ATV Liegnitz
The ATV Liegnitz was a German gymnastics club from Liegnitz in Lower Silesia, which introduced the football game in Lower Silesia . It existed, most recently as NSTG Liegnitz , until 1945. Today Liegnitz belongs to Poland and is called Legnica .
history
Foundation and development of ATV Liegnitz
The old gymnastics club (ATV) Liegnitz was founded on March 23, 1852 as a "volunteer fire rescue club". It was not until nine years later - in 1861 - that he expressly committed himself to gymnastics by renaming it "Turn- und Rettungsverein". Even later the name "Alter Turnverein" was given.
The ATV belonged to the minority of clubs in the umbrella organization of the German Gymnastics Association that were decried as "modernist". In other words, they were not limited to the exercises and sports that are usually understood as gymnastics , but began early on to include other disciplines and population groups in the club's work. The Liegnitzers already had a fencing department in 1861 and even a women's department at the turn of the century. Football, which is particularly controversial among gymnasts, has also been practiced since 1894 at the latest.
The introduction of football
After football was introduced at ATV Scheitnig in the Silesian capital of Breslau in 1892, gymnasts from Liegnitz soon began to chase the round leather. And already at Whitsun 1894 the two old gymnastics clubs met for a competition in Liegnitz, which the hosts lost 3-0. Two years later, in July 1896, football became official at ATV Liegnitz when a real football department was founded. The game was played on the “Haag”, the large open space at the fire brigade training building. The necessary equipment - goals, corner flags, etc. - had to be set up before training or the game and then removed again afterwards. They were then stored in the fire station.
The young footballers were initially only fetched from the gymnastics camp, but gradually more and more students from the municipal high school joined the ATV football department. The high school students first got to know the game as a spectator and were soon hooked on this sport, where they could really let off steam. Joining the association was funded by several ATV members who were teachers at the grammar school. Soon there was not only football in the old gymnastics club: The “Hague” was also - for a long time the only - playground available to the higher schools in the city, which also kept their play equipment in the fire station.
The championship operation in the SOFV
It was not until 1906 that there was a real championship operation. On November 4th of this year, four Liegnitz clubs and FC 1904 Freiburg met for the constituent meeting of the Lower Silesia district of the Southeast German Football Association and immediately afterwards started the game. The first Lower Silesian champion in the 1906/07 season was the ATV Liegnitz, which had thus also qualified for the Southeast German finals . Here he reached the semifinals with a 5-1 win over Prussia Kattowitz, in which he was eliminated after a 2: 3 against Britannia Cottbus.
The Lower Silesia title went to the Liegnitzer Turnverein as a "subscription" until the beginning of the First World War . From 1907 to 1914 the master of Lower Silesia was called Alter Turnverein Liegnitz eight times in a row. The 1911/12 season was a very special one for the ATV footballers. In the fight for the southeast German title, the Lower Silesian champions won the qualification on March 24, 1912, initially 2-0 against Prussia Görlitz. After a bye for the semifinals, they met Germania Breslau in the final on April 14, 1912 and secured the dignity of SOFV champion for the first and only time with a superior 5-1 victory . As such, the gymnasts from Liegnitz were also allowed to take part in the final round for the “German” . Here they had to compete against SpVgg Leipzig on May 5, 1912 on the Dresdensia-Platz in Dresden in front of 1,500 spectators and were defeated by this renowned team with a 2: 3 (0: 1).
Own sports field and financial crisis
In the meantime, the ATV footballers had come to the realization that a place of their own was needed if the sporting level was to be maintained or even improved. They also wanted to have the opportunity to collect entrance fees, because even before the First World War it became apparent that a promising football game would require a financial basis in the future. The board of directors of the ATV general club saw this need - also with a view to the successes already achieved - and in 1911 leased an area next to the new shooting range and expanded it into a usable playground.
At the same time, for financial reasons, there was a crisis between gymnasts and footballers in the club, as the chronicle of the old gymnastics club explains: “Game departments in gymnastics clubs are a very expensive matter. Football clothing, travel money, the footballs themselves, etc. devour a lot of money. And they would like to have spent the money they make on match days just for the purposes of the soccer game. They do not deny that the place itself causes expenses (lease, repair and maintenance, etc.), but generously leave these expenses to the main club. So of course there were always inconveniences between the treasurer of the main club and the gaming department. ”Ultimately, however, a solution was found for financial issues as well.
Footballers become self-employed
The First World War began in 1914 and football and gymnastics were largely stopped. After the end of the war, the footballers continued as before: the Lower Silesian championship titles in 1919/20, 1920/21 and 1922/23 went to ATV Liegnitz. But then came the " clean divorce " ordered by the German gymnastics association . In order to be able to stay in the SOFV, the soccer department separated from the gymnastics club and started its own business as SpVgg 1896 Liegnitz . In 1937 both clubs reunited under a new name - first "TuSpo", later NSTG Liegnitz .
successes
- Southeast German champion and participant in the final round of the German championship : 1911/12
- 11 × Lower Silesian Masters : 1906/07, 1907/08, 1908/09, 1909/10, 1910/11, 1911/12, 1912/13, 1913/14, 1919/20, 1920/21, 1922/23
literature
- Hardy Greens : Encyclopedia of German League Football. Volume 7: Club Lexicon . AGON-Sportverlag, Kassel 2001, ISBN 3-89784-147-9 .
- German sports club for football statistics: "Football in Silesia 1900 / 01–1932 / 33", DSFS 2007.
- Various materials from the Liegnitzer Heimatstube in Wuppertal.
