One of the key reasons behind football’s widespread popularity across the globe might be its versatility—where players can set up a game in virtually any open space when a proper field isn’t available. It’s no surprise, then, that some of the world’s football pitches have developed in rather unconventional environments. Among the most extraordinary is the Čierny Balog stadium in Slovakia, renowned for its unusual location right in the path of an active railway line. Trains regularly pass through, momentarily obstructing the view between the spectators and the pitch, making it one of the most bizarre football grounds in the world.

The Čierny Balog stadium is located in a small Slovakian town of the same name, home to around 5,100 residents. Though relatively obscure, the town has become somewhat of a tourist attraction in the past seven years, largely thanks to its unique stadium. A video clip that went viral in 2015 showed a train passing through the stadium on tracks laid between the pitch and the only spectator stand. Many viewers initially believed the video had been altered using CGI, or that the train was part of a one-off event. However, further investigation revealed that trains do indeed pass through the stadium regularly, as it is traversed by the historic Čiernohronská Railway, with tourist steam trains running throughout the summer.

The stadium’s origins date back to the 1980s, a time when the railway line had been out of use for several years. Originally built in 1909 to transport timber from the surrounding forests, the railway ceased operation in 1982. Why the municipality chose to build the stadium in this specific location remains unclear, but for nearly a decade, the dormant train tracks were merely a quirky feature of the grounds. That changed in the early 1990s when a group of railway enthusiasts began restoring the line. By 1992, the railway was officially reopened as a heritage line for tourists, offering scenic rides through the Tatra Mountains, including a notable stop—right through the middle of Čierny Balog’s football pitch.

When a train passes through during a football match at Čierny Balog, the scene is nothing short of surreal. On the pitch, players do their best to ignore the train’s rumbling and whistles, while spectators in the modest 480-seat stand either wave at the passing train or try to stay focused on the match. This one-of-a-kind experience is believed to be the only instance of a football stadium in the world intersected by an active railway line.