Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion

Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion is a stadium in Dresden, Saxony, Germany. It is named after athlete Rudolf Harbig and is the current home of Dynamo Dresden. It also hosts fixtures of the German national team on an irregular basis since 1911. The stadium also hosts events outside association football, most notably as the home of the Dresden Monarchs American football team that play in the German Football League. Sports facilities have existed on the site of the stadium, the Güntzwiesen, since 1874.

Beginnings
The land on which the stadium sits today formed part of what was then called the English district of Dresden, an affluent area home to the city's bourgeoisie and nobility. For more than 110 years, the venue included a flat velodrome, tennis, cricket and finally a footbalal pitch. In the 1870s, during the administration of the park by the "Verein für Volkssport Dresden", the newly established Dresden English Football Club (D.E.F.C.) began playing its first matches in the area. D.E.F.C. were Germany's first football club, arguably the first football club established outside of Great Britain, and thus likely making the area the first in which Cambridge rules football was played in Germany, meaning the park is of great significance to German football. here starts on the same known ground for competitors which flung the leather ball into the net, "With naked legs!". Until 10 March 1894, a game was never lost (during 20 years record period), without somebody not conceding a goal. Some of the first soccer players were: Beb (Captain), Burchard, Graham, Crossley, Spencer, Atkins, Ravenscraft, Johnson, Le Maistre, Luxmoore and Young. The president of the club and venue was the Anglican Rev. Bowden. He came from the neighborhood and later by Socialist Unity Party of Germany's blasted All Saints Church. In addition here was the fathoming of the youth football, what it takes to turn into – invincible versus other clubs. In 1883, the venue at "Güntzwiesen" was in first time recorded in public interests of organized gymnastics federations. In 1885 the VI. German Gymnastics Festival (transl.: Deutsches Turnfest) took place, with 20,000 participants and 270,000 marching athletes from the today known Deutscher Turnerbund. Later in 1896, the city of Dresden has been purchased additional surrounded land to setting it up into a proportional manner of living standards. The ground of this constructed stadium was a part of about 8 courts, which every citizen of Dresden could use for free. The surface spread over 70,000 m2. So far the complete area has been well-kept by gardeners. Every few years the area has been advanced in small ways. For a long time the Georg-Arnold-Bath has been an unknown part of the stadium. A 5m diving platform with extra 60m stands for swimming competitions existed. It was to be demolished in World War II again. Costs conducting oneself for all about 36,000 RM, to the extent of stronger money value. The new successor was the Dresdensia FC.

Before creation of tribunes, would it come nearly for a time of big fountains, but still when the German Imperium lost World War I and the town hall had only liabilities, because o fpaying reparations. So it came the time of the noble donator, by an agent. He would be a patron of the new stadium. In 1922, on 21 December, workers laid the foundation stone. A quarter year later, the modern, up-to-date stadium had more than 24,000 admissions, including 300 seats and sheltered places. In opposite of the VIP today. The suites have been located towards the south side, before including a field for parades of the inside through the north side. Completed on 16 June 1923, a stadium in total amount of 500,000 German reichsmarks allocated for the expansion to Ilgen-Kampfbahn centrally located at inner city. As recently as 1937, it had been named after the Freemason, Saxon royalist and inventor of the rat poison: Friedrich Hermann Ilgen (1856–1940), before the English and Americans went to other ways. After everything else exists a spoken opening poem by himself for the youth: The following provides the lyrics of the "Ilgen address" as written by himself. Only one verse is currently known at the archive of the city of Dresden rather entry of the former main entry nearly Hygienemuseum:

Three years later (1926), the Georg-Arnhold-Bad was opened, named after Londoner, New Yorker stockbroker and Jewish industry banker Georg Arnhold, who gave 250,000 Reichsmark.

Third Reich
Since the Nazis took power over Germany, a competition of Nazi architecture builders such as Wilhelm Kreis (architect of the Monument to the Battle of the Nations) and Paul Wolf was breaking out. Both want to create a new world imperial "Saxon Gauforum" of Dresden. So completed buildings are only the Imperial Ministry for Food and Agrarian Economics of Gau Saxony, German Air Force Academy Dresden-Klotzsche, Carusufer and Königsufer, Knabenberufschule, Autobahn Bridge, Dresden German Air Force Command (Dresden) and the Hygiene Museum, handily in the city center. The main part should turn into a with 40,000 seats equipped Saxon Hall, in ensemble for the Adolf Hitler square in front, due to the fact that the stadium has been also created for troops parades of the Saxon Reichswehr until World War I, before. If the complex would have ever finished, main segments of the forum had get chiefly the management houses of the NSDAP, the German Hygiene Museum, Hall and the Bell Tower. It would outclass the baroque part of Dresden, if ever finished, but this was underlined as mad. Also the sense was to give propaganda for make war for citizens of Dresden, they had to imagine the triumphatic symbol for a heroic future. Models in instance were the Gauforum in Weimar, Frankfurt Oder, Augsburg, Hanover and Bochum and in future it should stand in every Gau of the Third Reich. The style corresponded to Bauhaus – neoclassicism with monumental dimensions in order. The first three positions of 277 of elaborated designs were won Western Germans, but they lose the architecture competition because of none presently membership of the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. Prof. Wilhelm Kreis was following and advised personal of Adolf Hitler. The canceled winners were: Centre should be a parade square in measures of 75,000m², in favor of 120,000 peoples stage-managing. The Gauhaus (210 x 190 m) as well as Sachsenhalle (140 x 220 m) should both on the whole surround 80,000 seats, of militarised fellowship for celebration enslavemented poor peoples. In normal, contemporary ideas of those German guide: "... in der klaren, geraden und wuchtigen Architektur, die der Ausdruck unserer Zeit und unseres Lebensgefühls ist.". (transl.: ... in clearly straight line and shattering architecture, which is the expression of our time and our livestyle.) The suggestion of the area made Prof. Paul Wolf (Building mayor of Dresden). The area had stabile ground and was undeveloped. City mayor Ernst Zörner and Paul Wolf proposed for the institute for eugenics and German Society for Racial Hygiene. Before the roadworks closed down, has been started the Invasion of Poland and thereby joined arms production. The occasion in another contemplation is the fulfillment of the dictators promise to create jobs and decrease a high number of unemployed human resources. After the law of new conception of German towns ("Gesetz zur Neugestaltung deutscher Städte"). Martin Hammitzsch has overtaken the new department for implementations in construction relations named "Durchführungsstelle". Hitler's Brother-in-law, secretary of the Interior of Reichsgau Saxony with master of Construction Worker School Dresden, 1940. He builds the tobacco mosque Yenidze of Dresden, in 1907–09. Born in 1878 – suicide: 1945, the project Gauforum was failed. In 1939, however the groundbreaking completed for the hall. From 1933 to 1945 the stadium was in use of Nazi organisations mainly National Socialist League of the Reich for Physical Exercise, Hitler Youth, League of German Maidens, military organisations like Wehrmacht, SA and SS, which is taboo and also not reclaimed until today. On Dresden Bombing, the meeting hall and traverses with the pool at the oval were dropped full of bombs by Royal Air Force and US Air Force. On renovation, the workers found an explosive bomb directly located under bench and players entry. A bomb defuser worked successfully one an hour before. Before the bombing, two battalions of the People's assault Dresden met here for her swearing, on 5 November 1944, at 9 o'clock in the morning, with men aged 16 to 60 years. The reason was simply the assault by the Soviet 1st Guards Tank Army with 13th Guards Rifle Division. Otto Dix, an artist from the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts served from time to time in there, but he went into the West and was captured of the Armée de terre, notwithstanding that his work was degenerate art for Nazis and he received a labor ban. The poem by Ilgen and sobriquet Kampfbahn (fighting drome) obtaining complemental so for new bloody definitions of war.
 * 1. Pos.: A. M. Schmidt (Stuttgart)
 * 2. Pos.: H. A. Schaefer (Berlin)
 * Purchase:(1) Hans Heuser and Helmut Hentrich (Düsseldorf)
 * (2) Leiterer & Wünsche
 * (3) Richard Steidle (München)
 * (4) Hans Richter (Dresden)
 * G. Zielger (Kaiserslautern)
 * H. Freese (Dresden)
 * Hans Hopp (East Prussia)

East Germany
In 1953, the Sportvereinigung Dynamo took over the stadium. It bore Rudolf Harbig's name on 23 September. Three years later, the pitch was re-sodded.

On 1 October 1966, a new stand was built. The stadium hosted a match between Dynamo and Rangers F.C. the following year.

In 1971, the stadium was renamed "Dynamo-Stadion" and on 15 September of that same year, it welcomed another stand on the west side, raising its capacity to 36,000, which was further increased to 38,500 in 1980.

Into the 21st century
In 1992, the stadium, under the control of the city of Dresden in order to protect the site should Dynamo Dresden ever face financial problems, was given a DM 375,000 renovation package, raising it to international standards. On 9 May 2007, German sports magazine kicker reported that an agreement has been reached with the city to finance another complete renovation of the stadium by 2009. The stadium in its new form, with 32,400 seats, was opened on 15 September 2009. A sold-out friendly match against FC Schalke 04, which Dynamo lost 1–2, was played for this occasion.

In December 2010, the stadium's naming rights were sold for 5 years to Bavaria-based energy company Goldgas under its Glücksgas brandname.

2011 Women's World Cup
On 30 September 2008, it was announced that Dresden had been chosen to be a host city for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. For this reason, the stadium underwent a complete rebuild. The ceremonial "first kickoff" in the newly-rebuilt stadium was taken by the director of the German organizing committee for the World Cup, Steffi Jones.

The director of the local Dresden organizing committee for the World Cup was Klaus Reichenbach, then president of the Saxony Football Federation (Sächsischer Fußball-Verband, SFV).

Statistics

 * Area: 72,000m²
 * Stadium: 190m x 150m x 32m (912,000m3)
 * Playing field: 105m x 68m (7140m2)
 * Capacity: 32,085
 * Distance from top seat: 89m
 * Underfloor field heating: 25,000 m small water tube made in elastic plastic -must start 6 days before with 180,000 Euro costs
 * Arched roof: 19,400m² (7,500,000 Euro) with 14,600m² Soprema slide
 * Concrete: 2500m³ = 333 In-transit mixers

Maps or cards about

 * Technische Universität Dresden: Map of the Rudolf Harbig Stadium Dresden. – Dresden: Institute for Cartographics, 1997; SLUB OPAC