The Paul Greifzu Stadium is a

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

in Dessau-Roßlau. It is one of the most modern stadia in

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

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 small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

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 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 German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

, 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 The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

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

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

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, bar. Pole jumping was already practiced by the ...

and

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

. 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 The lux (symbol: lx) is the unit of illuminance, or luminous flux per unit area, in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to one lumen per square metre. In photometry, this is used as a measure of the irradiance, as perceived by ...

, 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 The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

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 Franka Dietzsch (born 22 January 1968) is a German former discus thrower best known for winning gold medals at three World Championships in Athletics. She won the 1998 European Championships in Athletics, 1998 European Championships and 1999 Wo ...

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 Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional association foo ...

in a

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

match against TSV Völpke in DFB-Pokal 2004–05 and a friendly against SV Dessau 05 in 2005. Leeds United A.F.C and

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

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 association football, football competition that took place before the start of the Bundesliga season, featuring the top five t ...

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

{{reflist

External links

Official site of the annual Anhalt-MeetingOfficial site of the city of Dessau-Roßlau
Football venues in Germany Buildings and structures in Dessau Multi-purpose stadiums in Germany Sports venues completed in 1952 Sports venues in Saxony-Anhalt European League of Football venues 1952 establishments in East Germany