Berlin gymnastics club
| Berliner Turnerschaft Korp. EV | |
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 Club logo of the Berlin gymnastics club
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| sport | Gymnastics, athletics, swimming, rowing, fistball, various ball sports, gymnastics wheel, health sports, etc. |
| Founded | May 16, 1863 |
| Place of foundation | Berlin |
| Chairman | Norbert Nest |
| Members | 3119 (as of: 12/2018) |
| Association headquarters | Buschkrugallee 163 12359 Berlin |
| Homepage | www.berlinerturnerschaft.de |
The Berliner Turnerschaft Korp. EV (BT) is a gymnastics and sports club in Berlin that has existed since 1863 .
Club history
History of origin
After pedagogues were already discussing in the last third of the 18th century which educational and school goals should be promoted with which learning content for the benefit of the individual and society, physical education also came more and more into focus. Among the numerous national education plans, the draft presented by Friedrich Ludwig Jahn in 1810 as a German Volkstum stood out above all because of its high level of concrete ideas. In particular, the inclusion of physical exercise, as Jahn still called his gymnastics at the time, and his passionate commitment led his model to at least a temporary success.
And so the public gymnastics initiated by Jahn in Berlin's Hasenheide in the summer of 1811 , which also included running, throwing, jumping as well as wrestling, fencing, swimming, hiking and many games, is one of the roots of today's diverse sports.
After the end of the gymnastic ban from 1819 to 1842, which was very inhibiting for the entire German gymnastics system - it was the rulers' response to the excessive desire for freedom and unity of the German youth after the liberation of Napoleon - Berlin's gymnastics-loving citizens called on them to honor and to be constantly remembered to erect a magnificent monument to Friedrich Ludwig Jahn.
The foundation stone was laid in Hasenheide in 1861, and it was inaugurated in 1872.
At that time (1861) there were 33 men's gymnastics clubs and 6 boys' cooperatives in Berlin, most of which belonged to associations such as the “Berliner Turnrath” or the gymnastics community in Berlin. Again and again, for various reasons, the desire to unite all Berlin gymnasts in a more tightly managed organization arose, but no agreement was reached. So it happened that 13 of the then largest Berlin clubs left the "Berliner Turnrath" and on May 16, 1863 founded the Berlin Turnerschaft.
800 adult members joined the Berlin gymnastics association. At first they kept their club names and continued to do gymnastics in their previous gyms. It was not until some time later that the departments were numbered.
Among the men from the very beginning were Dr. Eduard Angerstein, Fritz Siegemund and Dr. Ferdinand Strassmann. Under her leadership, the association adopted a constitution that ensured that the gymnastics business was more orderly and that the administration was regulated more strictly.
Club members Carl Schuhmann and Hermann Weingärtner took first and second places in the overall ranking at the 1896 Olympic Games .
The club's board soon realized how important the training of younger gymnasts was, which is necessary for the further development of the club. So the 6 boys' cooperatives were also taken over by the Berlin gymnastics club and school and youth departments were formed from them.
However, it would take 30 years before women were allowed to exercise in the club and the first girls' department could be opened. Due to the enormous increase in membership, the Berlin gymnastics club soon became one of the largest gymnastics clubs in Germany and was to remain so for decades.
History from 1863
On May 16, 1863, the Berlin Turnerschaft was founded. The club participated in large numbers at the 3rd German Gymnastics Festival in Leipzig in August. On November 3, 1863, the 1st and 2nd youth departments were founded. September 12, 1876: In order to be able to accept a donation of 15,000 marks, the association tried to obtain corporation rights, ie the rights of a legal person, which were granted by royal decree. The club was now called the "Berliner Turnerschaft Korporation". Due to the increasing volume of business of the association, it was decided at the general meeting on May 6, 1885 to publish a "news and advertising paper", which from 1894 was available to all members free of charge.
On the 25th anniversary (May 16, 1888) the association had 4,003 members. These did gymnastics in 9 men's sections, as well as in 9 apprentice and 9 student sections. On November 15, 1894, the opening of the first women's department was celebrated. Efforts to allow women to exercise in clubs began in 1893. On April 1, 1895, the opening of the first girls' department was recorded. The representation of the German Gymnastics Federation happens with a squad at the 3rd Italian National Gymnastics Festival in Rome in 1895. The idea of Baron de Coubertin to revive the Olympic Games was implemented in Athens in 1896 when the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens. Germany had six winners, four of them belonged to the Berliner Turnerschaft Korporation: Hermann Weingärtner, A. Flatow, Carl Schuhmann and K. Neukirch.
On May 16, 1903, the Berlin Turnerschaft Korporation was chaired by Carl Alfred Müller and consisted of 42 departments with 6,092 members. Several general meetings dealt with the plan to build their own clubhouse. In 1905 a corresponding committee was founded. The 50th anniversary is celebrated on May 16, 1913 with the issue of a 260-page commemorative publication. 6,232 members were currently doing gymnastics in 58 departments. The growth of the sports movement meant that, after heated discussions, the first sports department was founded in the club in 1910. In order to be able to adapt to the regulations of athletics, the desire for an own sports field became more and more important. At Baumschulenweg station, a site could be leased, which after redesign became a usable facility and a meeting place for members for 20 years. The BT badge was created. From now on one spoke in public and gradually also in the club only of the "BT". In 1911, several rooms were rented in the upper part of the municipal gym at Prinzenstrasse 90 and housed the office, the main library and the archive there. Due to the increased expenditure on the Baumschulenweg playground, a premium increase was necessary for the first time in 1914. The monthly fee increased from 75 pfennigs to 1 mark.
During the First World War, 534 BT members lost their lives as a result of the war. In 1921, the BT again claimed its place as the largest German gymnastics club. In 1923 (May 16) the association consisted of 67 departments with 6,541 members. By the end of inflation, BT's assets were lost. The ordinances and guidelines issued by the National Socialists in 1933 were also rigorously implemented in the Berlin gymnastics club. As a result of the “Aryan Paragraph”, the BT lost around 60 Jewish gymnasts who had to leave their club or were excluded. They had remained loyal to their club for decades and helped the BT to fame and honor through excellent gymnastics and sporting achievements. In 1932 the club's own news paper announced: "The Berlin gymnastics club on their own land". In Berlin-Köpenick, the association acquired approx. 43,000 m² of land from Spindler AG for 213,000 RM. With a lot of idealism, the members went to work to create their “gem on the Spree” from the site. When the sports field was inaugurated on May 13, 1934, 3,000 gymnasts marched through Köpenick in a pageant. The student departments were forcibly separated from the BT and taken over by the Hitler Youth. On November 27, 1934, they were adopted in a ceremony.
On the occasion of the 75th anniversary on May 16, 1938, 750 participants took part in a gymnastics show in the Prinzenhalle, the last major BT event before the war. The outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 brought all plans of the association to a standstill. Hundreds of members were called up immediately, so there was a lack of pre-gymnastics. As far as possible, the women took over the tasks. Many gyms in the city have been repurposed or destroyed. As a result, gymnastics continued to decline, but it could still be carried out according to the circumstances. The extension buildings in Spindlersfeld could no longer be realized. The 80th foundation festival, with a small-scale gymnastics show, took place on May 16, 1943 in the domed hall of the Reichssportfeld. On February 3, 1945, the Prinzenstrasse gym with the office and archive was completely destroyed in a bomb attack. The club banner also burned. Club life no longer took place; the news paper had to stop its publication. After the end of the war, a ban on all organizations, especially gymnastics and sports clubs, was one of the first orders issued by the victorious powers. All clubs then had to be dissolved. The contact within the departments and with the entire association was never completely broken. Little by little, more and more BTers arrived in the destroyed city of Berlin. They met in bars in their district and exchanged memories, hoping that gymnastics would be allowed again.
From 1947 onwards, the occupying powers allowed individual associations again. BT also tried to get the license back, but all applications were initially rejected. In the American sector, the application for approval was successful. With a letter from the Kreuzberg district office of Greater Berlin, it was officially recognized as a non-political organization on February 9, 1949. The first general meeting was on March 20, 1949. The call for a new establishment was followed by 534 members from the gymnastics, athletics and sports departments. The assembly elected Kurt Zameitat, who held the office until 1965, as chairman. The board also included: 2nd chairman: Heinz Andrae; 3rd Chair: Else Weiß; Chief Treasurer: Werner Müller; Main turn attendant: Fritz Hoffmann; Youth manager: Hans Hoppe for children's gymnastics; Gerhard Ziethe for youth gymnastics. On July 30, 1949, the official approval of the Berlin Gymnastics Corporation in the western districts of the city was confirmed by the Berlin magistrate.
Offers and events
The following sports are currently offered in the club: general gymnastics, apparatus gymnastics, parent-child / toddler gymnastics, gymnastics / fitness, dance and show, wheel gymnastics, athletics, swimming, fistball, floorball (floorball), handball, volleyball and rowing. Every year the Berlin Gymnastics Association organizes - in addition to its weekly offers - numerous additional events, including the Wedding Cup, the largest fistball tournament in the world, leisure time for children and young people and the "Spring Ball of Sports". The “Goldende Ribbon” - the oldest German sports award - is presented every year during the Sports Spring Ball. In 2012 Heiner Brand was awarded the "Golden Ribbon" for his services to handball. The Berliner Turnerschaft Korporation Turn- und Sportverein e. V. celebrated its 150th anniversary on May 16, 2013.
As a result of the merger of the Berlin gymnastics association with the Berlin rowing club “Astoria” in 2006, all members now have a boathouse on the Kleiner Wannsee , which also has a restaurant. Since the merger, the name for the rowing department has been “Astoria” rowing community (in the Berlin gymnastics association).
For several years now, the Berlin gymnastics association has been offering sports, fitness and health courses in the "Gymwelt" in the sports hall Ohlauer Straße (formerly Gerhart-Hauptmann-Schule) in Berlin-Kreuzberg. "BT" has been operating the gymnastics center on Vorarlberger Damm since summer 2018 and also offers sports courses there. She also runs the Salto Berlin gymnastics talent school and trains young gymnasts.
Association structure (committees)
- Chairman: Norbert Nest
- Deputy Chairman: Dirk König
- Treasurer: Jens Richter
- Representative of the department heads: Tillmann Fischbach
- Representative of the youth: Markus Nitsch
- 1st assessor: Kim Methner
- 2nd assessor: Nikolai Deus-von Homeyer
Web links
- Official homepage of the Berlin Gymnastics Association
- Homepage of the Wedding Cup
- Homepage of the Gymwelt in Ohlauer Straße ("The Gym")
Individual evidence
- ↑ Homepage of the Berlin Gymnastics Association , accessed on April 24, 2012
- ↑ Berlin Turnerschaft: News . berlinerturnerschaft.de. Retrieved June 3, 2012.
- ^ Astoria rowing community. In: www.astoria-rudergemeinschaft.de. Retrieved August 10, 2016 .
- ↑ THE GYM. Accessed April 14, 2019 (German).
- ^ TTS Salto Berlin - Gymnastics & Recreational Sports in Berlin. Retrieved April 14, 2019 .