Engelberg Magazin Nr. 19

Ausführliche Informationen rund um die Bob- und Schlittelgeschichte von Engelberg finden Sie im Engel- berger Dokument Nr. 31 «Wunderschlitten im Eiskanal – Die Engelberger Bobgeschichte» von Beat Christen. Detailed information on the histor y of sledging and bobsleighing in Engelberg can be found in Engelberger Dokumente No. 31, “Wundersch lit ten im Eiskana l – Die Engelberger Bobgeschichte”, by Beat Christen.

Obwohl es schon viel moder- nere Schlitten, respektive Rodel gäbe, bevorzugen die Schweizer immer noch den guten, alten Holzschlitten.

Although there are more modern sledges and toboggans on the market now, the Swiss still prefer the good old wooden sledge.

snowmaking, the shif ting of snow, and opti- ma l slope preparation in mid-December, we are conf ident that it will be f u lly operationa l f rom Christmas to early or mid-March,” says Peter. Loca ls still refer to the 3.5 km slope as the “Bobbahn”, or bobsleigh run, but few remem- ber how it ac tua lly got that name. Until 1934 , two-man bobsleigh competitions were held on the slope, with the high light being the World Championships of 1934. Nationa l and interna- tiona l sledging races were a lso held there until 1972. Once the competitions stopped, tour- ists took over the slope. In f rom Engelberg to Grafenor t, which is impos- sible to imagine today. “On ly one car and ten motorised bicycles were of f icia lly registered in Obwa lden in 1910. But keeping the moun- tain road open in winter was widely regarded as a necessity,” wrote Beat Christen in Engel- berger Dokumente No. 31, “Wundersch lit ten im Eiskana l – Die Engelberger Bobgeschichte”. So, in order to keep v isitors enter tained, the road was kept open for sledging. The Kur verein a lso adver tised the road f rom Horbis as a sledg- ing slope, as well as the sledge and toboggan run at Kilchbüh l, which the Kur verein built itself. An additiona l at trac tion was launched in 1909/1910: “A costly skeleton track was built f rom Kilchbüh l down to Waisenmat tli,” writes Beat. The Bobbahn f rom the Gerschnia lp down to Engelberg was built a few years later, coinciding with the opening of the Engelberg- Gerschnia lp f unicu lar railway in Januar y 1913. The Swiss Championships took place there for the f irst time in 1921, followed by the two- Engelberg, sledging as a spor t dates back to the emergence of winter tourism in the late 19th centur y. But back then, no one raced on the “Bobbahn” – they sledged a long the road

man bobsleigh World Championships in 1934. When you think about bobsleighing in Engelberg, the name Feierabend is likely to spring to mind. In 1928, Karl Feierabend built the legendar y “Feierabend bob”, which shaped the face of internationa l bobsleigh for the nex t 20 years. While Karl was a master at building bobsleighs, his son Fritz was a master at riding them: today he is a legend, one of Switzerland ’s best-ever bobsleighers. Fritz enjoyed a series of remarkable successes during his career, includ- ing si x World Championship titles and three Olympic silver meda ls, of ten in a team with other bob- sleigh pilots f rom Engelberg. Many Engelberg sledge, whose seat is around 30 centimetres higher than that of the bet ter-known Davos sledge. “Good gliding and hand ling proper- ties and high durability are the specia l char- ac teristics of the Engelberg sledge, which is made of 16 wooden par ts and si x iron par ts,” writes Beat Christen in “Wundersch lit- ten im Eiskana l ”. In the mid-1970s, Charles Christen, tourism direc tor at the time, com- missioned the last few Engelberg sledges, some of which are still in ac tion today. carpenters star ted manufac- turing the Feierabend bob, a lso known as the Engelberg

In Engelberg, any mention of bobsleighing usually evokes the name of Feierabend.

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