in 1988 was celebrating its 40th anniversary there. A total of 11 trade fairs were held on the new trade fair grounds in the first year, including a traditional costume fair, the office and computer days Audicom '88 and the Swabian model making days, plus numerous other events.
The Augsburger Schwabenhallen- und Veranstaltungsgesellschaft mbH is also celebrating its 37th birthday in June this year – this GmbH was entered in the commercial register in 1986.
Messe Augsburg is an economic driver whose influence extends far beyond the borders of Bavaria. Augsburg is an attractive location which has highly structured fairgrounds that are also easily accessible from outside Germany, a high level of personal service and the charm of Germany's second oldest city. Messe Augsburg is a full-service partner for trade fairs and events: seven halls that provide 48,000 m² of gross floor space, 10,000 m² of outdoor exhibition grounds, a conference center, four entrance areas, excellent transport links and 3,650 parking spaces in the immediate vicinity offer a wide range of event options that can be individually tailored to the client’s requirements.
