35 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Ore Mountains still struggle with the upheavals of the turn – like many regions in the east. Little of what was good and important in GDR times has remained the proud mining region. Wouldn’t it be football. The podcast “The shaft – football. Culture. Erzgebirge.” told in four episodes of the Erzgebirgische (football) identity and how the club in the region has become so important.
The Erzgebirge is part of Europe’s Cultural Central Region 2025. But the cultural identity of this region and its humans are in transition. As in many regions in the east, the transformations of the past 35 years are still clearly noticeable.
With the end of the GDR, the mining, which has shaped the Ore Mountains for centuries, also stood in front of that – and many miners before nothing. Traditional craftsmanship also has to reinvent itself. There are also great worries about the demographic change. Ex-Bergmann and mountain guide Wolfgang Zais: “The Erzgebirge tradition, which is very important. It seems to be lost.”
But the Erzgebirgs culture lives: When the pitch bell strikes in the stadium at FC Erzgebirge Aue, the swibbogen is emblazoned above the fan shop and thousands roaring the climbing song, prevailing and cohesion. The cultural history of the region is closely interwoven with football culture. It seems as narrow as in any other place.
Erzgebirge Aue and the East German Stadium identity
The podcast “The shaft – football. Culture. Erzgebirge.“ Immerse yourself in the Erzgebirge identity/culture and shows how football is interwoven with it. How has the club become so important for the people in the region?
For years, FC Erzgebirge Aue plays in the 2nd Bundesliga. The traditional club looks back on a glorious story that is still celebrated in the ranks today. It is not for nothing that the fans still speak of their “BSG Wismut Aue”, as the club was called in GDR times.
Martin Mänsel, goalkeeper and record player at FC Erzgebirge Aue: “People are there to see honest football and hard work.” But football in the Ore Mountains also faces major challenges: the provincial association wants to exist in modern professional sports and at the same time preserve its tradition and identity.
In four episodes, the makers of the podcast speak to people from the region, club legends and fans. The meetings raise social issues, the relevance of which extends far beyond football culture and mining tradition.
Episode overview
Episode 1: “Welcome to the shaft”
A region in upheaval and a football club between the province and professional sports: tradition and football are inseparable in the Ore Mountains. But how did this special connection developed?
Episode 2: “The new football power”
A provincial association that is involved in professional sports. How did the FC Erzgebirge Aue do it? And what does that have to do with its history as a GDR company sports community Wismut Aue? Club legends provide answers.
Episode 3: “With success infected”
Revolution in the Ore Mountains: A controversial twin couple successfully guides the fortunes of FC Erzgebirge Aue for 30 years. The two self-made millionaires are revered for a long time, but then there is a big bang.
Episode 4: “Who is bismuth Aue?”
Modern football or tradition? A dilemma, also for the fans in the Ore Mountains. They fight for their values. But who has power in the shaft? And is it really harder in East German stadiums than in the West?
“The shaft – football. Culture. Erzgebirge.” is produced in cooperation with the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR) and the Leipzig production company “Zimmer & Zirk”. The host of the podcast is Gregor Ryl, TV and Comedy author and Podcaster.
The four episodes are now In the ARD audio available.
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