Trabrennbahn Bahrenfeld
The Trabrennbahn Bahrenfeld is a traditional sports and event venue in Hamburg . It is located in the west of the city in the Altona district in the Bahrenfeld district .
history
Beginnings
In 1880 the North German Racing and Trotting Club was founded in Altona, and its board of directors decided to build its own competition facility. Within a few months, a grass oval and grandstand were built on the site of today's racecourse. Operations began on June 20, 1880 with a well-attended opening ceremony.
In order to ensure the continuous running of the sport, they hired their own trainer: Anthony Mills. With him the story of a famous trotter dynasty began. In 1898 his son Charlie Mills was born on the racetrack. The “Trotter Professor”, who later became so successful in France and formed numerous class horses with new training methods, caused a sensation in the period between the two world wars with US imports such as Walter Dear ( Prix d'Amérique winner) as well as with domestic ones. At the age of just 20, Charlie Mills won the first of eight German derbies with the mare Raute . In 1953, a memorial plaque was unveiled on the site of the house where he was born, which is still in the entrance area of the racecourse today.
The North German Racing and Trotting Club celebrated its 25th anniversary with the best-funded race on German soil to date. Hinrich Heitmann triumphed with Spikant in front of a sold-out grandstand at the Great German Trotter Prize for 20,000 marks . The spectacular major event concealed the fact that the club was already in great financial difficulties, which soon turned out to be unsolvable and led to its dissolution. However, this did not seal the end of trotting in Bahrenfeld. With support from Berlin, the Altona Racing Club was founded in May 1905 . From then on the racing business in Bahrenfeld strengthened again. In 1920 the first "German Grand Prix" was held in Bahrenfeld.
Destruction and rebuilding
A devastating fire threatened the existence of an emerging sport after the First World War. In 1925 the fire destroyed the stables and grandstands in Bahrenfeld, 13 trotters died, including the derby winner graphite. Just one year later, the racetrack presented itself with modern buildings and a sand instead of grass track as well as a floodlight system installed for the first time in a new splendor for the reopening. The betting halls were now heated, the modern art course - for the first time a links course - was for years the fastest track in Germany. World War II bombs and use by the British occupation forces brought racing to a standstill for years. It wasn't until 1953 that there was a new beginning.
Transport policy considerations then resulted in a relocation of the railway, which those responsible took as an opportunity to carry out a complete renovation. The grandstand, which still exists today (at least in terms of its basic structure), was inaugurated in 1974, but the club had taken over financially and had to discontinue the newly resumed racing after a short time. The site acquired in 1916 went to the city of Hamburg as part of bankruptcy.
The trotting crisis of the 1990s
In the 1990s, everyday racing continued to go downhill. One had neglected to adapt to the changes of another time and other media requirements. The number of visitors declined, the betting turnover sank and shifted partly to the area of the lower-return outdoor betting. Especially in the area of the Internet and modern marketing, the development fell through completely. A big bet that alone enables a flourishing trotting sport in successful nations like France or Sweden already existed with the V6 bet , but they failed to market it accordingly. The crisis in harness racing also affected Hamburg, where poor running and ailing stables caused dissatisfaction among the active, while a grandstand in need of renovation and other negative side effects caused dissatisfaction among the visitors.
The city of Hamburg announced in 2012 that apartments will be built on the grounds of the trotting track. Regardless of this, racing continues (as of 2019).
Other use of the system
Since trotting alone no longer covered the costs of operating the facility, the site was now used for other purposes. Flea markets and other events took place, and the racetrack flourished as an event location in the 1990s and served as an open-air stage. The highlight of numerous concerts ( Depeche Mode , Robbie Williams and others) was the appearance of the Rolling Stones , which played in front of more than 70,000 spectators in 1998. At that time, racing was inactive for more than a week due to construction and dismantling.
After a reorientation and renovation of the grandstand in 2009 and 2011, the sports facility offers more space for concerts and festivals in addition to trotting, and international and national stars such as Bon Jovi , Status Quo , Fettes Brot and Jan Delay have already performed . In addition, several small summer festivals with up to 20,000 visitors are held here every year.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Heiko Lingk: The end of a tradition. The German Grand Prix will be held for the last time on the Hamburg-Bahrenfeld trotting track . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of October 8, 2016, p. 34.
- ↑ Press release of the authority for urban development and housing: Bahrenfeld-Nord: Attractive living at the Altonaer Volkspark , April 18, 2012, accessed on October 15, 2016.
Web links
Coordinates: 53 ° 34 '34.8 " N , 9 ° 53' 33.9" E