Photos

The Zeppelin Field gained it's name after the landing of one of Count Zeppelin‘s airships in 1909 on the south east bank of Dutzendteich lake. In the 1920s, the City of Nuremberg created an expansive sports and leisure park there. It included the municipal stadium, the stadium baths, allotments, green spaces, and public sports grounds.

This is where the nazi party rallies were held from 1933 until 1938. Here mass parades were staged to assemble before the “Führer”, Adolf Hitler. These large scale events drew up to 100,000 people. The “Cathedral of Light” provided spectacular effects, when over 150 particularly strong floodlights beamed right up into the sky.

Hitler intended for the buildings at the Party Rally Grounds to stand for thousands of years, similar to the great cathedrals of the past. Four days after the fall of Nuremberg in April 1945, the US Army blew up the swastika which had been installed at the center of the Grandstand.

Since 1945, the Zeppelin Field has been used in various ways. In the first instance it served as a sports field and parade ground for the US Army up until their withdrawal. The annual Norisring car races are held here – one of Germany‘s most important motor sports events. The Zeppelin Field is still used as a venue for major rock and pop concerts.