Berlin Ice with Black Forest Snow By Volker Kluge The Berlin Ice Palace. A band played on the balcony during events. Below right: vignettes for the Nordic Games of 1913 and the Games of the VI'" Olympiad in Berlin, whose main event was to be the "Stadion-Wett- kampfe” from V'to 10"'July 1916. Illustrations: Volker Kluge Archive 55Z. Berlin W., L u th en tr. Eispalast. From today's viewpoint, it is scarcely believable that needed for the food and drink industries, which until Olympic Winter Games were for a long period an then had used blocks of ice sawn in winter from frozen unloved child. At the Founding Congress of 1894 the lakes and then kept at the edges of cities in gigantic Commission for Olympic Games in its second meeting on depots.3 2i“June had accepted "patinage", skating, into the list It was left to London to stag? "Winter Games" for the of desirable sports, but had not devoted a single word first time as part of the Olympic Games. In July 1908 to its realization.1 Greece had financial problems even stadium events were held, “he October programme then. How were they to acquire an artificial ice rink in featured boxing, football, rugby, hockey and lacrosse - the spring of 1896? and as the only genuine winter sport, figure skating. In Great Britain, where the Scottish doctor and chemist William Cullen had already produced "artificial cold" as early as 1748 by means of thermodynamic processes, a rink had already been in existence for half a century. It was called The Glacinarium 1. The succeeding installation, which could only be used by "noblemen and gentlemen under certain conditions", opened on 7th January 1876 in the exclusive Royal borough of Chelsea. The size of the ice rink: 12.19 X7.32 m limited the sporting activities which could be staged there. American patents were instrumental in making the modern "ice age" possible. The new ice machines were Entrance hall to the Ice Palace in Berlin, opened in 1908. Far left: extract from the Minutes of the Olympic Founding Congress of 1899, with the list of “desirable sports”. These were obviously noted at short notice. Illustrations: I0C/0SC Archives. Volker Kluge Archive their Session of 1909 the IOC Members had also the opportunity of visiting the new attraction in Berlin. The following year the rink passed its first practical test when it staged the figure-skating World Championships for ladies and pairs. In 1911 there followed the "gentlemen’s” championships, at which the Swede Ulrich Salchow became world champion for the tenth and final time. The complex was designed by the Berlin architect Walter Hentschel on the model of the Paris Palais de It was a beginning which did not meet with the Glace7, only half the size, had an ice surface 54 by 34 approval of IOC President Pierre de Coubertin. He had metres, which corresponded approximately to the had pleaded that Sweden alone, where Nordic Games dimensions later laid down in international regulation; European Champion­ had been held since 1901, "would one day organise 60 x 30 m.8 The facility, which had been built by the ships in speed skating Olympic Winter Games on ice and snow".'* After 1908 August Borsig company - at that ime the second largest on Berlin's Halensee: Coubertin repeated tnis proposal, but also his refusal to producer of steam locomotives in the world - possessed the Norwegian Oscar accept winter sports onto the programme - except for a freezer which cooled a saline solution down to minus Mathisen won the figure skating with the proviso “if necessary".5 twelve degrees and pumped it into a system of pipe; 5000 metres and with He found support from the chief organiser of the 20,000 m long. The ice surface which this process it the multi-events Games of the V,h Olympiad, Viktor Balck, who since produced was ten centimetres thick and smoothed title. 1893 had been President of the International Skating daily. Union (ISU). The Swedish colonel put the brakes on his ambitious IOC colleagues with a harsh reaction and the argument that Stockholm possessed no ice palace. The offer of the Italian Count Brunetta d'Usseaux, interested in skiing for military reasons, to accept the Nordic Games planned for January 1913 as part of the Olympiad, failed when Balck refused i:.6 In the long run however, all attempts by the Scandinavians to claim winter sport as a privilege for themselves wer? to fail. Berlin, which had been promised the Games of the VIth Olympiad, planned for 1916 not only competitions on ice but also on snow. The Ice Palace at 22-24 Lutherstrasse, opened on i!t The ice hall alone swallowed up building costs of 1.48 September 1908, gave the imperial capital a facility million Marks, to which were added 1.8 million for the unique in the wor d. It was where the best figure building.9The palace, opened each from 9 to midnight, skaters had already prepared for the Olympic contests could accomodate for 4500 visitors, of whom 2000 were in London. The Prince’s Skating Club Rink in the host allowed on the ice at the same time. For this they had to city was only available from 8th October. As part of pay 50 Pfennigs, while spectating cost double that. In Brussels in 1905, glance at the building documentation shows that Fridtjof Nansen was within the area of the Ice Palace with its surface of one of the first four around 1150 square metres, a speed skating track of 400 people to be awarded m could hardly be accommodated. These competitions the Olympic Diploma. were probably intended for the Halensee, where in 1914 The others were the 23,d European Championships had been staged. American President Theodore Roosevelt, Polar explorer Nansen as honorary member the Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos The altitude of Berlin - 35 n above sea level - drew Dumont, and Briton attention for the first time to a territorial problem, that William Grenfell, later only after the First World War became really relevant, Lord Desborough. after the 1928 Olympic Games had been allocated to With his book The First Figure skating, speed skating multi-event Amsterdam. The Dutch, whc as is well known are not Crossing of Greenland, and ice hockey with puck numbered among the peoples of the mountains, had to the Norwegian polar give up the privilege of also carrying out what had now explorer aroused The Organising Committee for the VIth Olympiad, become official Olympic Winter Games, whereupon St. enthusiasm for skiing. led by Carl Diem, had presented the programme Moritz in Switzerland sprang into the breach." As a result the Todtnauer on 11"1 November 1913, althojgh it still bore the title In contrast to its neighbour Germany has a range of Ski Club was founded "provisional". On the list were twelve summer sports, to regions sure to have snow. From the beginning of the in 1891 in the Black which were added “XIII", ice skating and "XIV", skiing. 20th century these were also conquered by the winter Forest (below). Skating, planned for the 4 and 6th February 1916, sports enthusiasts. This was furthest advanced in the was subdivided into figure skating (gentlemen, ladies, south west, where since 1887, the Grof therzogliche Pholus: Volker Kluge Archive, piclure-iilliance pairs), speed skating (500,1500 and 5000 m) as well as Badische Staatseisenbahn [state railway of the Grand ice hockey. In addition on the entry forms there were the Duchy of Baden] had been transporting tourists from words "Canadian ice hockey with puck”, for in Germany Freiburg im Breisgau to the High Black Forest. and other European countries at that time people The first skier sighted at 1493 metres, who thus entered played with a ball. The Organising Committee had set his name in the 'visitors book’ of the "Feldberger Hof", the maximum number of participants per nation at six was Dr. jur. Robert Pilet, a French consular official, who athletes in individual events of three pairs. In ice hockey had been transferred to Heidelberg and whose pointed they intended to permit two teams per country. wooden skis from Norway only provoked head-shaking No individual medals we-e scheduled for speed from the older local inhabitants. All the greater was the skating, which corresponded to the rules governing interest of some young Black Forest locals, who had international competition since 1908: "The winner is themselves instructed by him in the spring in "proper" the skater who wins at least two distances. If a different skiing. skater wins over any distance, then the winner with the However the decisive impetus came in 1891 from a best number of places from the three individual events book by the polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen. In German is chosen: if the figures of places are equal, then the it was entitled AufSchneeschuhen durch Gronland [On number of points is decisive." J snowshoes through Greenland] a title which may have As a competition site besides the Ice Palace an "open misled some.’2 Of course the Norwegian did not wear ice rink (sprayed ice) or natural ice" was added. Yet a old-fashioned "snowshoes" on his 49 day march, but "skis".’3 Over Christmas, Nansen's travel report had been discussed in a lively fashion at the "Stammtisch” [regulars' table]. Then six you ng men decided to form the Ski Club Todtnau in 1891, whereby the history of organised skiing in central Europe began.11* Nansen was offered honorary membersh p, which he accepted on 5,hJanuary1892.'5 That same year a Todtnau brush factory began the production of skis to the design of a sample pair.