Hertha Berlin Fanzone: Getting to know Germany's top-flight capital club

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Although not the only football club in Germany's capital city, Hertha Berlin have enjoyed arguably the greatest success, so let bundesliga.com give you a lowdown on the Old Lady.

History

Hertha can trace their history back to 1892, their name and blue-white colours coming from a steamship taken by one of the new club’s founding members. The beginning was tough for the then BFC Hertha 92, where membership numbers once fell as low as four, but they did create history in 1910 against Southend United as they became the first continental European club to beat a semi-professional English team.

The club recovered well from both World Wars, and by the 1950s was one of the dominant teams in the Berlin Oberliga. Their title in 1962/63 ensured they were Berlin’s representative in the newly formed Bundesliga and saw them move to their new home at the Olympiastadion. Their first Bundesliga stay lasted only two years though as they were relegated for a bribery scandal. The 70s saw prolonged top-flight success with three third-place finishes and a second place in 1974/75. The 80s was a decade of yo-yoing between the Bundesliga and third tier for the Old Lady.

- © gettyimages / Boris Strubel

The city

The capital of Germany, Berlin is the nation’s largest city and one of its most diverse. It therefore has a little something for all the 30+ million tourists who visit each year.

An icon of the city and Germany itself, the Brandenburg Gate is the place to have your selfie to make sure your friends know you were in Berlin. The 220 ft tall Siegesäule Victory Column sits opposite the iconic Reichstag (Germany’s parliament), while the 4.7-acre Holocaust Memorial is also nearby.

- © gettyimages / Franklin
- © gettyimages / Clemens Bilan