SV Lichtenberg
Encyclopedia
SV Lichtenberg 47 is a German association football club
from Berlin
. The footballers are part of a larger sports club that currently has over 900 members in departments for bowling
, boxing
, fitness
and aerobics
, gymnastics, line dancing, table tennis, and volleyball.
East Berlin
. It was one of several sides from the district of Lichtenberg
that were brought together in 1947 to form Sportgemeinschaft Lichtenberg 47. The team would play as Sport Club Lichtenberg from 1949 to 1969 when SC merged with the worker's club Betriebssportgemeinschaft
Elektroproject und Anlagebau Berlin to form BSG EAB Lichtenberg. In 1979 the association was renamed BSG EAB Berlin 47.
The club spent over four decades as an elevator side that moved frequently up and down between the second and third tiers of East German football with only a single season (1950–51) in the top-flight to its credit.
After German reunification
in 1990 and the subsequent merger of the football leagues of the two Germanys, the club adopted the name Sportverein Lichtenberg and took up play in the Amateur Oberliga Nordost-Mitte (III). A poor season saw the team relegated to the Verbandsliga Berlin (IV) and by the mid-1990s they had descended to the Landesliga Berlin (VI). SV Lichtenberg 47 recovered itself in the latter half of the decade and in 2001 captured the championship in what was now the fifth tier Verbandsliga Berlin. The team spent four seasons in the Oberliga Nordost-Nord (IV) until returning in 2005 to the Berlin-Liga, where they still play today.
Named after Hans Zoschke, an athlete and communist resistance fighter who died at the hands of the Nazi regime in 1944, the stadium was adjacent to the headquarters of the Stasi
, East Germany's state police. Local lore has it that Stasi boss Erich Mielke
ordered the building torn down after witnessing the close defeat of his pet club, Berliner FC Dynamo
, from an office window. The building was saved when Zoschke's widow Elfried appealed to Communist party boss Erich Honecker
.
Football in Germany
Association football is the most popular sport in Germany. The German Football Association is the sport's national governing body, with 6.6 million members organized in over 26,000 football clubs. There is a league system, with the 1. and 2. Bundesliga on top, and the winner of the first...
from Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. The footballers are part of a larger sports club that currently has over 900 members in departments for bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
, boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, fitness
Physical fitness
Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...
and aerobics
Aerobics
Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness...
, gymnastics, line dancing, table tennis, and volleyball.
History
The club was established in 1945 as Sportgruppe Lichtenberg-Nord in Russian-occupiedAllied Occupation Zones in Germany
The Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during 1945–49. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, US forces had pushed beyond the previously agreed boundaries for the...
East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
. It was one of several sides from the district of Lichtenberg
Lichtenberg
Lichtenberg is the eleventh borough of Berlin, Germany. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it absorbed the former borough of Hohenschönhausen.-Overview:...
that were brought together in 1947 to form Sportgemeinschaft Lichtenberg 47. The team would play as Sport Club Lichtenberg from 1949 to 1969 when SC merged with the worker's club Betriebssportgemeinschaft
Betriebssportgemeinschaft (GDR)
A Betriebssportgemeinschaft was an organizational form of sports clubs in East Germany.After World War II, the Allied Control Commission had dissolved all existing sports structures, including the dissolution of all existing sports clubs on the basis of directive 23, dated 17 December 1945. This...
Elektroproject und Anlagebau Berlin to form BSG EAB Lichtenberg. In 1979 the association was renamed BSG EAB Berlin 47.
The club spent over four decades as an elevator side that moved frequently up and down between the second and third tiers of East German football with only a single season (1950–51) in the top-flight to its credit.
After German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
in 1990 and the subsequent merger of the football leagues of the two Germanys, the club adopted the name Sportverein Lichtenberg and took up play in the Amateur Oberliga Nordost-Mitte (III). A poor season saw the team relegated to the Verbandsliga Berlin (IV) and by the mid-1990s they had descended to the Landesliga Berlin (VI). SV Lichtenberg 47 recovered itself in the latter half of the decade and in 2001 captured the championship in what was now the fifth tier Verbandsliga Berlin. The team spent four seasons in the Oberliga Nordost-Nord (IV) until returning in 2005 to the Berlin-Liga, where they still play today.
Stadium
SV Lichtenberg 47 play their home matches in the Hans-Zoschke-Stadion which has a capacity of 10,000 (1,000 seats). It was built in 1951 on the site of the old Sportplatz Normannenstraße which had a capacity of 18,000.Named after Hans Zoschke, an athlete and communist resistance fighter who died at the hands of the Nazi regime in 1944, the stadium was adjacent to the headquarters of the Stasi
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (abbreviation , literally State Security), was the official state security service of East Germany. The MfS was headquartered...
, East Germany's state police. Local lore has it that Stasi boss Erich Mielke
Erich Mielke
Erich Fritz Emil Mielke was a German communist politician and Minister of State Security—and as such head of the Stasi —of the German Democratic Republic between 1957 and 1989. Mielke spent more than a decade as an operative of the NKVD during the rule of Joseph Stalin...
ordered the building torn down after witnessing the close defeat of his pet club, Berliner FC Dynamo
Berliner FC Dynamo
Berliner FC Dynamo is a German association football club and is the successor organization to the club that played in East Berlin as Dynamo Berlin from 1953 to 1966.-Founding and Stasi patronage:...
, from an office window. The building was saved when Zoschke's widow Elfried appealed to Communist party boss Erich Honecker
Erich Honecker
Erich Honecker was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic as General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1971 until 1989, serving as Head of State as well from Willi Stoph's relinquishment of that post in 1976....
.
Honours
- 1. Klasse Berlin (III) champions: 1948
- Kreisliga Berlin (III) champions: 1950
- Bezirksliga Berlin (III East Germany) champions (8): 1955, 1964, 1970, 1971, 1981, 1983, 1990, 1991
- Landesliga Berlin (VI) champions: 1996
- Verbandsliga Berlin (V) champions: 2001