Berlin, Germany’s irrepressible capital, is home to one of the country’s most well-known stadiums. The Olympic Stadium stands tall above its surroundings, looming over the scattering of sports fields, car parks and woodland surrounding the ground.
Just a thirty-minute walk away, one of Berlin’s lesser-known stadiums is waiting to be discovered. This is the Mommsenstadion, hidden away on the northern fringes of the vast Grunewald forest.
About the Mommsenstadion
The Mommsenstadion is a multi-purpose stadium in the Westend area of Berlin. The stadium boasts an impressive athletics track, which surrounds a football pitch. The pitch is used for football and American football, with markings for both sports.
The capacity of the Mommsenstadion is 15,000, mostly comprised of standing terraces. There is a small, covered stand with seats on the western side of the stadium.
Who plays at the Mommsenstadion?
Mommsenstadion’s facilities are primarily shared between two of Berlin’s smaller football teams. The stadium is home to Tennis Borussia Berlin and SC Charlottenburg, and occasionally hosts other matches – such as Makkabi Berlin’s cup game against Wolfsburg in 2023.
In the past, the Mommsenstadion was used for football matches during the 1936 Summer Olympics. More recently, the German men’s team trained at the Mommsenstadion during the 2006 World Cup.
How to get to the Mommsenstadion from central Berlin
By public transport
The best way to get to Berlin’s Mommsenstadion is by public transport. From Berlin Hauptbahnhof, take the S9 or S3 to Messe Süd station. The journey takes 15 minutes.
From Messe Süd, it is a five-minute walk to the southwest entrance to Mommesenstadion. The route takes you along a pleasant path surrounded by trees, with the stadium eventually appearing ahead of you.
For a map of the walk from Messe Süd to Mommsenstadion, click here.
How to buy tickets for the S-Bahn: The easiest way to buy tickets for the S-Bahn is via the Deutsche Bahn app. You can also buy tickets via the machines at any train station in Berlin.
Whilst it is possible to travel to the Mommsenstadion by bus from central Berlin, we do not recommend it. The journey will be much longer and will likely involve changing buses.
By car
If you must travel by car, the journey from central Berlin to Mommsenstadion will take 20 to 25 minutes in good traffic. However, the trip could take much longer during busy periods. For environmental and convenience reasons, we recommend taking the S-Bahn.
There are several car parks near Mommsenstadion, including at Waldschulallee and Harbigstraße. Please note that these car parks aren’t big, and may fill up on busy days.
On foot
While walking to Mommsenstadion from central Berlin is possible, be prepared for a long journey. Mommsenstadion is 9 kilometres from Berlin Hauptbahnhof, located on central Berlin’s western edge. Therefore, you can expect the walk to take at least two hours – and substantially longer if you are setting off from further east.
The nicest walking route from Berlin Hauptbahnhof to Momsenstadion takes you through the beautiful Tiergarten Park. However, after you leave the park, you will be walking along busy roads the whole way.
By bike
It will take around 40 minutes to cycle from Berlin Hauptbahnhof to the Mommsenstadion. The most pleasant route takes you through Tiergarten Park and alongside the impressive Charlottenburg Palace.
Please note: Once you arrive at Mommsenstadion, there is no guarantee that you will find somewhere safe to leave your bike. Therefore, we still recommend the S-Bahn as the best way to get to the stadium from central Berlin.
The atmosphere at the Mommsenstadion
Roofless stadiums can often struggle to match the atmosphere of a fully enclosed ground – having a roof overhead is a great way to keep the noise “inside” the stadium.
However, the match I attended – Makkabi Berlin against Wolfsburg – was great fun. Wolfsburg fans were on top form, occupying a quarter of the stadium’s standing space. A pre-match show of smoke bombs and flares set the tone, with more pyro displays throughout the match.
The rest of the ground struggled to match the energy of Wolfsburg fans. This was not surprising, considering Makkabi Berlin is a far smaller team and many spectactors – like us – were visitors rather than supporters.
Truth be told, the charm of the Mommsenstadion is its old-school feel. The atmosphere, whilst important, is not the deal breaker. When you’re standing on a terrace with a group of friends, drinking a beer in the sun, you can’t ask for much more
Food and drink at the Mommsenstadion
There were a handful of food and drink stands at the stadium. Long queues formed for beer, whilst water was not available at every kiosk – not ideal on a hot summer day. A 0.4L cup of beer cost 4 euros, which isn’t bad for a football ground, where supporters are a captive audience.
Food options were limited to pizza and sausages, with a few vendors scattered around the ground.
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The best place to stand at the Mommsenstadion
We chose to stand underneath the seating area, near the halfway line. This gave a great view of most of the action, although the advertising boards meant we couldn’t see the ball if it came within a metre of two of the touchline nearest to us.
Midway through the second half, we decided to move to one of the terraces behind the goal. The view here, unsurprisingly, was not as good – the pitch felt quite far away. However, it was much quieter than the halfway line, which meant we could sit down and relax for the rest of the match.
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Places to eat and drink near the Mommsenstadion
The Mommsenstadion is relatively isolated. To the east, the vast Berlin Messe conference centre is a maze of buildings, most of which are closed or not accessible to the public. However, there are a handful of places to eat and drink in the nearby residential areas:
- Sarajevo Inn is a 20-minute walk from the Mommsenstadion and serves excellent Balkans cuisine.
- Restaurant Floh is a stone’s throw from Sarajevo Inn and has a menu packed with German classics – from schnitzel to currywurst.
- Rafih is a 15-minute walk from the stadium. The menu here is centred on pizza, which you can enjoy in their sun-soaked beer garden.
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Other Berlin football teams
Whilst Mommsenstadion is home to Tennis Borussia Berlin and SC Charlottenburg, and also hosted Makkabi Berlin, Germany’s capital boasts several other notable football teams. These include:
- Hertha Berlin, who play at the nearby Olympic Stadium.
- FC Union Berlin, who recently qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history and play at the wonderfully named Stadion An der Alten Försterei. In English, this roughly translates to Stadium at the old Forester’s lodge.
- Berliner FC Dynamo, who were founded in 1954 in old East Berlin.
- FC Viktoria 1889 Berlin, who play at the Lichterfelde Stadium – which has a very similar feel to the Mommsenstadion.
The Mommsenstadion: Conclusion
The Mommsenstadion is a no-frills, old-school football ground. The facilities are basic, and the views can be underwhelming. However, this is a stadium that has a surprisingly storied history and is a perfect throwback to a more authentic era of football.
If you’re spending a weekend in Berlin and fancy visiting one of the city’s more unusual football grounds, I highly recommend a trip to the Mommsenstadion.