Austria - winter

One could have the feeling that all pride of Austria is focused on the winter sports. ´The Austrian is not only branded as man of culture, but also as man of ski´, as, for example, the satirist and author Heinrich Steinfest states. After all already our youngest ones are on their skis, their snowboard or on their cross- country skis, especially in the fantastic winter sport region of Styria.  

One can also put it like this: Winter sport is a national shrine. People become hysterical, winter sports athletes are idolized, doesn´t matter whether they are active or whether they have already gone into retirement for decades. That´s exactly how Austrians stylize every winter sport competition to a national matter of highest importance. That´s exactly why Austria and its people become on the one hand completely quiet whenever there are large-scale events like the Olympic Games, because the people share the thrill in front of their TVs. On the other hand Austria and its people can become extremely noisy whenever there are games taking place in one´s own country like the Special Olympics World Winter Games 2017 in Styria. Then people swarm out in large numbers, turn the sports complex into a colourful sea of flags and hysterically share the thrill with the athletes.  


Granted, Austrians love it whenever they are able to organize large- scale sport events in their own country. This again draws them to awareness of the world, it makes the little Alpine country proud. They are just as proud of the fantastic mountains around the region of Schladming- Dachstein.

Not long ago Austria held the FIS- World championship 2013 there- and this with great success. The locals seem to know why: „Because we are a crazy country for winter sports. And although here the alps are not the highest, they are the most beautiful ones“, as they stay with blinking.