Surrounded by history

Saturday 8 December 2018, Hertha Berlin 1 Eintracht Frankfurt 0 - Bundesliga, Olympic Stadium

I would recommend to anyone visiting Berlin to take the self guided tour of the Olympic complex, not just the football ground but the whole area, including the tower Hitler had built to remember German soldiers killed in the First World War, the outdoor swimming pool and the many statues that are seen around the arena.

Arriving at the stadium for a winter evening kick off, you  miss much of that but you can still see you are in a ground that is just soaked in history but even so you also feel you are in a modern stadium with great views of the pitch - the perfect combination.

They remember the stadium shape but maybe not its dark past

Friday 10 February 2017, 1FC Nuremberg 1 Eintracht Braunchsweig 1 - Bundesliga 2, Frankenstadion

They are quick to tell you and with pride that their stadium is the only one octagon shaped in Germany, and they are right to be proud of their stadium and their club - Der 'Club', but Nuremberg of all places does struggle with its past - what the fans of Nuremberg are less quick to tell you is that their stadium was also the venue for the annual Hitler Youth rally.

The stadium was here before Hitler took power but it soon became part of the large Nazi parade grounds, every September, hundreds of thousands of Nazi supporters would arrive in this southern German city for a week of rallies and meetings.

Zeppelin Field pre-war

Hitler may be long gone but his memory and his crimes live on in Nuremberg, right next to the stadium is the Zeppelin Fields and across the lake is the Nazi congress hall.. The hall is now home of the German Documentation centre, a museum that tells in detail the rise of Hitler and the part Nuremberg played in the rise and fall of the Nazi Party.

Zeppelin Field as it looks today

I would recommend that you all visit the centre if you can and to spend as long as is needed to take in all that is being told.

 Reminder of the crimes of Nazi Germany 

Nazi Congress Hall

Back to the football, in the octagon shaped stadium, you may not find a full house but you will find a crowd that supports their club with passion. They managed a draw tonight against a team pushing for promotion and that seemed enough to send the home fans happy but I wonder if any of them think about what took place on the Zeppelin Field in the 30's as they make their way back to the 'S' bahn station?

A 'Must visit' stadium - Berlin Olympic

Wednesday 6th June 2012
Visit to Berlin Olympic Stadium





If you visit one new ground in Europe this year make it the Berlin Olympic Stadium. The right mixture- sport, politics, world history and architecture.

The whole experience was positive from the cheap admission, the site plan and then the self-guided tour. You can take the organised tour and see the superb changing rooms, chapel and all the other parts of the UEFA Grade 5 stadium but it is the park itself that is amazing, the way they have kept the fell of the 19436 stadium by not letting the building of a roof for the 2006 World Cup take away the fine design of Werner March.




The statues, the outdoor swimming pool and then the reminders of Hitler and the Nazi era- the Bell tower and the Olympic Bell.





The 1940 Olympics was meant to be in Tokyo but from 1944 Hitler declared all further Olympics would be held in Berlin – thankfully he was proved wrong but I do hope that London 2012 Olympic Park is still as good as the Berlin Olympic Stadium and Park after 76 years.





Just visit as you will be amazed, enjoy the photographs.