The FV 1897 Linden is a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 club from Hanover

Hanover

Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...

. As well as rugby, the club also offers other sports, such as American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 and gymnastics

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...

.

The club has four German rugby union championship

German rugby union championship

The German rugby union championship was established in 1909 and has since been played, with exceptions, annually. It is the highest competition in Germany in the sport of Rugby Union.-Men:...

s to its name, won in 1932, 1937, 1940 and 1978 but has not appeared in a championship final since 1980.

In recent seasons, the club has not fielded a team in competitive senior rugby.

History

FV 1897 Linden was formed on 2 September 1897 as a football club. In March 1898, the club then switched codes and adopted rugby as its sport instead but retained its name Fussball Verein.

FV made its first trip to a German championship final in 1932, defeating RG Heidelberg

RG Heidelberg

The RG Heidelberg is a German rugby union club from Heidelberg, currently playing in the Rugby-Bundesliga. Apart from rugby, the club also offers the sport of rowing.-History:The club was formed on 4 June 1898 as a rowing club...

 6-5. It lost the 1934 final to fellow Hanover club VfR Döhren

VfR Döhren

The VfR Döhren is a German rugby union club from Hanover, playing in the Regionalliga North, the third tier of rugby in Germany. It plays in partnership with SV Odin Hannover, as SG SV Odin/VfR Döhren....

 before winning its second title, again beating RG Heidelberg, in 1937.

A third championship was won in 1940, during the Second World War, when Eintracht Frankfurt Rugby

Eintracht Frankfurt Rugby

The Eintracht Frankfurt Rugby is a German rugby union club from Frankfurt am Main, currently playing in the 3rd Liga South/West, the third tier of rugby in Germany...

 was defeated 19-6.

It took the club 38 years to appear in another final, when, in 1978, TSV Handschuhsheim

TSV Handschuhsheim

The TSV Handschuhsheim is a German rugby union club from Heidelberg, currently playing in the Rugby-Bundesliga. Apart from rugby, the club also offers other sports like association football, handball and tennis.-History:...

 was beaten 24-16 and FV's fourth and so far last championship was won. It made one more finals appearance, in 1980, but this time RG Heidelberg triumphed 16-10. In between those two finals, it appeared in the 1979 German rugby union cup

German rugby union cup

The German rugby union cup is the premier cup competition for men in the sport of Rugby Union in Germany.In October 2009, it was proposed to discontinue both men's cup competitions after 2010, meaning, both the DRV-Pokal and the league cup will not be played anymore after this season...

 final, where it lost to DSV 78 Hannover.

The club has since disappeared from the Rugby-Bundesliga

Rugby-Bundesliga

The Rugby-Bundesliga is the highest level of Germany's rugby union league system, organised by the German Rugby Federation.The league is predominantly amateur, with only two of the ten clubs in the league being professional outfits,the SC 1880 Frankfurt and Heidelberger RK.-History:The German rugby...

 and not fielded a side in competitive senior rugby, but continues to be listed as a member of the Lower Saxony Rugby Federation.

Club honours

• German rugby union championship
  German rugby union championship
  The German rugby union championship was established in 1909 and has since been played, with exceptions, annually. It is the highest competition in Germany in the sport of Rugby Union.-Men:...
  
  
  • Champions: 1932, 1937, 1940, 1978
  • Runners up: 1934, 1980

• German rugby union cup
  German rugby union cup
  The German rugby union cup is the premier cup competition for men in the sport of Rugby Union in Germany.In October 2009, it was proposed to discontinue both men's cup competitions after 2010, meaning, both the DRV-Pokal and the league cup will not be played anymore after this season...
  
  
  • Runners up: 1979