A fan’s guide – the club from early doors to today
Established in their current form as recently as 2007, FC Heidenheim have been steered from the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg to the European stage by three key figures. One is Frank Schmidt.
Head coach since the decision to separate the football section from the main sports association just as this little team was knocking on the door of the fourth-tier Regionalliga-Süd, Heidenheim-born Schmidt had been a player at the Swabian club since 2003. Twenty years later, he became the longest-serving manager at a single club in German football history.
This former tenacious defender had just overseen one of the most dramatic promotion dramas. Ahead of sleeping giants Hamburg SV by one point going into the last round of the second-tier 2. Bundesliga in May 2023, Heidenheim headed to Regensburg, the Bavarians needing the win to avoid relegation.
Down at already doomed Sandhausen, HSV, desperate to return to the Bundesliga after dropping out for the first time in 2018, took an early lead. In Regensburg, meanwhile, FCH went 2-0 behind right after half-time. Even after Heidenheim pulled one back, the die seemed cast. With the final whistle blown in Sandhausen, Hamburg fans swept onto the pitch in celebration – only to hear the news that Jan-Niklas Beste had converted a penalty for Heidenheim three minutes after 90 minutes.
A full nine (!) minutes into stoppage time, with the action furious around the fatal rectangle, Heidenheim’s Tim Kleindienst tucked away a stray ball to break Hamburg hearts 300km away. HSV remain in the lower flight to this day.
Heidenheim had not only reached the Bundesliga for the first time, after nine seasons keeping their heads above water in the second tier, they were promoted 2. Bundesliga champions as leaders Darmstadt had been beaten at Fürth.
But perhaps Schmidt’s greatest achievement would come the following season. With spending modest on new players, the stalwart coach kept faith with the core of his promotion team even after six defeats in the first nine games – just as managing director/chairman Holger Sanwald kept faith in Schmidt to reboot the 2023-24 campaign from December onwards.
Buoyed by a 3-2 win over Bayern Munich in April, a brace from Kleindienst reversing the Bavarians’ lead at Heidenheim’s Voith-Arena, Schmidt’s FCH claimed eighth place in their debut Bundesliga season. After Leverkusen’s surprise double, this granted the Swabians passage to the Conference League, where games with Chelsea and Hearts awaited in 2024-25.
Holger Sanwald’s ties to Heidenheim stretched back before Schmidt’s. Also locally born in Giengen an der Brenz, this graduate in Economics appeared for Heidenheim as a youth player in 1980. Back then, this club was Heidenheimer Sportbund, with links back to the original HSB in 1846, formed as a sports association originally focused on exercise and gymnastics.
If a footballer of rare talent emerged, such as Heidenheim-born Horst Blankenburg, later the influential libero in Ajax’s three-time European Cup winners, they would go straight to nearby Nürnberg or Stuttgart.
By the time Sanwald was juggling his studies with stints in the second team in the 1990s, HSB were in the sixth-tier regional Verbandsliga Württemberg. In 1994, when only 27, he was elected head of the association’s football department.
Using his expertise and his contacts, Sanwald attracted sponsors and, most of all, local entrepreneur Klaus Mayer. Heading a successful company making horticultural equipment, Mayer would soon be dividing his time between inventing potting machines and transforming Heidenheimer Sportbund.
When the decision was made to make Heidenheim a going concern as a football club alone as FußballClub Heidenheim 1846, Mayer was the founding president. At his side was Holger Sanwald and, soon, coach Frank Schmidt.
After the team gained promotion to the 3. Liga in 2009, the local council decided the build a new stadium on the site of the one it had first opened in 1970. Back then, athletics was the main focus at the Albstadion and football attracted a few hundred spectators.
Now proper stands surrounded a football pitch of 10,000 capacity. Sponsorship deals, first with multinational real-estate firm GAGFAH, then with long-established local engineers Voith, financed subsequent development and expansion.
Led by captain Marc Schnatterer in the best form of his long career in attacking midfield, Heidenheim won the 3. Liga title in 2014, then held their own in the 2. Bundesliga.
Now with former Stuttgart reserve keeper Kevin Müller between the sticks, FCH climbed close to a play-off place in 2016-17, beating local rivals VfB Stuttgart in a rare derby between the five-time champions and recent regional minnows.
Two points from third place in 2019, still with Schnatterer as captain, Heidenheim welcomed former Germany U-20 striker Tim Kleindienst the following season after a successful stint on loan. Pipping Hamburg to a play-off with Werder Bremen for a seat at the top table in 2020, FCH held the Grün-Weißen to a goalless draw at the Weserstadion.
Back at the Voith-Arena, defending a four-decade unbeaten run in the Bundesliga, Bremen took an early lead then sat back until Kleindienst hit a late equaliser. Still needing another overcome the visitors’ away-goal advantage, Heidenheim poured forward only to be hit by a stoppage-time strike by Swedish international Ludwig Andersson. A Kleindienst penalty on 97 minutes wasn’t enough to tip the balance.
Staying in contention in the second flight, Schmidt’s men, with Kleindienst hitting 25 goals in the regular season and Müller helping to keep defeats down to five in 34 games, Heidenheim claimed the 2. Bundesliga crown in dramatic fashion at Regensburg in May 2023. Sadly, Klaus Mayer wasn’t around to see it, having died suddenly earlier in the season at the age of 57.
With experienced centre-back Patrick Mainka still in place as captain and Kleindienst soon to join Julian Nagelsmann’s new-look Nationalelf, Heidenheim overcame a dreadful start to their maiden season in the Bundesliga to put together an eight-game unbeaten run either side of Christmas 2023.
A 4-1 victory over already relegated Köln was just enough to allow FCH to edge out Werder Bremen, also 4-1 winners that day, to eighth place – and a place in the Europa Conference League.
Stadium Guide
The field of dreams – and the story behind it
Holding a 15,000 and never not full since Bundesliga promotion in 2023, the compact Voith-Arena is still known by its original name of the Albstadion. Standing in the shadow of Hellenstein Castle, a full 555 metres above sea level, this is the highest ground in the German game.
Expanded and improved on a regular basis since being built on the site of its namesame predecessor in 2009, the Albstadion will yet be added to as FC Heidenheim set up camp in the Bundesliga. Plans call for an upper tier to be bolted on to increase capacity to 25,000-plus, but even then, seats will be at a premium for most games.
Originally, the Albstadion was a municipal athletics ground where the local football team played in front of a few hundred spectators. Opened in 1970, it gained stands in the early 2000s as the team rose up the German league pyramid. The crunch came in 2009, when the now independent FC Heidenheim gained promotion to the 3. Liga, and the stadium was rebuilt to accommodate 10,000 spectators.
The new Albstadion was unveiled for the 2009-10 campaign, the official curtain-raiser a friendly with illustrious local rivals VfB Stuttgart. Germany’s U-20 side also played here a month later, against Switzerland.
The following season saw the ground’s first 10,000-crowd sell-out, for the visit of nearby VfR Aalen, by which time it had gained the sponsored name of the Voith-Arena after the venerable local engineering firm.
Capacity was increased to 13,000 in 2013, then 15,000 with a stadium restaurant added for Heidenheim’s first 2. Bundesliga season. The ambitious club then bought the stadium from its municipal owners for €2 million in 2019.
Unexpected promotion to the Bundesliga in 2023 led to further logistical changes, away supporters now allocated additional seats in block D2 in the Südtribüne, alongside the standing and sitting places in E1/E2 behind the goal in the Westtribüne. For European games, without Bundesliga stipulations on the allocation for visiting fans, often just block D2 is offered.
All spectators, 9,000 standing and 6,000 seated, have a perfect view of the action, steeply inclined over the pitch a few metres away. FCH fans fill the Hellenstein EnergieTribüne block L behind the east goal and raucous block F of the Westtribüne.
getting here
Going to the stadium – tips and timings
It’s possible to climb up the staircase that leads to Hellenstein Castle from the city centre but you’re better off using one of the shuttle buses on match days. The service is free for match-ticket holders. These are categorised by their Park&Ride setting-off points, North, South, East and West, with the West service calling at Westschule, Karl-Rau-Halle, where Beethovenstraße meets Heckentalstraße, every 5-10mins from 2hrs before kick-off. This makes the same journey back every 10mins until 45mins after the final whistle.
Shuttlebus Nord leaves bay 3 of the main bus station, known by its acronym of ZOB, on the city side of the train station, every 10mins from 2hrs before kick-off, making the same journey back to bay 11 until 1hr after the final whistle.
You can always walk back down the zig-zag of steps leading down from the castle to town, just along from the Schlosshotel Hellenstein.
To use regular public transport or if travelling on a non-match day, take hourly bus 6 or 7 from bay B1 at the ZOB concourse, alighting at Schloßhaustraße or Klinikum and walking the few hundred metres to the stadium, turning right at the roundabout by the Congress Centre and Schlosshotel Hellenstein.
A taxi from the train station to the stadium should cost around €15-€20.
getting IN
Buying tickets – when, where how and how much
Although there are ticket outlets at both club shops – one in town, at Haupstraße 22 (Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-2pm) and the other by the stadium (Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, match days), your chances of buying any in person unless several weeks before the actual match day are very slim indeed. With gates of 15,000 equalling capacity, until the Voith-Arena is expanded, your only real hope of seeing FC Heidenheim at home is for an early round of the cup, a pre-season friendly – or as an away fan.
Nonetheless, the club does run a ticket-exchange scheme clubSALE through its German-only website, for registered members (€56/year, under-15s €18.46/year). The service is available up to the day before the game.
A standing place is €19, a seat €25-€45.
For German-only telephone enquiries, call +49 1806 99 22 18 (€0.20/call +VAT; Mon-Fri 8am-9pm, Sat 8am-8pm, Sun 10am-8pm) or use the German-only contact form on the website.
What to buy
Shirts, kits, merchandise and gifts
FC Heidenheim have two club shops, one at Haupstraße 22 (Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-2pm) in the city centre and the other by the stadium (Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, match days). The current iteration of the home top is blue stripes on red with white trim and classic collars. Away is a diamond-patterned shirt in alternating shades of blue. The third kit looks like something from the 1980s, white with a red collar.
Among the merch, you’ll find mittens bearing the key date of 1846, FCH windscreen scrapers for those winter mornings and old-school spin ashtrays in signature blue and red.
STADIUM TOURS
Explore the ground inside and out
The Voith-Arena offers stadium tours (€7, €5 seniors/under-14s) upon request – write to events@voith-arena.de or call +49 7321 9471 900 to arrange the best time.
German-only visits take in the home dressing room, players’ tunnel, mixed zone, sky boxes and press room.
Where to Drink
Pre-match beers for fans and casual visitors
Packed on match days, the Albstüble sits behind the home Osttribüne outside of the stadium perimeter fence, serving pints of Stuttgarter Hofbräu as quickly as anyone can pour them to guests gathered inside and out. There’s usually a full menu, too, of hearty classics such as venison ragout and Zwiebelrostbraten, roast-beef stew, but these selections are limited as kick-off approaches.
Even if there are no seats in main dining room – note the black-and-white photos of classic FCH match action – there should be a table, or at least standing space, outside. Inside the ground, home fans gather inside at Liko’s Kiosk along the long sideline.
Originally a wooden shack patronised by players after training and fans during the game, its transformation into a concrete outlet dispensing beer and sausages is thanks to Holger Sanwald, the ex-player and later managing director who insisted on its inclusion in the plans for the new stadium. The architect insisted otherwise, citing aesthetics, Sanwald stood his ground, demanding it remain for reasons of football tradition. Liko’s is here to this day.
Just beyond the stadium, beers are dispensed from Olly’s Fußball Garage on Schloßhaustraße towards the main entrance to the stadium, and across the road at the signposted Tennis-Club Heidenheim, with its terrace bar/restaurant overlooking the courts.
If you’re staying at the Schlosshotel Hellenstein or entertaining a business client, you’ll find fine culinary delights at its in-house Schlossrestaurant and quality wines and cocktails in the Lounge Bar – note the framed FCH shirt over the counter.
