History — Selected Eras of Hertha BSC
1892–1923: Two clubs, one identity
Hertha BFC
25 July 1892. A group of Berlin teenagers founded Hertha BFC, taking their name from the steamship Hertha they admired. Blue and white were chosen as the club's colours that day — a choice that would define the club for over 130 years.
Berliner Sport-Club
Seven years later, in 1899, Berliner Sport-Club (BSC) was founded, establishing itself as another force in Berlin football. For nearly a quarter-century, both clubs competed in the city's growing football landscape.
The merger
1923 brought the decisive moment. Hertha BFC and BSC merged to form Hertha BSC — the club as it exists today. The blue and white remained. The identity was forged.
The Golden Twenties
Four finals lost. Then two championships won. The era that built Hertha BSC's reputation.
The near-misses
From 1926 to 1929, Hertha BSC reached the German championship final four consecutive years. Four times the club came close to glory. Four times it fell short. Each defeat stung, but each run proved the club's quality was undeniable.
The breakthrough
In 1930, Hertha BSC finally broke through. The club won the German championship. A year later, in 1931, it won again. Back-to-back national titles — the only German championships Hertha BSC would ever claim.
A legacy forged
These two years defined the club's standing in German football. Hertha BSC was no longer an ambitious Berlin side—it was a champion. That status, earned in the Golden Twenties, became the foundation of everything that followed.
Fahrstuhlmannschaft: The elevator years
Up and down, season after season. The nickname that defined an era.
Founding member
When the Bundesliga was established in 1963, Hertha BSC was among the league's founding members. The club had the pedigree and the weight to be there from the start.
The pattern
What followed was a cycle that would last decades. Promotion to the Bundesliga. Seasons in the top flight. Relegation to the 2. Bundesliga. A season or two below. Promotion again. Hertha BSC became known as the Fahrstuhlmannschaft—the elevator team—riding the lift between divisions with uncomfortable regularity.
Consistency in instability
Yet there was a paradox: while the league placement changed, Hertha BSC remained a constant in Berlin football. Through promotion and relegation, the club endured. The elevator kept moving.
Rebuilding and the stable decade
Relegation sparked renewal. A decade in the Bundesliga followed.
2010: The fall
Relegation from the Bundesliga in 2010 was a blow. But it was also a moment of reckoning. The club could rebuild. The club could plan.
2012–13: Champions
Two seasons in the 2. Bundesliga. Then, as 2. Bundesliga champions in 2012–13, Hertha BSC came roaring back to the Bundesliga. The promotion was decisive. The return was permanent—for a decade.
The Dárdai era
Pál Dárdai, a Hungarian midfielder who had played for Hertha BSC for years, became the architect of stability. As coach, Dárdai brought discipline, continuity, and a deep understanding of what the club needed. Hertha BSC stayed up. Year after year, the elevator stopped moving.
A new chapter
The Old Lady rebuilds again. The cycle continues.
2023: Relegation
After a decade in the Bundesliga, Hertha BSC was relegated in 2023. For a club accustomed to the ups and downs of football, it was a familiar blow—disappointing, yes, but not unfamiliar.
The Old Lady persists
Hertha BSC is Berlin's Old Lady. She has been through promotion and relegation, championship glory and long droughts, foundation and merger, reinvention and return. The club that was founded in 1892 by teenagers admiring a steamship has faced every challenge football can offer.
The comeback continues
What defines Hertha BSC is not one era, but the pattern across them all: the capacity to rebuild, to return, to persist. The current chapter is another in a long history of comebacks. The elevator will rise again.