Fritz-Walter-Stadion () is the home stadium of 1. FC Kaiserslautern and is located in the city of

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfu ...

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. It was one of the stadia used in the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

. It is named after Fritz Walter (1920–2002), who played for the Kaiserslautern club throughout his career and was captain of the

Germany national football team The Germany national football team (german: link=no, Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft) represents Germany in men's international football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football Association (''Deuts ...

that won the

1954 FIFA World Cup The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzer ...

in the " Miracle of Bern". The stadium was built on the Betzenberg hill, hence its nickname "Betze" (), and was opened in 1920.

Renovation

In preparation for the

, the stadium underwent a 76,5 million Euro renovation beginning in 2002 that added a media center and a new floodlight system. The capacity was also increased from 38,500, of which 18,600 were standing, to 49,850, of which 16,363 are standing.

2006 FIFA World Cup

The stadium was one of the venues for the

. The following games were played at the stadium: Image:Fritz-Walter-Stadion-Teufel.jpg, The 1. FCK logo, the logo of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and the Betzenberg Devil on the side of the north stand Image:Fritz-Walter-Stadion from Hertelsbrunner Hof.jpg, View of the stadium from the north-east Image:Kaiserslautern, Fritz-Walter-Stadion 20000415.jpg, The Fritz-Walter-Stadion in the year 2000 Image:Kaiserslautern, Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Westkurve 20000415.jpg, The west stand, home of the most fervent FCK supporters, in 2000. Image:FIFA-Fritz-Walter-Stadion06.JPG, The north stand (main stand) Image:FIFA-Fritz-Walter-Stadion07.JPG, The east stand from the outside Image:Betzenberg luftaufnahme.jpg, Aerial view of the stadium Image:Kaiserslautern 18.JPG, View towards the south-west corner

References

External links

Fritz Walter Stadion, 1. FC Kaiserslautern
Information and Image Gallery {{2006 FIFA World Cup stadiums Buildings and structures in Kaiserslautern 1. FC Kaiserslautern 2006 FIFA World Cup stadiums Football venues in Germany Sports venues in Rhineland-Palatinate Sports venues completed in 1920 1920 establishments in Germany UEFA Women's Championship final stadiums