The Wankdorf Stadium (german: Wankdorfstadion, ) was a football

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

in the Wankdorf quarter of

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

, Switzerland, and the former home of Swiss club BSC Young Boys. It was built in 1925, and as well as serving as a club stadium, it hosted several important matches, including the finals of 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 ...

, the 1960–61 European Cup, and the

1988–89 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1988–89 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won for the third time by Barcelona in the final against Italian entrants Sampdoria. The two sides would meet again in the 1992 European Cup Final, which Barcelona also won. Wimbledon did ...

. The stadium was demolished in 2001, and replaced in 2005 by the Stadion Wankdorf (then Stade de Suisse) on the same site.

History

The original Wankdorf stadium was opened in 1925 after a construction period of seven months. It had a capacity of 22,000, of which 1,200 covered seats and covered standing room for another 5,000 people. The first international match took place on 8 November 1925; 18,000 spectators witnessed the 2–0 victory of the Swiss national team against Austria. From 1933 to 1939, the stadium was gradually enlarged with an additional training field and finally the construction of bleachers across from the grandstand, increasing the capacity to 42,000. For the Football World Cup of 1954, the stadium was demolished and a new one with a capacity of 64,000 spectators (on 8,000 seats and standing room for 56,000) was inaugurated shortly before the tournament began. On 4 July 1954, the legendary " Miracle of Bern", the unexpected 3–2 victory of the German team over the Hungarians in the final, made the stadium an icon of football history. The stadium saw two more major finals: in 1961, the final of the European Cup was played in the Wankdorf stadium. S.L. Benfica won 3–2 against

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

on 31 May. In 1989, the stadium was the venue of the final of the Cup Winners' Cup: on 10 May,

won 2–0 against

U.C. Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s ...

. The stadium was demolished in 2001, and a new stadium was constructed in its place. The last match in the stadium was played on 7 July 2001; Young Boys played 1–1 against the team of

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label= Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Lugano has a populat ...

in a match in the

Swiss Super League The Swiss Super League (known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a Swiss professional league in the top tier of the Swiss football league system and has been played in its current format since the 2003–04 seaso ...

. The final blasting of the derelict edifice occurred on 3 August 2001. The new

Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf The Wankdorf Stadium (; between 2005 and 2020 known as Stade de Suisse) is a football stadium in Bern, Switzerland. The second largest all-seater football stadium in Switzerland, it currently serves as the home ground of the Swiss football team ...

, opened in summer 2005 and was one of the venues for Euro 2008. The band

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in ...

credits Wankdorf stadium as inspiring the aptly named 'Wankdorf Jam'.

1954 FIFA World Cup

Wankdorf Stadium hosted five games of the 1954 FIFA World Cup, including the final matches.

References

History of the Wankdorf/Stade de Suisse

External links

Image gallery with many historical images from 1898 to 2002
{{Coord, 46, 57, 46, N, 7, 27, 54, E, region:CH-BE_type:landmark_source:dewiki, display=title 1954 FIFA World Cup stadiums Defunct football venues in Switzerland Buildings and structures in Bern Sports venues in the Canton of Bern Defunct sports venues in Switzerland Sports venues completed in 1925 1925 establishments in Switzerland Sports venues demolished in 2001 Demolished buildings and structures in Switzerland

History

1954 FIFA World Cup

See also

References

External links