Fortuna Babelsberg
Encyclopedia
Fortuna Babelsberg is a German football club
from the south-eastern part of the city (Am Stern) of Potsdam
in Brandenburg
. A former East German side, they currently play in the Landesliga
Brandenburg-Nord, the 7th tier of the German football league system
.
eastern half of the country. Sportgruppe Babelsberg was formed in 1946 out of the former memberships of VfL and SpVgg Potsdam
. The Potsdamers established a separate side known as SG Karl Marx Babelsberg in 1948. SG Babelsberg then went on to capture a division title in the Landesliga Brandenburg-West in 1949. On 11 July that year SG became part of Betriebbsportgemeinschaft Märkische Volksstimme Babelsberg which was itself formed only months earlier on 26 May 1949. The new club joined the top-flight eastern competition known as the DDR-Oberliga
for the 1949–50 season.
Sport in the German Democratic Republic (Deutsche Demokratische Republik, DDR; commonly East Germany) was subject to manipulation for political purposes, and like other football clubs there, the team would undergo a number of name changes and restructurings. On 30 October 1950 the team was renamed BSG Rotation Babelsberg and affiliated with the country's printing and publishing sector. In 1952, the club merged with BSG Rotation Babelsberg-Ost which had originally played as SG Kinostudio Babelsberg. Through most of the 50s Rotation remained in upper tier play where they earned mid-to-lower table results.
The 1950–51 season was marked by the outstanding individual performance of Johannes Schöne who scored 37 goals, a DDR-Oberliga record that was never broken. Three Babelsberg players earned caps with the national side
in the course of the decade. The side made several appearances in FDGB Pokal
(East German Cup) tournament play, with their best result being an advance to the semifinals in 1951.
Babelsberg was relegated to the DDR-Liga
(II) in 1959 after a 14th place finish. In 1960 the club surrendered its place in the second tier to Sport-Club Potsdam, a side formed out of BSG. The remainder of the club was assigned to third division play in the 2. DDR-Liga as part of the parent club's second team squad, BSG Rotation Babelsberg II. The Potsdamer side played four seasons in the DDR-Liga before becoming part of BSG Motor Babelsberg after the 1964–65 season. Rotation languished in lower tier competition and on 3 May 1969 the team was renamed BSG DEFA Babelsberg.
in 1990 the club adopted the name SG Fortuna Babelsberg and in 1992 won promotion to the Landesliga Brandenburg (VI). Two years later they climbed into the state's highest play class, the Verbandsliga Brandenburg
(V), where they would compete for five seasons before being relegated, achieving a tenth place as its best result in the first two seasons.
In 2008–09, the team finished in 10th place in the Landesliga
.
in the southeast part of Potsdam. The stadium can seat more than 1,000 fans. Until 1986, the club played at the Karl-Liebknecht-Stadion.
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 the south-eastern part of the city (Am Stern) of Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
in Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
. A former East German side, they currently play in the Landesliga
Landesliga
The Landesliga is the 7th tier of football in most of Germany, one division below the Verbandsliga. In Bavaria, Sachsen, Thüringen, Bremen, Lower Saxony and Hamburg the Landesligas are set right below the Oberliga and therefore are the 6th tier...
Brandenburg-Nord, the 7th tier of the German football league system
German football league system
The German football league system, or league pyramid, refers to a series of hierarchically interconnected leagues for association football clubs in Germany that consists of over 2,300 men's divisions, in which all leagues are bound together by the principle of promotion and relegation...
.
History
The history of the club begins with the 1906 establishment of Concordia Babelsberg. The club was lost in 1933 when left-leaning worker's sports clubs were disbanded under the Third Reich. A side more politically palatable to the regime was formed in 1934 as VfL Eintracht 06 Babelsberg. This club was also in its turn lost in the aftermath of World War II when organizations across Germany, including sports and football associations, were dissolved by occupying Allied authorities.Play in East German competition
After the war a separate football competition emerged in the Soviet-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...
eastern half of the country. Sportgruppe Babelsberg was formed in 1946 out of the former memberships of VfL and SpVgg Potsdam
SpVgg Potsdam
SpVgg Potsdam was a German association football club from the city of Potsdam, Brandenburg. Founded in 1903 as Sportclub Jugendkraft Nowawes the club was active until the end of World War II when it was disbanded by occupying Allied authorities...
. The Potsdamers established a separate side known as SG Karl Marx Babelsberg in 1948. SG Babelsberg then went on to capture a division title in the Landesliga Brandenburg-West in 1949. On 11 July that year SG became part of Betriebbsportgemeinschaft Märkische Volksstimme Babelsberg which was itself formed only months earlier on 26 May 1949. The new club joined the top-flight eastern competition known as the DDR-Oberliga
DDR-Oberliga
The DDR-Oberliga was, prior to German reunification in 1990, the elite level of football competition in the DDR , being roughly equivalent to the Oberliga or Bundesliga in West Germany.-Overview:Following World...
for the 1949–50 season.
Sport in the German Democratic Republic (Deutsche Demokratische Republik, DDR; commonly East Germany) was subject to manipulation for political purposes, and like other football clubs there, the team would undergo a number of name changes and restructurings. On 30 October 1950 the team was renamed BSG Rotation Babelsberg and affiliated with the country's printing and publishing sector. In 1952, the club merged with BSG Rotation Babelsberg-Ost which had originally played as SG Kinostudio Babelsberg. Through most of the 50s Rotation remained in upper tier play where they earned mid-to-lower table results.
The 1950–51 season was marked by the outstanding individual performance of Johannes Schöne who scored 37 goals, a DDR-Oberliga record that was never broken. Three Babelsberg players earned caps with the national side
East Germany national football team
The East Germany national football team was from 1952 to 1990 the football team of East Germany, playing as one of three post-war German teams, along with Saarland and West Germany....
in the course of the decade. The side made several appearances in FDGB Pokal
FDGB Pokal
The FDGB-Pokal was an elimination football tournament held annually in the former East Germany. It was the second most important national title in East German football after the DDR-Oberliga championship...
(East German Cup) tournament play, with their best result being an advance to the semifinals in 1951.
Babelsberg was relegated to the DDR-Liga
DDR-Liga
The DDR-Liga was, prior to German reunification in 1990, the second level of football competition in the DDR , being roughly equivalent to the Bundesliga in West Germany.-1950-1955:The league was established with two divisions of ten teams each in 1950...
(II) in 1959 after a 14th place finish. In 1960 the club surrendered its place in the second tier to Sport-Club Potsdam, a side formed out of BSG. The remainder of the club was assigned to third division play in the 2. DDR-Liga as part of the parent club's second team squad, BSG Rotation Babelsberg II. The Potsdamer side played four seasons in the DDR-Liga before becoming part of BSG Motor Babelsberg after the 1964–65 season. Rotation languished in lower tier competition and on 3 May 1969 the team was renamed BSG DEFA Babelsberg.
Post unification
Following German reunificationGerman 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 the club adopted the name SG Fortuna Babelsberg and in 1992 won promotion to the Landesliga Brandenburg (VI). Two years later they climbed into the state's highest play class, the Verbandsliga Brandenburg
Verbandsliga Brandenburg
The Brandenburg-Liga is the highest league for football teams exclusively in the German state of Brandenburg. Since the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008, it is the sixth tier of the German football league system...
(V), where they would compete for five seasons before being relegated, achieving a tenth place as its best result in the first two seasons.
In 2008–09, the team finished in 10th place in the Landesliga
Landesliga
The Landesliga is the 7th tier of football in most of Germany, one division below the Verbandsliga. In Bavaria, Sachsen, Thüringen, Bremen, Lower Saxony and Hamburg the Landesligas are set right below the Oberliga and therefore are the 6th tier...
.
Stadium
Fortuna Babelsburg play their home games at Sportanlage Am SternSportanlage Am Stern
The Sportanlage Am Stern is a football stadium in the south-east of Potsdam, Germany.Fortuna Babelsberg play their home games here.- External links :*...
in the southeast part of Potsdam. The stadium can seat more than 1,000 fans. Until 1986, the club played at the Karl-Liebknecht-Stadion.