The Paul Greifzu Stadium is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...

Dessau-Roßlau Dessau-Roßlau () is a '' kreisfreie Stadt'' (urban district) in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Elbe and Mulde. The town was formed by merger of the towns of Dessau and Roßlau in the course of t ...

. It is one of the most modern stadia in

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it th ...

Overview

Eight peace

dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

s heralded the opening of the Paul Greifzu Stadium in Dessau in October 1952. It was named after German motorsport racer and constructor

Paul Greifzu Paul Greifzu (7 April 1902 in Suhl – 10 May 1952 in Dessau) was a German motorsport racer and constructor from Suhl. He was successful before and after World War II with motorcycles and sports cars. He also made Formula Two cars labeled under ...

who had died in a training accident in Dessau in May that same year. The stadium had been built by voluntary work on dozens of tons of rubble from the ruins of Dessau. Altogether, 51,000 hours of work were spent to construct a 35,000 capacity stadium. It soon became a location for regional athletics championships. During the GDR era, little was done for the maintenance and preservation of the stadium. Only after German reunification, in the mid-1990s, did the city of Dessau develop plans for the remodeling of the stadium. In several steps the complex as renovated and expanded. An important innovation was the construction of complete facilities for track and field athletics. Had athletes had to be content with a cinder track, they now found a modern running track providing optimal conditions for competitions. The facilities were completed by providing for other disciplines, such as shot put,

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the wom ...

, high jump,

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

and

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by th ...

. The first test for the new facilities came in 1998, when Great Britain, France and Germany U23 teams competed in track and field there. Just a little later floodlights were installed with an illumination rating of 1,825 lux, one of the highest-rated floodlights in Germany. In 2002 a new west stand was constructed that provides for 2,048 covered seats. The last step of renovation to date was the construction of changing rooms and other operational facilities below the east stand, but further ideas for remodeling the complex exist. Altogether 6.7 million Euros have been invested in the stadium since 1996, turning it into one of the most modern stadia in Central Germany. Every year the ''Anhalt-Meeting'' is held in the Paul Greifzu Stadium, regarded as one of the best outdoor meetings in Europe by athletes such as Franka Dietzsch or Tim Lobinger. It is also the home of LAC Dessau, the local track and field athletics club. A number of major football teams have played in the stadium, such as FC Bayern Munich in a

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...

match against TSV Völpke in DFB-Pokal 2004–05 and a friendly against

SV Dessau 05 SV Dessau 05 is a German association football club based in Dessau, Saxony-Anhalt. They distinguished themselves in 1949 as winners of the inaugural FDGB-Pokal, the East German Cup. History The club was founded in July 1905 as ''FC Adler'' and ...

in 2005. Leeds United A.F.C and Atlético Madrid played friendlies against

FC Energie Cottbus FC Energie Cottbus (Lower Sorbian: ''Energija Chóśebuz'') is a German football club based in Cottbus, Brandenburg. It was founded in 1963 as SC Cottbus in what was East Germany. After the reunification of Germany, Energie played six seasons i ...

in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Several matches of the now defunct

DFB-Ligapokal The DFL-Ligapokal (, officially Premiere Ligapokal , previously DFB-Ligapokal ) or the ''German League Cup'' was a German football competition that took place before the start of the Bundesliga season, featuring the top five teams of the previous ...

were also held in Dessau, as well as several finals of the East German Cup, the

FDGB-Pokal The FDGB-Pokal (Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund Pokal or Free German Trade Union Federation Cup) was an elimination football tournament held annually in East Germany. It was the second most important national title in East German football af ...

References

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External links

Official site of the annual Anhalt-MeetingOfficial site of the city of Dessau-Roßlau
Football venues in Germany Dessau Multi-purpose stadiums in Germany Buildings and structures in Dessau-Roßlau Sports venues in Saxony-Anhalt