Circular hiking trail - Historic sports facilities "Wadeberg" Oberhof

Description Historical Sports Facilities Hike

Experience over 100 years of Oberhof's sporting history at first hand. This hiking route takes you to the historic sports facilities around Oberhof. Numerous display boards not only inform you with interesting facts, but also let you dive into a completely different time.

Starting point

Below the Oberer Hof commercial building, near the "Katzenteich" (cat pond), you will find the starting point with the overview board of the Historic Sports Facilities Trail.

Wadeberg & Youth Ski Jump

In 1908, the Norwegian Rolf Wiborg Thune from Hönefoss built the large ski jump. The wooden ski jump was replaced by a modern 70-metre ski jump. The new construction of the HS 70 youth hill replaced the 66-year-old Wadeberg ski jump HS 69, built in 1951-52, which had to be closed on 13 May 2015 for safety reasons.

Memorial Stone Winter Sports Association

On 22 January 1905, the first official skiing competitions took place in Oberhof. In the afternoon, the Thuringian Winter Sports Association was founded at a meeting in the Domänen inn.

Hindenburg / Thuringia Ski Jump

The inauguration of the Hindenburgschanze took place on 5 February 1928 for the Thuringian Ski Championships.

Bobsleigh House on the Wadeberg

The bobsleigh house was opened in 1908 and had an electric wire rope lift.

Wadeberg bobsleigh track

Historic bobsleigh track from 1908: length: 1,908 m, maximum gradient: 12%, average gradient: 9%, difference in altitude start/finish: 163.5 m. The Wadeberg bobsleigh track was one of the fastest and most dangerous tracks in the world. Until 1930, the five-man bobsleigh was used. Among these there were both wooden and metal constructions. In summer, it was forbidden to enter the track. In winter, icing lasted up to 14 days and required the use of over 20 workers. A total of 20 underground hydrants were installed along the track to supply water. Three of the five curves were raised and extended. The cant of the show curve reached almost 8 m in the 1960s. In the 1950s, the bobsleigh track once again experienced great sporting highlights. Between 30,000 and 40,000 spectators lined the track during championships. In the 1950s, the track had modern technical facilities. In addition to the telephone system and a radio system with microphones at the start, finish and in all curves, the timekeeping clock system was the centrepiece.