The memories of the lovely football nights in the old stadium will be kept alive in Freiburg, in the deep south of Germany, in the heart of the Black Forest. We hope that the great atmosphere will remain in the new Europa-Park Stadion, which opened in October 2021.
Because of the covid pandemic, the opening of the new stadium was postponed several times but in October 2021 the day was finally there. SC Freiburg moved from the east of the city back to the west, to a brand-new stadium, right next to the airstrip of Freiburg's small airport. Europa-Park can hold 34,700 fans. From the outside, it seems like the roof is carried by a zigzagging spiral which surrounds the stadium. From the inside, the design isn't revolutionary and quite squared, but the crest and name of the club are beautifully displayed on the seats.
The stadium where SC Freiburg played until 2021 had something special. The Schwarzwald-Stadion didn't have a beautiful design, but the location was. In a greener part of Freiburg, next to a babbling river, between the coniferous hills of the Black Forest. From the stadium, you had a wonderful view of the surrounding nature because of the low stands.
Unfortunately, SC Freiburg won't play here anymore, but the good news is that the stadium has been preserved and has become the second team's home stadium.
The big loser of SC Freiburg's move is this restaurant on the Schwarzwaldstraße. Before and after every home game, this was the place for a nice pint and a good schnitzel, for home and away fans.
The Möslestadion is close to the Schwarzwald-Stadion, and if possible, in an even more beautiful location in nature. It's the former home of Freiburger FC, for years the city's biggest club. They even became German champions in 1907. Around the turn of the century SC Freiburg took over the stadium of the struggling FFC, and since then the youth and the second team played their matches here. The Möslestadion has a nice old main stand with terracing and is definitely worth a visit.
Walk from the train station of Freiburg straight ahead into the Eisenbahnstraße, where after two minutes you'll find Café Melange on the right, a coffee bar without seating. Here you can easily bump into the man with the most famous haircut in Germany: Joachim Löw. The former manager of the German national team is a man of the region and used to play at SC Freiburg too, back in the 1980s. He often drops by for a quick coffee in Café Melange.
The Rathausplatz was the decor of a giant party in 1993 when SC Freiburg was promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time. The players of manager Volker Finke - who remained in office for 16 years - appeared on the balcony of the town hall, something which is unthinkable these days since SC Freiburg has outgrown the narrow Rathausplatz.
You can buy tickets on SC Freiburg's official website. The old stadium was a little smaller and was usually sold out, but it is a bit easier to get tickets in the Europa-Park Stadion.
The accessibility of SC Freiburg has improved since their move. Within ten minutes you'll reach the stadium from the A5 motorway. Around the stadium, there are a lot of car parks for which you can reserve a ticket online. Another option is parking at the Messe, the trade fair of Freiburg. Here you can leave your car for ten euros on match days. From here it's a 15-minute walk from the Europa-Park Stadion.
The public transport is well organized too. With the S-Bahn, it only takes three minutes from Freiburg Hauptbahnhof to Messe/Universität which is a ten-minute walk away from the stadium. You can also take Tram 4, which takes a little bit longer, but if you get off at the tram station Stadion, the walk is shorter. With your match ticket, you can travel by public transport in Freiburg for free before and after the match.
Images: BSR Agency, Shutterstock
