Bruno-Plache Stadion - 1. Lokomotive Leipzig
- Chris Tuck
- 20 hours ago
- 5 min read
Photos by Chris Tuck, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 4.14
Bruno-Plache Stadion Connewitzer Straße 21
04289 Leipzig - Lößnig, Germany
Year Opened: 1922 Capacity: 15,600 (currently capped at 7,000)
Lokomotive Leipzig
From victory over Napoleon to the peaceful overthrow of the oppressive DDR regime, Leipzig has earned its nickname, the city of heroes. The number one football team in the city, Lokomotive Leipzig, has several heroes of their own.
Whether it’s their fans who in perilous times would never let their club die, or Uwe Zötzsche, 3 three-time GDR cup winner whose bloodied head injury didn’t stop him scoring a penalty that booked Lok a place in the 1986/87 UEFA Cup Winners Cup Final.
Whilst the semi-final v Bordeaux that season was played at the main centraalstadion in Leipzig (100,000 said to be in attendance), home for Lok is ‘Das Bruno’ four miles south east of the city centre.
On a damp evening, alongside over 5000 die-hard fans, stadium journey witnessed a feisty 1-0 win over Babelsburg in the Regionalliga Nordost (4th tier) to keep Lok at the top of the table.
The stadium, built in 1920, has seen far better days; no ultra-modern facilities like the ‘new club’ in Zentrum-West Leipzig here. The main stand, however, is a thing of beauty, and who needs prawn sandwiches when you can stand in the rain for 90 minutes, singing praise to your footballing heroes?
Food & Beverage 4
Numerous food stalls can be found as soon as you enter the main turnstiles on Connewitzer Strasse. Ur-Krostitzer is the local beer, costing €4. Currywurst is €5 (€7 with pommes) and bratwurst is €3.50. You can also buy crepe sweets and soft drinks.
Atmosphere 5
The police vans and chanting fans offer a jolting juxtaposition to the large, wealthy homesteads and open fields in the immediate vicinity of the ground. As is often the case, the first thing you will spot is four floodlight poles reaching high into the night sky.
Once through the main block of turnstiles, the Fankurve, reserved for ultras, is the first entrance you see; it’s the northernmost section, behind one of the goals. To the right is the family area, to the left, the Nordostkurve sweeps round to the halfway line, a popular spot for supporters. Away fans are placed far from the action in the Gasteblock, reachable via Zum Förderturm. The classic old scoreboard and clock dominate the south end of the ground.
Finally, the wooden main stand with facilities for VIP customers runs the length of the western touch line. The stand offers fine views of the action and is even carpeted! Fans sitting in the main stand are as passionate and vociferous as the ultras in the Fankurve.
The entire perimeter of the playing surface has high fences with large concrete terraces, uncovered from the elements.
Neighborhood 4
Leipzig is a fascinating city where you can easily lose a couple of days. The ornate narrow passageways, the churches that rose to prominence before and during the peace protests, and the museums telling stories of times past.
An audio tour called ‘On the trail of Leipzig’s communist past’ is downloadable onto your phone and talks through the story of the DDR and those peaceful revolutions which began here.
The city has a confident, young, and trendy vibe with many exhibitions, bars, and outdoor music offerings. With Bach and Wagner as previous residents in the city, its musical pedigree is high.
The Leipzig fascination with books is well known; a little less known is its links to the fur trade in times past. In the winter in Leipzig, you may wish to bring one.
The local suburb for Das Bruno is Probstheida, it is adjacent to the ground, so handy to pick up a bottle of beer or kebab. There isn’t a great deal else to see, but the Napoleon Brauhaus is an option for fans who like to drink in a pub rather than a street corner.
Fans 4
Attendances have grown over the last few years. After five games of the 2025/26 season, the average was just over 5000.
The biggest rivals are Chemie Leipzig, BFC Dynamo, and Dynamo Dresden. The yellow and blue of Lok can be found in street art, stickers, and on our visit, the pyrotechnics launched from the Fankurve.
Previous players, heroes who’ve been idolised over the years, include Henning Frenzel, Wolfram Löwe (60s and 70s), René Müller, Matthias Liebers, and Olaf Marschall (80s). In 2005, German International Lothar Matthäus played for the club in an official local Cup semi-final. Shout out also to Uwe Rosler, a Lok player who went on to play for Man City and Southampton.
Access 3
After WWII, East German sports clubs were reorganized under the socialist system, and many were placed under the sponsorship of major state industries (like police, army, railways, etc.). For Lok, the clue is in the title!
The appropriate way, therefore, to arrive in Leipzig for a Lokomotive match is, of course, via train. In doing so, you will inhabit the largest train station in Europe (by sq. ft), a cavernous station with two identical entrances, one originally built for the Prussian State Railway, the other the Royal Saxon State Railway.
If you are feeling brave, download the e-scooter app VOI and scoot south along Prager Strabe to the stadium.
A more conventional route is to leave Leipzig Hauptbahnhof and take the S-Bahn S1, S2, or S3. Disembark at Leipzig Völkerschlachtdenkmal.
Adjacent to the Wilhelm-Kurtz-Park, you will see the 300ft high (Europe’s biggest) monument to the Battle of the Nations. An imposing memorial that commemorates the defeat of Napoleon's French army at Leipzig. There’s a small bistro at the monument serving coffee, ice cream, and beer.
If you are travelling by car, the Bruno-Plache-Stadion can be reached via the B2 and Prager-Str.
Return on Investment 5
Tickets can be purchased on the Lok website, priced from €12. Beer is cheap, a club scarf is €17, and travel from the centre of Leipzig will cost less than €10. Overall, for an old-school football experience such as Das Bruno, this is well worth your money.
Extras 4
Three fans/historians have written some fantastic books about the club. One about Lok’s 130-year history, with over 500 pages, was awarded German Football Book of the Year 2019 in Germany. There is also one on the 1973/74 UEFA Cup run and the most recent publication, ‘A Dream’ covers the 2024/25 season when dreams of promotion were cruelly denied in a play-off match v TSV Havelse.
Until 1949, the ground was called the Probstheidaer Stadion. The stadium was then named after Bruno Plache, an activist who in 1945 became sports director of the Leipzig city council.
Uwe Zötzsche stickers are available from the ultras stall behind the Fankurve. This Leipzig hero looks out from lampposts across the city, buy yours for just a couple of Euros!
Look out for the club podcast on your Spotify account. It’s called LokCast!
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