From mining to skiing - Austria

Schladming is famous for many events in winter skiing sports and excellent ski slopes. It's recognised far off and attracts visitors from all over the globe. It's just a 3 hour's drive from Slovenia and it's a world renowned ski centre. The central ski slopes are located on a mountain Planai, but around it there are also many other high class skiing centres. 

The town of Schladming was first mentioned in 1180, but with a different name, resembling Slaebnich. At the time the entire Styria was part of the Slavic dukedom of Karantanija. During German colonization the town started getting a Germanic character. As there was a lot of ore to be found here, the settlement attracted many miners. At the heights of mining industry there was around 1500 miners living here, which was a noticeable number at the time. It was around that time that we know of first initiatives for combining the rights and working conditions for all miners started. During reformation the miners joined the rebellious peasants, which lead to the almost complete destruction of the town by the grand duke Ferdinand I. Still, the rich deposits of silver, lead, copper and other ores made sure the town was quickly rebuilt. Another great transformation took place in 1865, when the town got the railroad track. It was around that period that the town started attracting tourists, which boosted the service sector and expanded year after year. Today they are famous for winter sports. 

The town has transformed from a small mining community into a ski centre of superlatives. Each year they’re gaining in recognition as the leader in winter sports and attract more and more tourists from around the globe. The central ski slopes are located on a mountain Planai, but around it there are also many other high class, but not as famous skiing centres. A cable cart can take you from the town to the Mt. Planai, from where there are great connections to other parts of the mountain range as well. There are about 244 hectares of skiing areas and despite 300.000 tourists coming to the slopes, there is no problem with being overcrowded.  They are also very popular in summer, when there is still a remarkable number of 120.000 tourists who stay for the night. The region is developing with large steps forward and offers 3500 opportunities of accommodation. They offer various hotels, apartments, guest houses, even camps in the summer time. But most guests do come for the organized sporting events, among which the most noticeable has to be the world cup in skiing. The tracks are just perfect, not only for competitors, but for all skiers. And it’s important to know, they have the opportunity for an excellent night skiing, as they have the lighting that can make it bright as day even during the night. The only other such lighting can be found in F1 grand prix racing in Singapore. The town never really falls asleep, as they are constantly upgrading their tourist offer. They’ve built a new railroad station, enlarged the slopes, made a new finish area and much more. For the upgrades of the tourist offer there are always private investors and for the other support there is the local, regional and national government.

The ski slopes are really upgraded, which can be seen with heated ski lifts that take up to 8 people. There are also many skiing and boarding schools for children and grownups. The vast mountains also allow for tour skiing, with organized tours, but if you want to, you can go individually. The snowboarding community is every growing and they always prepare the course where they can show off their stunts. And you can even be active after dark as there are skiing slopes and even sledging tracks lit up at night. While coming down hill there are many cabins that offer food, drink and fun. And it’s here Austrians show they love to have fun. The usually enjoy their traditional music, local beer and a Willi mit Frücht, which is pear schnapps with fruit. 

Schladming is a large skiing centre, a home to some of the best skiing competition and other international sporting events. You can ski, snowboard, tour ski, sledge, go cross country skiing… or enjoy summer activities in nature. The town will always stay remembered for great things. But the prices are usually high.