Eisenach

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Wartburg-Schanze:

K-Point:	25 m
Hill record:	27.0 m

Year of construction:	1924
Conversions:	1952
Further jumps:	no
Status:	destroyed
Plastic matting:	no
Ski club:	Eisenacher Skiclub, BSG Motor Eisenach

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History:

On January 25, 1926 the Eisenach newspaper announced: „By yesterday (…) our much praised city of Eisenach was enqueued into the rank of winter sports places.” Already since the century turn-over skiing activities had existed there and from 1920 on a ski club existed, which briskly organising diverse skiing events. But without a doubt the opening of the ski jumping hill at Helltal was a very special highlight. This valley south-east of the Wartburg, in which Luther should have liked to go for a walk, was very suitable for a ski jump construction. Probably already completed in 1924, its hand over from the city director to the ski club was celebrated in February 1925. Due to the warm winter the real inauguration of then called “Wartburgschanze” could only be held at January 24, 1926. Attended by 3,000 spectators Albin Scheerschmidt from Oberschönau won with a distance of only 15 1/4 meters, inflicted by the very bad snow condititions. Years later Rudolf Lesser set up a hill record of 25 meters. But then ski jumping enthusiams declined, because the skiers from Eisenbach more and more concentrated on cross-country and alpine skiing and the jump dilapidated.
But after the War the jump was reconstructed. In 1952 the Wartburg was converted and so the take-off had to be moved five meters backwards and an inrun tower was set up. The skiing section of BSG Motor Eisenach, the newly founded sports club of the local automotive factory, fervently used the new ski jumping hill. In 1953 a Christmas competition was organized and the hill record was improved on 27 meters. But ski jumping could never really establish at Eisenach, majorly due to very often bad weather conditions. But it also happened that the instantly prepared landing slope was used by tobogganists and thereby made unusable. In 1959 there was a discussion between the city administration and the ski club about maintenance and subsistence of the ski jump. In the end the lacking snow-security of this area was leading to the closing of Wartburgschanze and its removal and excavation years later.

Source: Stadt Eisenach / Stadtarchiv, Dr. Brunner

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