Tour of Historic Venues

„German Football History Day“ takes place every year on August 24th. To mark the anniversary of the Bundesliga’s founding, the league and the DFB (German Football Association) called upon clubs to participate by hosting various events. SV 98 has been involved for three years now; this year, the club organised a tour of historic match venues using the professional team’s bus. Marc Balbaschewski and Thomas Spengler guided the 35 participants through the history of the various sites. Registration was organised by the „Silberlilien“ (Silver Lilies) fan group, specifically by Bernd Henrich, while the tour received financial support from the SV 98 executive board.

The tour visited former home grounds of FK Olympia Darmstadt and SC Darmstadt—the clubs that merged on November 11, 1919, to form SV Darmstadt 98. Fittingly, the first stop was the site where FK Olympia Darmstadt was founded, at Schlossgartenplatz 10. In the garden of the house where the club was established, participants were welcomed by two members of the founding family, Gerhard and Andreas Schmitt. In addition to a historical presentation, they were able to view and photograph the club’s first membership card, numerous certificates, and the Grand Duke’s Cup.

Just a two-minute walk away stands St. Elisabeth Church, built in 1905. Before the church was constructed, the site housed FK Olympia’s first football pitch; the club had been forced to relocate due to the field’s central location in a residential area and the resulting complaints from neighbours.

SC Darmstadt’s first home ground was also on the itinerary. Located near the „Windmühle“ (Windmill), the site had originally been a cycling track before being converted into a sports facility for athletics and football. Upon closer inspection, traces of one of the curves are still visible today. SC Darmstadt’s former clubhouse is also still standing and is currently used by the „Club Behinderter & ihrer Freunde e.V.“ (Club for the Disabled and Their Friends). FK Olympia Darmstadt was also based at a racetrack from 1907 until its merger in 1919. The ground on Heidelberger Straße continued to be used even after the merger into SV Darmstadt 98, right up until the move to Böllenfalltor in 1921.

To round off the tour in style, the group visited the stadium that remains the home of the Lilies to this day. On site, the participants were given a tour of the areas beneath the main stand—the „catacombs“—led by Markus Polak. The tour thus concluded at the very place that has been the home of SV Darmstadt 98’s history for over a century.