Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark

The Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark is a multi-purpose sports complex located in the western part of the locality of Prenzlauer Berg in the borough of Pankow in Berlin. The sports complex covers an area of approximately 22 hectares and comprises several facilities. The main building is the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Stadion. The stadium is the third-largest stadium in Berlin, after the Olympiastadion and the Stadion An der Alten Forsterei, with a capacity of approximately 20,000 seats, of which 15,000 are covered.BFC Dynamo was the main tenant of the stadium from 2014 to 2021. Other tenants are VSG Altglienicke and Berlin Adler. Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark was the venue for the 2018 World Para Athletics European Championships.

History

The site was used by Prussian Army, before it was turned into a sports facility. The site became the parade ground of the 1st (Emperor Alexander) Guards Grenadiers, after the Prussian military had acquired the area from Christian Wilhelm Griebenow in 1825. The site got the nickname "Exer" from the military use. "Exer" is derived from the German word Exerzierplatz, meaning "Parade ground" or "Drill ground".

The site was also known as the "Place by the Lonely Poplar" (German: Platz an der Einsamen Pappel). Its landmark was a solitary black poplar known as the "Lonely Poplar" (German: Einsamen Pappel), which was standing on the parade ground near the corner of Topsstrase and Cantianstrase. The first demonstrations in Berlin during the revolution of 1848 took place at the site on 26 March 1848. Up to 20,000 people gathered near the Lonely Poplar in front of Schonhauser Tor to demand voting rights, a 12-hour work day, minimum wages and public, rather than private or religious, schools from Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm IV. The demonstration is today marked by a memorial stone on the site. The poplar was cut down in 1968. A tree descending from the old poplar, grown in a plantation in Dresden, surrounded by aspen trees now stands on its place. This page also has a version in other languages :  Фридрих-Людвиг-Ян-Шпортпарк (russian)