The Österreichische Alpenfahrt (also known as the Austrian Alpine Rally or the Rally of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

) was a

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sports ...

that was part of the inaugural World Rally Championship in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

History

Modelled on the German

Prinz-Heinrich-Fahrt The Prinz-Heinrich-Fahrt (''Prince Heinrich Tour'', also known as Prince Henry Tour), named after Prince Albert Wilhelm Heinrich of Prussia, was a motorcar contest held from 1908 to 1911 and a precursor to the German Grand Prix. The brother of Empe ...

, the Alpenfahrt was first run in 1910, making it older than the Rally Monte Carlo. The route across the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

was considered one of the hardest rallies in Europe before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The cars at this time were unreliable and mountain roads were sometimes no more than steep insecure paths. Nevertheless, between 1912 and 1914 Audi Type Cs (''Alpensieger'') proved reliable and rapid enough to win the rally in three successive years. Oswald, p 41 In 1911, Ferdinand Porsche and

Austro-Daimler Austro-Daimler was an Austro-Hungarian automaker company, from 1899 until 1934. It was a subsidiary of the German ''Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft'' (DMG) until 1909. Early history In 1890, Eduard Bierenz was appointed as Austrian retailer. The com ...

were awarded the team prize. The last rally for more than three decades took place in 1914. After the First World War,

couldn't finance the event alone, but with the participation of several automobile associations an ''Internationale Alpenfahrt'' rally could again be held from 1928 to 1936. The rally ran through Austria,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. After the Austrian ''

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

'' to

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, two ''Internationale Deutsche Alpenfahrt'' competitions running from

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

were held by the NSKK organization in 1938 and 1939. The first Austrian Alpenfahrt after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

started in 1949. Until around 1965 mostly motorcycles entered the Rally (due to economical reasons). From 1965 to 1973 cars regained the majority in the entry list. The

1973 Austrian Alpine Rally The 1973 Austrian Rally (formally the 44. Austrian Alpine Rally) was the ninth round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in mid-September around Baden, Austria, the rally was entirely on gravel surface special stages. 1973 wou ...

was part of the

1973 World Rally Championship The 1973 World Rally Championship was the inaugural season for the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) World Rally Championship (WRC) format. It consisted of 13 events, each held in a different country of the world. Many of the even ...

, but after that year the Rally ceased to exist because of the Oil Crisis. In 2002 an annual

classic rally Classic rallying, or historic rallying, is a type of road rally suitable for most standard classic cars, with no special equipment needed (the equipment allowed depends on the particular rally). These rallies are more about enjoyment than speed, and ...

was restarted as ''Internationale Österreichische Alpenfahrt'', which celebrated the centenary of the competition at Bad Kleinkirchheim,

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...

in 2010.

Winners

Literature and sources

* Martin Pfundner: ''100 Jahre Alpenfahrt'', Böhlau Verlag, Wien-Köln-Weimar 2010 *

External links

Rally of Austria at juwra.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osterreichische Alpenfahrt World Rally Championship rallies