The soccer stadium of Kaiserslautern, Germany was formerly named after the mountain it is standing on, the Betzenberg (a name every German soccer fan knows). The Stadion am Betzenberg was opened in 1920 and his home to the 1. FC Kaiserslautern which was playing for many years in the Bundesliga. To commemorate the famous German player Fritz Walter it was renamed on his 65th birthday to Fritz-Walter-Stadion.
What younger soccer fans can‘t imagine is that the 1. FC Kaiserslautern was once a really important club. Five players (Werner Liebrich, Fritz Walter, Werner Kohlmeyer, Horst Eckel and Ottmar Walter) were part of the German national team that won the world championship in 1954. The final is known as the “Wunder von Bern“, Germany defeated Hungary 3:2 in Bern, Switzerland and everybody has heard the words of the radio speaker Herbert Zimmermann:
„Sechs Minuten noch im Wankdorf-Stadion in Bern, keiner wankt, der Regen prasselt unaufhörlich hernieder, es ist schwer, (…) wann sieht man ein solches Endspiel, so ausgeglichen, so packend. Jetzt Deutschland am linken Flügel durch Schäfer. Schäfers Zuspiel zu Morlock wird von den Ungarn abgewehrt und Bozsik, immer wieder Bozsik, der rechte Läufer der Ungarn am Ball. Er hat den Ball – verloren diesmal, gegen Schäfer. Schäfer nach innen geflankt. Kopfball – abgewehrt. Aus dem Hintergrund müsste Rahn schießen – Rahn schießt – Toooor! Toooor! Toooor! Toooor!”
And finally:
„Aus, aus, aus, aus!
Das Spiel ist aus!
Deutschland ist Weltmeister…”
The stadium is now named after Fritz Walter and gates to the stadium are named after the four other players. The Fritz-Walter-Stadion was part of the world championship of 2006 in Germany, even though the best days of the FCK are long gone. The stadium was for a long time one of the few pure soccer stadiums where the fans were seated close to the field. This created a special atmosphere that was able even to frighten players of the away team.
The players of the 1. FC Kaiserslautern are known as the “Rote Teufel” (red devils) and therefore you can also find a statue of the devil on the outside of the stadium. A historic place I once have to return to for a match! And a stadium I already know quite well as the restauration works from 2002 to 2005 were filmed. On the children’s DVD “Noochmaal auf der Baustelle” you can (repeatedly) watch how the stadium was built.
Fritz-Walter-Stadion
Fritz-Walter-Straße 1
67663 Kaiserslautern
Germany
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