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"Almost" every place had a ski jump.

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In the Black Forest, snow is not uncommon in winter, even though it has become less and less in recent years due to climate change. About a hundred years ago, the amount of snow here was still considerable. So it is not surprising that the people of the Black Forest are fond of winter sports. Thus, the local ski resorts have many groomed slopes with a total length of 250 kilometers, as well as about 170 ski lifts. Speaking of ski lifts, they were also invented in the Black Forest, namely in 1908 by Robert Winterhalder from Schollach near Eisenbach. He had a mill and the idea that you could be pulled up the mountain by water power. Thus, his lift overcomes thirty-two meters of altitude over a distance of about 280 meters.

 

What many people don't know is that winter sports in Germany started to a large extent in the Black Forest in the first place. First and foremost, there were many ski jumps in the Black Forest. Almost every town had one, even if they were quite simply built and many of them have disappeared in the meantime. The biggest ones today are in Titisee-Neustadt (Hochfirstschanze, 142 meters), Hinterzarten (Rothausschanze, 108 meters) and Schonach (Langenwaldschanze, 106 meters). Titisee-Neustadt hosts annual ski jumping World Cups, while Schonach hosts Nordic combined events. The Hochfirstschanze is not only the largest ski jump in the Black Forest, but also the largest natural ski jump in Germany. It is located directly on a slope of the mountain Hochfirst, which is 1,197 meters high. Hinterzarten hosts an international summer ski jumping event every year. This takes place on the Rothausschanze there. In general, Hinterzarten is a central place of German ski jumping.

 

The importance of Hinterzarten is also evident from the fact that famous Olympic champions come from here. One of them is Georg Thoma. He won gold in the Nordic combined in 1960. The foundation of the ski museum, which is located in the village, also goes back to him. His nephew Dieter Thoma was even more successful in ski jumping and ski flying. He was not only Olympic champion, but also German champion fourteen times. Furthermore, Olympic champion Martin Schmitt is still to be mentioned.