Grolsch Veste

The Grolsche Veste may not be located in the most beautiful surroundings with industrial buildings and offices, but despite it being relatively new (1998), it is a magnificent football temple. In particular because of the asymmetrical stands. Three stands have an additional tier on top. The higher stand behind the goal is home to the most fanatical fans who always manage to create a great atmosphere in the ‘Veste’. The stadium is always well-filled and loud, even when they played in the second division.

Next to the main entrance, you will find the statues of former goalkeeper Sander Boschker and striker Blaise Nkufo. Boschker’s statue marks the cup win in 2001, a year after Enschede’s devastating firework disaster. It was the first time the hurt city had something to celebrate again.

The Swiss striker Nkufo played for FC Twente for seven years and even though he could not say a single Dutch word, he was seen as one of their own. His statue lifts the championship trophy of 2010.

If you walk around the stadium you will also find the supporters’ home of the fanatical fans of Vak P and murals of other heroes of Twente such as Kick van der Vall and Wout Brama.

Where were you on the 7^th of July 2011 at 11:54? The people from Enschede will know, because it is the day that part of the stadium’s roof collapsed and the construction workers Peter Burgers and Dave Nijkamp died.

On the monument, which is placed on the side of the Grolsch Veste where the disaster took place, you can read the text ‘Ineens was het stil’ (suddenly it was silent), including the date and exact time. On the pillars, you will find the names of Burgers and Nijkamp whose deaths are remembered every year.

Those who believe that FC Twente was born out of love are wrong. Merging with their arch-rival Sportclub Enschede was the last thing that the Enschedese Boys wanted to do, but they knew it was their only option to survive. On the 13th of April 1965, the Boys got together in Café Vrieler on the Brinkstraat to take a vote. The unimaginable happened and all of them agreed to merge. The pub still has a lot of love for FC Twente, with memorabilia all over the facade and enthusiastic fans who watch the matches on big screens.

A wall of stone on the J.J. van Deinselaan is all that remains of the former Diekman Stadium. People from the region all came to the stadium, which was built from concrete and stone, to firstly support Sportclub Enschede and then FC Twente from 1965 until the stadium was demolished in 1998. The pensioners who are drinking their daily cup of coffee in the canteen of Sportclub Enschede can tell you the most beautiful stories.

In the hall of the canteen, you will see posters of illustrious games, such as the one against Santos in 1959. It was one of the only times that Pelé played in The Netherlands. The boardroom is basically a tiny museum.

The old scoreboard from Diekman still looks over the pitch of Sportclub. They also brought the stand with its brown seats from the former stadium.

EFC PW on the Teimeister 9 is the oldest, still existing, football club from the Netherlands and played its home matches on the same pitches as Sportclub. In the old tiny building, you will find beautiful pictures from the past.

Café de Toekomst on the Toekomststraat in Enschede is the place where the supporters of the fan club Bagpipe get together before the home games of FC Twente.