Large Olympic ski jump

The Great Olympic Ski Jump in Garmisch-Partenkirchen is located on the Gudiberg, south of the Partenkirchen district, and is traditionally the venue for the New Year’s Ski Jump as part of the Four Hills Tournament.

The ski jump first hosted the New Year’s competition in 1921. It received its current name after being used for the ski jumping events during the 1936 Winter Olympics.

Throughout its history, the Great Olympic Ski Jump has undergone several renovations. For the 1936 Olympics, it was rebuilt in 1933–1934 and officially inaugurated with a test jump on February 5, 1934. During the Games, 130,000 spectators watched Norwegian Birger Ruud win gold with jumps of 75.0 m and 74.5 m. The current Olympic Stadium was constructed for the 1940 Winter Olympics, which were also planned for Garmisch-Partenkirchen but later canceled due to WWII.

In 1950, a steel inrun tower was installed, extending the inrun from 70 m to 82 m, while the take-off was moved back by about 6 m. At the time, the renovated jump was one of the most modern in the world. Further modifications in 1978 adjusted the take-off and K-point. The last major upgrade in 1996 (costing ~€1 million) modernized the profile and extended the K-point to 115 m. As the oldest ski jump still in World Cup use, athletes and journalists affectionately nicknamed it the “Old Lady.”

In winter 1999, Toni Roßberger set a world record by jumping the hill on a KTM motocross bike, reaching 80 m.

On New Year’s Eve 1999/2000, ski jumper Dieter Thoma (Germany) made history with the “Millennium Jump.” At 23:59:50 on December 31, 1999, he launched from the jump, landing at 00:00 on January 1, 2000—symbolically entering the new millennium mid-air. This marked Thoma’s final competitive jump.

New FIS regulations necessitated a complete rebuild in 2006. The winning design by terrain:loenhart&mayr (with Mayr + Ludescher and Sieber+Renn) beat international competitors. During the 2007 New Year’s event, Andreas Goldberger was slated to perform the last jump on the old hill, followed by a symbolic fireworks “explosion.” Due to poor weather, Anders Jacobsen’s 122.5 m jump in the first round became the final one instead.

On April 14, 2007, the old inrun tower and judges’ tower were demolished to make way for a bolder, cantilevered steel tower. Initially budgeted at €8–9 million, costs eventually reached €15 million. Construction began on April 26, 2007, and the 650-ton steel inrun tower was erected on November 27–28. The jump was inaugurated during the Continental Cup on December 21, 2007, with local junior Felix Schoft making the first jump (132 m). Austrian Gregor Schlierenzauer proved the hill’s potential by setting a new record (141 m) during the 2008 New Year’s event, later broken by Simon Ammann (143.5 m in 2010).

In April 2011, the FIS mandated the installation of a wind net for future Four Hills tournaments.