The Four Hills Tournament (Vierschanzentournee) is a ski jumping competition consisting of four World Cup events held in Germany and Austria every year in late December and early January since 1953. With few exceptions, it has consisted of four ski jumping events held in Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck, and Bischofshofen.
In 2023-2024 the legendary Four Hills Tournament celebrates its 72th anniversary.
In 1952 the organization chart for the "German-Austrian Ski Jump Tour", short “the Tour“ - was signed by the German Ski Association (DSV) and the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV). The three locations Partenkirchen (with its New Year’s Ski Jump), Innsbruck, and Bischofshofen were planned from the beginning, and the Ski Club Partenkirchen (SCP) was commissioned to find a second German partner. A fourth venue, Oberstdorf, was chosen.
The "Tour" started with the New Year’s Ski Jump in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1953.
The second stop continued on January 4, in Oberstdorf.
The Epiphany Jump took place on January 6, in Innsbruck.
The last stop of the first edition of the "Tour" took place in Bischofshofen on January 11, 1953.
The broadcast on Radio and TV in the following years contributed significantly to the tournament's popularity. Currently, up to 25 television channels broadcast the tournament live around the world and its images are featured in international news year after year.
Finally, with just a few exceptions the Tour was established in the following order: Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck, and Bischofshofen.
Oberstdorf is a well-known tourist destination in the Bavarian Alps.
The big Schattenberg ski jump at the World Cup Ski Jump Arena in Oberstdorf is one of the most important Ski Jumping Hills in the world. Each year it attracts up to 38.000 visitors for the opening jumping competition of the Four Hills Tournament.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany, which borders Austria. It is located at the foot of Zugspitze, Germany's highest mountain (2,962).
The 142-meter-high Olympic ski jump is the landmark of the famous tourist destination Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It is known as one of the most important ski jumps in the World Cup. In the 2007-2008 season, the new ski jump replaced the previous Olympic ski jump in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, built for the 1936 Winter Games.
Every year, the traditional New Year's Ski Jump, the second event of the world-famous Four Hills Tournament, attracts more than 25,000 visitors, who come to cheer on the world's best ski jumpers.
Innsbruck is the regional capital of Tirol. Located in the heart of the Alps, the alpine-urban-style city has long been known as a destination for winter sports. Only in Innsbruck, you can go from the city center to winter on the mountain in 20 minutes.
Every year at the beginning of January, the Bergisel ski jump in Innsbruck hosts the third stop of the prestigious Four Hills tournament. This exciting event has attracted the attention of the sports world for 72 years.
The Bergisel ski jump is probably the most striking landmark in Innsbruck.
The first ski jump was built on the Bergisel Hill in 1925. The sports venue hosted the ski jumping competitions during the Innsbruck Winter Games in 1964 and 1976.
The Bergisel Ski Jump Hill in Innsbruck was rebuilt in 2001. The construction of the entrance bridge, the construction of the tower, and the steel construction of the tower head wonderfully combine different fields of architecture. Iraqi-born architect and Pritzker Prize winner Zaha Hadid is behind this architectural masterpiece.
An inclined lift transports visitors up to a height of 250 meters above Innsbruck within a two-minute ride.
Bischofshofen is a town in the district of St. Johann im Pongau in the Austrian federal state of Salzburg.
Every year, on Three Kings' Day, the final of the Four Hills Tournament is held at the Paul Außerleitner ski jump, at the foot of the Hochkönig. Every year around 25,000 visitors come from all over the world to support the athletes and give this event a very special atmosphere.
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