Žalgiris Stadium ( lt, Žalgirio stadionas) was 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 ...

in Žirmūnai elderate of

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. The stadium held 15,029 and was the largest in Lithuania until its demolition. It was the largest football stadium in Lithuania and was built on the desecrated graves of Jews interred in the Old Jewish Cemetery under the stadium. It was named after the

Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald, Battle of Žalgiris or First Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respec ...

and was rebuilt by the German POWs after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and finished in 1950 (the stadium existed already before World War II and was used by Pogoń Wilno; in 1936 the Polish athletics championships were held at the stadium). After independence it was used by the

Lithuania national football team The Lithuania national football team ( lt, Lietuvos nacionalinė futbolo rinktinė) represents Lithuania in international football and is controlled by the Lithuanian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Lithuania. They playe ...

, but later it lost its meaning as the

national stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...

and all the international

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

matches were played either at

Darius and Girėnas Stadium Darius and Girėnas stadium ( lt, Dariaus ir Girėno stadionas) is a multi-use stadium in the Ąžuolynas park in Žaliakalnis district of Kaunas, Lithuania. The all-seater stadium holds 15,315 people. In 1998 the stadium was renovated accordi ...

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

or at the newer

LFF Stadium LFF Stadium (Lithuanian Football Federation stadium, ), formerly known as Vėtra Stadium, is a football stadium in Vilnius, Lithuania. The stadium has a capacity of 5,067 people and was home of the Lithuanian national football team between 2012 and ...

also in Vilnius. In 2015, the stadium was sold to Lithuanian real estate company

Hanner Hanner may refer to: People * Bob Hanner (1945–2019), American businessman and politician * Dave Hanner (1930–2008), American football player, coach and scout * Flint Hanner (1898–1973), American mulit-sport track and field athlete and coac ...

who planned to demolish it and make way for apartments, hotel and offices. The demolition of Žalgiris stadium was started on July 5, 2016.

References

External links

Žalgirio stadionas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zalgiris Stadium Athletics (track and field) venues in Lithuania Athletics (track and field) venues in the Soviet Union Football venues in Lithuania Football venues in the Soviet Union

Multi-purpose stadiums in Lithuania Sports venues built in the Soviet Union Sports venues completed in 1950 Sports venues in Vilnius FK Žalgiris