The Winter sports areas the Bavarian Alps comprise the portion of the administrative district Upper Bavaria to the German Alps. The proportions of the Bavarian Administrative district of Swabia in the Alps that are Allgäu and in the strict sense belong to the Alemannic language area and thus not to the Bavarian language area, but they are also dealt with here. The Upper Bavarian Alps with the Alps of the Swabian administrative district are together the German Alps.
For information on the activities for leisure activists also in summer, see the section activities from the respective travel guides to the Mountain regions.
history
History of alpine skiing
The Cradle of alpine skiing in Bavaria it is Monopteros in the English garden in Munich, the leading pioneer is the Munich publisher and bookseller August Finsterlin (1846-1927). Since there was no such thing in Bavaria at the time, Finsterlin had a pair of skis from Finland, they were 3.20 m long, and slid down the slope of the Monopteros in the winter of 1888. To avoid a stir, Finsterlin did it at night, but the public spectacle was stopped by the police at the time.
The first pair of skis did not have a binding in today's sense, they were driven with sturdy leather boots that were fastened with a leather strap.
If the Monopteros was the cradle, then the region was on Schliersee the first Playpen of alpine skiing in the Bavarian Alps: August Finsterlin bought the Högerhof in Fischhausen in 1891 and moved his residence with the publishing house and the bookstore to the south side of the Schliersee, from then on he printed the "Schliersseer Nachrichten". The educated citizens of the city of Munich followed him and discovered the sport on the boards. The Finsterlin house was expanded into the "Cafe am See" and then the "Hotel Finsterlin" and became the first meeting point for ski fans at the time. Guests were aristocrats and wealthy citizens from Munich. In 1895 August Finsterlin brought out the first specialist magazine under the name "Der Schneeschuh".
During this time, the railway connection between the Schliersee region and Munich was established, starting in 1861 Miesbach, 1869 Schliersee and 1911 Bayrischzell a train connection to Munich, the travel time at that time was around 2.5 to 3.0 hours.
The Munich Academic Snowshoe Association was founded in 1893, the first ski course was held in Fischhausen / Neuhausen in 1902, the first ski race in 1904, and the first Bavarian ski championships were held in 1906/1907. It was cross-country skiing on skis, the route led over 25 km from Fischhausen to Spitzingsee and back. In 1925 the first ski carnival will take place on the Firstalm dated at Spitzingsee. Similar developments followed in other regions of the Bavarian Alps.
Winter sports were promoted under the National Socialists, and those seeking relaxation from all over the Reich were sent to the Bavarian Alps, from villages such as Inzell, Ruhpolding, Schliersee, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Oberstdorf became prosperous winter sports resorts. The high point of self-portrayal under the Nazis were those IV. Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the world was shown a peacefully minded Germany until the Second World War marked a turning point.
At the Sudelfeld (Bayrischzell) Bavaria's first ski lift was built in 1948. In the second half of the last century, the development of alpine skiing into mass sport followed through the development of the mountains with well-developed traffic routes, with many new ski lifts and snow-making systems and through the technical innovations in ski equipment (skis, ski boots, bindings).
Currently, there is more of a stagnation or even a decline in the number of visitors to alpine skiing in the winter sports resorts of the Bavarian Alps: in addition to the repeatedly unfavorable winters, because they are mild and with little snow, the meanwhile easily accessible ski areas in Austria, Switzerland and South Tyrol are because of them High altitude and thus greater snow reliability, a strong competition to the not that big straight Bavarian ski areas. In addition to these developments, there is also an increasingly critical examination of winter sports from the various aspects of environmental protection.
Representing the increasingly critical view of the Upper Bavarian population can be seen the failed vote in November 2013 for a renewed Olympic application by the city of Munich with various other regions in Upper Bavaria for the games in 2022: Both the citizens of the city of Munich and those of the others affected communities Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Königssee and Ruhpolding had decided against a total of 1.3 million voters against an Olympic bid. Basically, the population of the Bavarian Alps is very open to winter sports and all types of winter sports events are usually well attended. In the media, the population's NO to the Olympics was then rated as a no to large-scale projects with radical interventions in nature that were commercialized under international influence.
An exhibition in Markus Wasmeier open-air museum (Schliersee) is dedicated to the entire history of alpine skiing in Bavaria, you can also see a pair of the very first skis. Bavarian television shot one about it Two piece ("When our mountains learned to ski"), which was first broadcast on regional television in December 2013.
History of biathlon
The history of biathlon in the Bavarian Alps is closely related Ruhpolding Linked: The hunter Eduard Hauenstein was the first ski pioneer in Ruhpolding: in 1897 he brought the first cross-country skiing boards back to the village from a trip from Lapland. Biathlon was then long considered a war sport and was cultivated by the military, after the end of the Second World War, biathlon lost its popularity.
From 1964, the first central training centers for the whole of West Germany were established in Ruhpolding and, with the use of small-caliber weapons, biathlon sport increasingly became a popular sport also practiced by civilians from 1972 and, via television, one of the most popular winter sports in Germany.
Ruhpolding was with the Chiemgau Arena to the center for the national and international biathlon competitions in the Bavarian Alps, in Ruhpolding there is also the possibility for "trial courses" without having to get a rifle.
The second German biathlon center is Oberhof in the Thuringian Forest.
History of ski jumping
Like all Nordic skiing, ski jumping has Scandinavian traditions. The oldest known source is a report by the Dutch naval officer Cornelius de Jong from 1796, he describes how soldiers of a Norwegian ski company used the roofs of houses and barns as ski jumps. The first ski jump on Husebybakken in Kristiania (today's Oslo), around 1890 they moved to the famous Holmenkollen, a wooded hill north of Oslo, where the first Holmenkollen Festival took place in 1892.
The Central European center in the history of ski jumping was Oberstdorf: The Oberstdorf / Allgäu skiing club was founded in 1906 and the first ski competitions took place in the same year, a large and a small ski jump was also built on the "Halden" in 1906, the hill record was held by Bruno Biehler at 22 m .
The First World War interrupted this development, but as early as 1924 to the 1. Winter Olympics in Chamonix ski jumping was an Olympic discipline. In 1926 the newly built Schattenbergschanze (today the Erdinger Arena) put into operation. The Oberstdorf ski jumper and architect Heini Klopfer set a new hill record with 59 m in front of 7000 spectators in 1936, later he was involved in planning around 250 ski jumps around the world.
In the years immediately after World War II, German ski jumpers were still forbidden by the International Ski Federation (FIS) to start abroad, but they received neighborhood help from Austria: from around 1950, Xaver Kaiser from Oberstdorf planned to Franz Rappenglück from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Emmerich Pepeunig from Innsbruck and Andi Mischnitz from Bischofshofen the German-Austrian Four Hills Tournament initially as "German-Austrian Spring Tour", 1952 was the premiere for the meanwhile best-known ski jumping event, it is now broadcast by up to 25 television stations worldwide.
In 1950, the first German ski-flying hill, which was planned by Heini Klopfer and named after him, was opened in Oberstdorf Heini-Klopfer ski jumping hill put into operation at Freibergsee, several world records were set for the first week of ski flying. After various modifications, the facility is now the third largest ski flying hill in the world, the hill record is 225.5 meters (Harri Olli 2009).
Detailed information on www.skispringen.com
History of ice skating
The origin of ice skating lies in England, Norway and the Netherlands, sporting competitions are documented here as early as the 18th and 19th centuries, the Wikipedia article provides an overview History of speed skating.
Ice skating as a competition was not widespread in the Bavarian Alps, there were only a few suitable bodies of water: the mountain lakes froze over quickly, but the layer of ice then covered over quickly and permanently and the ice had to be laboriously prepared. Until 1959 there was no ice rink suitable for competitions in the whole of what was then Germany, with a length of 400 meters according to regulations, the German championships of 1956 had to be held in Switzerland.
In 1959 was then on the Frillensee (923 m) at Inzell, one of the coldest lakes in Germany, prepared a natural ice rink for the first time, on which the Bavarian and German speed skating championships were held in January 1960. Inzell developed into the center of German speed skating. In 1965 the first artificial ice rink was built, today the Max Aicher Arena (Eisstadion Inzell), and Inzell became the German center of excellence for speed skating, accompanied by the rise of the sport in the media.
Due to the good competitive conditions at the sports facility, Inzell gained a worldwide reputation as a speed skating Mecca and has since been the venue for more than a dozen world and European championships, as well as numerous world cups and many other competitions.
Alpine skiing
In general, the requirements for winter sports areas in the German Alps can be described as more family-friendly, they usually do not reach the 2000 mark and are therefore not quite as snow-reliable as the ski regions in the neighboring states of Switzerland and Austria. On the other hand, they are easier to reach, at least not so crowded on working days and the ski passes are often much cheaper.
The ski areas of the Bavarian Alps are mostly in the administrative district Upper Bavaria, only the ski region Allgäu is in the administrative district Swabia.
The following are the most important ski regions sorted by mountain region:
Bavarian Prealps
The Bavarian Prealps are that Ester Mountains (no ski area) and the Walchensee Mountains. The ski area in the Walchensee Mountains is that Brauneck at Lenggries. At the summit of the Herzogstands there is a short ski lift.
Berchtesgaden Alps
Even the slopes of the Berchtesgaden Alps are largely spared from mass tourism in the ski areas in winter. The six ski areas often work in conjunction with the regions in neighboring Austria, plus a few individual lifts.
- Schoenau upon Kings sea is the valley location for that Jenner ski area
Chiemgau Alps
Overall there are in the Chiemgau Alps Around 60 kilometers of slopes in the ski areas and mainly in the family-friendly, simple and medium difficulty range.
- The ski area for Reit im Winkl is the Winklmoosalm, Part of the Steinplatte / Winklmoosalm ski network;
- Bergen / Hochfelln ski area
- In Ruhpolding there are three smaller ones Ski areas or single lifts / practice lifts;
Individual lifts (a selection) are still available in Inzell (Pommernlift), Marquartstein Material rank (Kaiser look) and Teisendorf;
Mangfall Mountains
The Ski areas in the Mangfall Mountains are:
- The ski area Spitzingsee South from Schliersee;
- The Sudelfeld ski paradise is situated between Bayrischzell and Oberaudorf and is the largest connected ski area in Germany;
- The Wendelstein ski area at the Wendelstein with some quite challenging slopes.
- The Hocheck ski area in Oberaudorf.
Ski pass association Alps Plus with multi-day tickets valid in the Brauneck, Wallberg, Spitzingsee, Sudelfeld and Zahmer Kaiser / Tyrol ski areas.
The winter season in the region lasts from around the end of November to mid-April, depending on the snow conditions.
Karwendel
The only ski slope in the Bavarian part of the Karwendel is the Dammkarabfahrt above Mittenwald, a demanding downhill classic in Dammkar and on a 7 km long unprepared slope.
Wetterstein
- In the west of the Wetterstein is that Mittenwald Ski area on Kranzberg
- In Garmisch-Partenkirchen there is the ski area Garmisch-Classic, a network of ski slopes from Hausberg, Kreuzeck and Alpspitze;
- The "Zugspitzplatt" ski area on the Zugspitze is Germany's highest ski region and the only glacier ski area.
Ammergau Alps
In the Ammergau Alps is there Ski areas Mainly in the family-friendly area and at altitudes from approx. 1,000 to over approx. 1,700 m (Laber, Tegelberg).
- Ski Area Steckenberg in Unterammergau, Floodlight system. 7 lifts. 10 kilometers of slopes.
- Tegelbergbahn, family-friendly ski area at Tegelberg of Schwangau off, summer toboggan run;
- Hörnlebahn on the Hörnle in Bad Kohlgrub, with toboggan run, 5 lifts.
- Piston and Laber ski association in Oberammergau with predominantly family-friendly slopes, but also with the unprepared, steep and demanding valley run from the summit of the Labers.
- Buchenbergbahn in Booking, 2.5 km long winter toboggan run illuminated until 10 p.m.
- Height: 810-1140 m. Double chairlift. Buchenbergbahn.de.
Allgäu Alps
The Allgäu Alps with their Ski areas in Oberstdorf (with the largest ski arena in Germany) and with the winter sports resorts Immenstadt, Nesselwang, Oberstaufen and Isny is considered one of the most attractive winter sports regions in the entire German part of the Alps.
- Grasgehren ski area - The area is east of Balderschwang at the Riedbergpass. With an altitude between 1400 - 1800m, it has 10 km of slopes (4 km of snow-making). 4 T-bar lifts and a chairlift are available for downhill riders, and see more www.grasgehren.de
- Hochschelpen / Riedberger Horn ski area at Balderschwang - Two chairlifts and three larger drag lifts open up a total of 30 km of slopes (12 km with artificial snow). There are five practice lifts for beginners and children. For more see www.liftbetriebe.de
- Ofterschwang-Gunzelsried ski area - The area between 864 m and 1406 m high has 18 km of slopes. 9 km of this can be covered with snow. 2 chairlifts and 3 drag lifts are available as lifts. For more see www.go-ofterschwang.de
- "Hörnerbahn" ski area at Often swing - There are 20 km of slopes between 892 m and 1667 m altitude. 12 km of the slopes can be covered with snow. Ascent aids: a 6-seater gondola, a chair lift and 3 drag lifts. For more see www.hoernerbahn.de
- Ski area on the Hochgrat at Oberstaufen - For information, see www.hochgratbahn.de
- Ski area on the Mittagberg at Immenstadt - For information, see www. Mittagbahn.de
- Ski and toboggan area "Alpsee-Bergwelt" at Immenstadt - For information, see www.alpsee-bergwelt.de
- Nebelhorn ski area at Oberstdorf, please refer www.nebelhorn.de
- Fellhorn / Kanzelwand ski area at Oberstdorf
Nordic skiing
Sledding
Tobogganing is "IN" again: The uncomplicated and family-friendly sport does not require any special equipment, apart from the sledge and winter clothing, is therefore also inexpensive, and can also be carried out by people who are less talented. The boundary conditions are also quickly met, a suitable slope is found in the mountains right away, then all you need is snow, you can slide on anything that has any kind of runners or is somehow smooth on the underside, if necessary a simple plastic sheet will do or just the bottom of your pants.
In the Bavarian Alps there are a large number of marked and groomed toboggan runs, many with refreshment stops and often with lifts, you don't even have to pull the toboggan up to the start yourself. There are various toboggan rentals at huts and also floodlit tobogganing / moonlight tobogganing.
The following is an overview of well-known toboggan runs in the Bavarian Alps. Two-way traffic (hikers, ski tourers, hunters with cars, tractors, etc.) must always be expected on all natural toboggan runs!
The longest toboggan run in Germany (6.5 km) is the am Wallberg in Rottach-Egern at the Tegernsee, one of the most famous is the am Blomberg (5.5 km) in Bad Tölz. The ice channel of the Toboggan and bobsleigh run in Schoenau upon Kings sea is the first artificial ice rink in the world, here you can also ride in the guest bobsled.
Toboggan runs with a lift
Ascent with the lift is usually chargeable, usually sled rental at the valley stations of the mountain railways and in sports shops.
| Name lift | Length (km) | Starting height (m) | Difference (hm) | Valley location | additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wallberg | 6.5 | 1624 | 825 | Rottach-Egern | longest natural winter toboggan run in Germany |
| Obersalzbergbahn | 4.0 | 1020 | 500 | Berchtesgaden | Winter summer tobogganing |
| Hörnlebahn | 4.5 | Bad Kohlgrub | |||
| Hausbergbahn | 3.9 | 650 | Garmisch-Partenkirchen | Night tobogganing Wed. and Fri. 5-8pm | |
| Blombergbahn | 3.3 | 1234 | 550 | Bad Tölz | Night tobogganing |
| Piston chairlift | 2.0 | 1390 | Oberammergau | Night tobogganing | |
| Kranzbergbahn | 1.6 | 1200 | 225 | Mittenwald | moderate |
Toboggan runs without a lift
Usually free to use.
| Surname | Length (km) | begin | Ascent (Hm) | Valley location | additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hirschberg | 4.5 | Hirschberghaus (1530 m) | 460 | Kreuth | cleared forest path, suitable for children. |
Ice rinks
- The Max Aicher Arena in Inzell belongs to the federal German performance center for speed skating.
- The Olympic Ice Sports Center in Garmisch-Partenkirchen was built for the Olympic Games in 1936; the Federal Center for Curling and Ice Stock is also located here.
Ski jumping
For those who want to take off or just want to watch ski jumping, the following is an overview of ski jumps in the Bavarian Alps. Only the facilities of tourist interest or with relevance for supraregional winter sports events are listed. Smaller individual hills or pure training facilities are not listed here, see the section on winter sports for the respective local and regional articles.
- Germany's only ski jumping hill is that Heini-Klopfer ski jumping hill, the hill record is 225.5 meters wide.
- The largest ski jumping facilities are in Garmisch-Partenkirchen the Olympic hill in the Olympic ski stadium and in Oberstdorf the ski jumping facility of Erdinger Arena, both known from the annual Four Hills Tournament as part of the international ski jumping world cup.
- In Ruhpolding at the Chiemgau Arena There is a ski jumping facility with a total of 5 jumps for training and competition purposes, two of which are plastic covered jumps for summer training.
security
There is no general obligation to wear a helmet on the slopes in Bavaria, not even for children such as in Austria and Italy. However, there are courts that have ruled on partial blame for injuries in accidents involving skiers without helmets (Oberlandesgericht München 2012, Az. 8 U 3652/11).
Occasional police forces patrol the slopes in the Bavarian Alps. E.g. in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The task of the slope police is to "avert danger", to reconstruct accidents and to prosecute criminal and administrative offenses as well as prosecuting thefts (skis, snowboards, sticks and rucksacks).
The triggering of an avalanche after leaving the secured slopes and driving on closed areas with personal injury as a result of the avalanche is considered negligent bodily harm or death in Germany and will be prosecuted, the perpetrators can be sued for damages under civil law.
Practical advice
- Alpine Club Weather Service: www.alpenverein.at;
- Avalanche warning service for Bavaria: www.lawinenwarndienst-bayern.de;
- Avalanche warning service for the neighboring regions in Austria:www.lawine.at;
- For detailed information on equipment and behavior in the mountains, see the article Rockclimbing;
Winter sports events
Elite sport
- The traditional start of the year on January 1st New year ski jumping the Four Hills Tournament in Partenkirchen.
- In the second week of January and after Dreikönig the guest appears Biathlon World Cup in the Chiemgau Arena in Ruhpolding.
- The Kandahar descent in Garmisch takes place at the end of January and is considered to be one of the longest and most difficult races of the downhill runs in the FIS World Cup.
- Inzell Speed Skating World Cup, Competitions of the world's top speed skaters in March;
- The Four Hills Tournament the ski jumper competed in after Christmas Oberstdorf their prelude.
Popular sport
- The largest German people's cross-country skiing is the King Ludwig cross-country skiing with start in Oberammergau. It takes place every year on the first weekend in February.
literature
- : Alpine traverses: cultural history of bourgeois alpinism (1870-1930). campus, 1998, ISBN 978-3593361000 ; 370 pages.
- : Law and security in the organized ski room. interski agency, travel and publishing company, 2007, ISBN 978-3981195804 ; 177 pages.
Web links
- DSV active: www.ski-online.de (Foundation SIS / Safety in Skiing of the DSV);
Winter sports associations
- German Ski Association (DSV): www.deutscherskiverband.de (Competitive sport, popular sport, alpine skiing, nordic skiing);
- Bavarian Ski Association (BSV): www.bsv-ski.de;
- International Biathlon Union (IBU): www3.biathlonworld.com;
- German Ice Skating Union (deu): www.eislauf-union.de;
- Bavarian Ice Sports Association (bev): www.bev-eissport.de (Curling, ice hockey, figure skating, speed skating, ice stock sports);
