After our tour of Hamburger SV stadium at The Volksparkstadion, we headed quite literally over the road to check out their local rivals stadium. FC St Pauli.
St Pauli are known as a ‘punk’ club. A chorus of ‘Hell’s Bells’ by AC/DC plays before each home game and a flag bearing the skull and crossbones acts as an unofficial club logo. Every 10 paces in this part of Hamburg there is either a sticker or a piece of graffiti dedicated to the club.
It’s not always been an easy ride for St Pauli. The club spent years in the doldrums of German football before a rise up the leagues culminating in promotion to The Bundesliga in 2010.
However, since 2012, St Pauli have found their home to be The Bundesliga 2, the division just below The Bundesliga top division. A slice of satisfaction came the way of St Pauli when last season rivals Hamburger SV were relegated to The Bundesliga 2.
The Millerntor Stadion is a world away from the plush relatively new arena that Hamburger SV play their games in. A rugged no-nonsense old school stadium covered in punk slogans and graffiti is how they like it here.
A deceptively large stadium at 29,546 capacity, The Millerntor can be a raucous melting pot of noise on a matchday. Our visit coincided with the league’s annual winter break so no football was taking place sadly.
There is a museum just beside the stadium and also a club shop for a souvenir of your trip to FC St Pauli. Typically match tickets cost as low as €12.50, depending on the opposition, with stadium tour tickets a modest €9.50 for a more in-depth look around.
We were really impressed by the unique look of a stadium true to its roots. The community here in St Pauli are a cool, laid back bunch who love a game of footy and a decent soundtrack to go with it. We must come back for a game.
Nearest U-bahn Station: St Pauli
Website: www.fcstpauli.com
Hamburg 😍 My favourite city in Germany. Glad to see some Kiez history here
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It’s fast becoming our favourite city, it’s got so much to it! Loved stopping by at The Millerntor Stadion, we must go to a St Pauli game sometime.
You had me worried when you said just across the road from Hamburg’s stadium because I walked as far as St Pauli’s. It’s not quite as close as you had me worrying.
Sadly I visited a week too late and missed the chance to see a game too. Definitely somewhere I want to go back and watch a game.
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You definitely have to catch a game, the atmosphere there is said to be electric!