Sports field on Rathausstrasse
| Sports field on Rathausstrasse | |
|---|---|
| Blue and white square | |
| Earlier names | |
|
Union Square |
|
| Data | |
| place |
 Berlin
|
| Coordinates | 52 ° 27 '1.1 " N , 13 ° 22' 38.2" E |
| opening | 4th October 1908 |
| First game | Union 92 Berlin - Wacker Leipzig |
| Extensions | 1920s |
| capacity | 10,000 (originally) 14,000 (from 1920s) |
| Societies) | |
| Events | |
The sports field on Rathausstrasse , until 1927 Union-Platz and since then also called Blau-Weiß-Platz , is a traditional soccer field in Berlin-Mariendorf and one of the oldest still existing soccer fields in Germany. Among other things, it was the home of Union 92 Berlin , the German football champions of 1905, and the venue for an international football match between Germany and England . Today Berlin and 1. Traber FC Mariendorf are located on the Blau-Weiß 90 square .
history
The Berlin Thor and Football Club Union , founded in 1892 , initially played like many other Berlin football clubs on the Tempelhofer Feld . After the football fields there had proven to be out of date at the beginning of the 20th century, Union 92 founded a construction company that acquired a swampy and undeveloped site on Rathausstrasse in the then still independent rural community of Mariendorf. There was originally a lake that was filled in when the Teltow Canal was built.
In 1908 a new soccer field was completed on the site. At the opening on October 4, 1908, Union 92 met Wacker Leipzig . In 1909 a wooden grandstand was built. With a capacity of around 10,000 spectators, Union-Platz was one of the largest sports facilities in the Berlin area before the First World War . In the 1920s, the capacity was increased to around 14,000 visitors by increasing the standing walls.
In the summer of 1927 Union 92 merged with another traditional Berlin club, the BFC Vorwärts 1890, to form the Sports Association Blau-Weiß 1890 . Union-Platz became the home of Blau-Weiß 90 and has been called Blau-Weiß-Platz ever since . The wooden grandstand burned down on the night of October 4th to 5th, 1936 and was not rebuilt.
During the Second World War , the square served as a collection point for confiscated private vehicles. From 1945 football games could be played on the square again. First division football was last played on the Blau-Weiß-Platz in the 1959/60 season, when Blau-Weiß 90 belonged to the Contract League Berlin . In 1966 Blau-Weiß 90 moved to the Friedrich-Ebert-Stadion in Berlin-Tempelhof and in 1968 the club had to sell its old sports field to the city of Berlin for financial reasons. The spectator walls were subsequently removed.
After Blau-Weiß 90, which had played in Berlin's Olympic Stadium since 1984 , went bankrupt in 1992, the successor club SV Blau Weiss Berlin (now again Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin ) resumed gaming on the old Blau-Weiß square. Overall, the Blau-Weiß-Platz now only has a capacity of a few hundred spectators. To the south of the main square, which is equipped with natural turf, there are still artificial turf side courts. The entire facility is also called the sports field on Ullsteinstrasse , but is only accessible from Rathausstrasse.
Major football games
International match
On April 14, 1911, the German national soccer team played an international match against England on Union Square. In front of 10,000 spectators, the game ended 2-2, which was considered a big sporting surprise at the time.
German championship
The Berlin club Viktoria 89 was from 1909 to 1913 on the Union Square three finals matches in the German football championship from: On May 16, 1909 Victoria defeated 89 in the semifinals to Altona FC 1893 with 7: 0th On May 19, 1912 Viktoria 89 lost 2-1 to Holstein Kiel in the semifinals , and on April 13, 1913 Viktoria 89 defeated SV Prussia-Samland Königsberg 6-1 in the quarter-finals on Union Square .
Crown Prince Cup
On February 18, 1912, the final of the Crown Prince's Cup took place in front of 8,000 spectators on Union Square . The selection of southern Germany beat the selection of Brandenburg 6: 5. The Kronprinzenpokal was a cup competition in which the teams selected from the regional associations of the German Football Association competed against each other, and it was the first ever Germany-wide cup competition.
literature
- Christian Wolter: Lawn of Passions: The football fields of Berlin . vierC print + mediafabrik, 2011, ISBN 978-3000365638 .
- Werner Skrentny: The big book of the German football stadiums . Verlag Die Werkstatt, 2001, ISBN 3-89533-306-9 .