Ever wondered where German football history was written? Right here at the Post Stadium. This multi-use stadium sits in Moabit. It is part of Berlin’s Mitte borough. The Post Stadium was built in 1929. It was for the German Reichspost sports club. This ground was once a Prussian Uhlan parade area.
Since 1990 the stadium has been a landmark. The Post Stadium fell into disrepair in the 1980s. Renovations began in 2003. The main entrance on Lehrter Strasse still has its original architecture. You can see the old ticket booths. The main stand was updated in 2010. Floodlights were added in 2021.
Today SC Union 06 Berlin and Berlin AK 07 call Post Stadium home. It is part of SportPark Poststadion. This sports complex is one of Berlin’s largest. The borough of Mitte manages it now.
The Post Stadium can hold 10000 fans. But once it held 45000. On May 10 1930 Germany played England here. The game ended in a 3-3 draw. Richard Hofmann scored all three goals for Germany. David Jack equalized late for England.
After 1934 the Post Stadium hosted the German championship final. FC Schalke 04 beat 1. FC Nürnberg 2-1. Two years later 1. FC Nürnberg won against Fortuna Düsseldorf. The Post Stadium also hosted boxing matches. Max Schmeling defeated Paulino Uzcudun here in 1935.
Several 1936 Summer Olympics football matches took place here. Norway beat Germany 2-0 in the quarter-finals. Adolf Hitler watched this defeat. Team manager Otto Nerz was fired. Sepp Herberger replaced him. Later major football events moved to the Olympiastadion.
Georg Demmler designed the Post Stadium between 1926 and 1929. The sports facility combined lawn water and hall sports. It served as a model for similar sports parks. These were built in other German cities during the Weimar Republic.
Initially the stadium had a capacity of 35000. It included ten tennis courts a tennis stadium and four football pitches. There was also a swimming and rowing hall and an outdoor pool. The main facility opened on May 28 and 29 1929.
Parts of the Post Stadium were destroyed in World War II. Reconstruction largely occurred by 1945. Play resumed that summer. The outdoor pool reopened on August 19 1945. A modern indoor swimming pool was rebuilt. It closed in 1984. In 1990 it became a gymnasium. A roller sports facility was built in the 1950s. The German Alpine Club built a climbing hall and a club center between 2013 and 2021.
Since the 1970s the entire facility had slowly deteriorated. Initial renovations started in 2003. Since 2005 the Post Stadium has had a synthetic running track. The grandstand including the main stand has been renovated. The opposite straight now has 2200 new seats.
On April 30 1990 the Post Stadium became a listed building. The outdoor pool closed in 2002. Tentstation a campsite was located there from 2006 to 2012. In June 2014 the Vabali Spa opened there. Plans for an outdoor pool behind the Stadtbad Tiergarten were halted in 2013. They restarted in 2018. The outdoor pool is planned for 2023/24. The renovation of the Stadtbad Tiergarten began in 2020.
The Post Stadium’s rich history makes it more than just a sports venue. It is a landmark. It has witnessed great sporting moments. It has seen political rallies. The Post Stadium remains a vital part of Berlin’s sporting heritage.