EAST GERMANY: BSG Aufbau Stalinstadt (1956-1961) / BSG Aufbau Eisenhüttenstadt (1961-1990) / SG Aufbau Eisenhüttenstadt (1990-1995, 2000-2016) / VfB Eisenhüttenstadt (1995-2000) / FC Eisenhüttenstadt (B) (2016-)

Sportplatz Diehloer Strasse "Aufbau-Sportplatz", Eisenhüttenstadt (B ground of FC Eisenhüttenstadt, formerly BSG Aufbau Stalinstadt / BSG Aufbau Eisenhüttenstadt / SG Aufbau Eisenhüttenstadt / VfB Eisenhüttenstadt)

East Germany (former GDR / DDR), state: Brandenburg

September 2022 / no match visited

Timeline

• 1951 / Foundation of Betriebssportgemeinschaft (BSG) Aufbau Fürstenberg, the (recreational) multi-sports club of VEB (Volkseigenes Betrieb) Bau-Union Fürstenberg, the building company charged with the construction of the socialist model city Stalinstadt. From the start, BSG Aufbau Fürstenberg disposes of a football branch.
• 1953 / As the village of Fürstenberg is absorbed into the newly built town of Stalinstadt, BSG Aufbau Fürstenberg changes its name to become BSG Aufbau Stalinstadt.
• 1956 / BSG Aufbau Stalinstadt moves into its new ground at Diehloer Strasse, referred to as Sportplatz Diehloer Strasse or Aufbau-Sportplatz. The pitch is equipped with a gravel surface.
• 1961 / As a result of de-Stalinisation, which in the GDR was undertaken much later than in the Soviet Union, the town of Stalinstadt is renamed Eisenhüttenstadt - with BSG Aufbau Stalinstadt duly becoming BSG Aufbau Eisenhüttenstadt as a result.
• 1967 / The most striking feat in club history until that time, BSG Aufbau accedes to Bezirksliga Frankfurt (Oder) - Bezirksliga being the third tier in East Germany's football pyramid.
• 1974 / Winning Frankfurt an der Oder's Regional Cup or Bezirkspokal, BSG Aufbau automatically qualifies for the nationwide cup. In the first round, drawn against second divisionist BSG Motor Eberswalde, the club is defeated at home 1-0 A.E.T.
• 1983 / BSG Aufbau suffers relegation from Bezirksliga after having played 16 consecutive seasons at that level.
• 1984 / As the gravel pitch at Diehloer Strasse is replaced by grass, BSG Aufbau Eisenhüttenstadt temporarily moves its activities to the so-called Inselstadion, to the east of the town centre.
• 1986 / After an exile of two years at Inselstadion, BSG Aufbau finally returns to its home soil.
• 1987 / Winning the title in Bezirksklasse, the fourth tier in East Germany's league system, BSG Aufbau returns to Bezirksliga, holding its own at that level in the last for seasons of GDR's footballing history (1987-91).
• 1990 / Following the Peaceful Revolution in East Germany, BSG Aufbau Eisenhüttenstadt is refounded as an independent club, dropping the first letter of its name - thus becoming SG Aufbau Eisenhüttenstadt.
• 1991 / Integrated in the united Germany's football pyramid, SG Aufbau Eisenhüttenstadt qualifies for the Verbandsliga, at that time the fourth level of German football.
• 1995 / SG Aufbau Eisenhüttenstadt changes its name to become VfB (Verein für Bewegungsspiele) Eisenhüttenstadt. That same year, the club is relegated from the Verbandsliga, heralding a decade in which the club drops further down the league ladder.
• 2000 / The club reverts to its old name of SG Aufbau Eisenhüttenstadt.
• 2004 / After an absence of six seasons, SG Aufbau Eisenhüttenstadt is back in the Verbandsliga, by now the fifth division in German football; the club manages two seasons at this level before dropping down again.
• 2016 / SG Aufbau Eisenhüttenstadt ceases to exist as an independent club, as a merger is concluded with Eisenhüttenstadter FC Stahl, 1. FC Fürstenberg, and youth academy club Eisenhüttenstadt 2012. The newly founded merger club, given the name FC Eisenhüttenstadt, moves its first team football to Stahl's Stadion der Hüttenwerker. Aufbau's pitches at Diehloer Strasse remain in use for lower team football and training sessions. The name SG Aufbau Eisenhüttenstadt itself is preserved, as the club's branches for boxing, canoeing, and swimming continue do not follow in the merger and continue life under the same name as before.

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author