The Importance of Skiing in Austria |
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| Authors: | Rudolf Müllner |
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| Institution: | 1. Centre for Sport Science and University Sports, Section of Social and Contemporary History of Sport, University of Vienna , Austria Rudolf.muellner@univie.ac.at |
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| Abstract: | The following account is an attempt to explain how skiing in Austria came to acquire its importance. The period around the First World War and the years following it form one focus, as it is at this time that skiing evolved from an elite to a popular sport. This is described as a process of collectivisation through movement and took place largely under the central aegis of the military and schools. Further focus is on the mass media representation of skiing in Austria, post-1945. The biography of the 1970s skiing hero Franz Klammer allows a cursory demonstration of how these narratives create emotionally charged opportunities for identification, which have the power to anchor themselves into the collective memory of post-war Austria. |
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| Keywords: | Austria skiing movement culture identity |
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