Norway, Tryvannshøyden, memorial to Fritz Huitfeldt

Nicolay Fritz Reichwein Huitfeldt (19 May 1851 – 24 April 1938) was a Norwegian sports official, writer and producer of

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partial ...

s and

ski binding A ski binding is a device that connects a ski boot to the ski. Before the 1933 invention of ski lifts, skiers went uphill and down and cross-country on the same gear. As ski lifts became more prevalent, skis—and their bindings—became increasin ...

s. He was born in Borgund as a son of

stipend A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work pe ...

iary

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

Hans Jørgen Hansen Huitfeldt (1806–1857) and Fredrikke Ambjørnsen (1815–1897). The family also lived in

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad. The city of Fredrikstad was founded in 15 ...

during Fritz' childhood, but when he was 13 years old the family moved to Christiania. He was a distant descendant of

Tønne Huitfeldt Tønne Huitfeldt (20 November 1625 – 12 September 1677) was a Norwegian military officer and landowner. He is best known for leading the defense of Halden, during the Second Northern War. He was a signatory of the 1661 Sovereignty Act, the ...

. He was married twice; first between 1894 and 1900 to singer Marie Gløersen, then from September 1906 to Asta Marie Andersen (1877–1966). Through his sister, Fritz Huitfeldt was a brother-in-law of his own cousin

Henrik Jørgen Huitfeldt-Kaas Henrik Jørgen Huitfeldt-Kaas (2 February 1834 – 18 May 1905) was a Norwegian historian and Director-General of the National Archives of Norway (''riksarkivar''). Huitfeldt-Kaas was born in Christiania (now Oslo, Norway). He was a member of bo ...

. He took the

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

in 1870 and the "second examen" in 1872. Until 1880 he ran two sports stores, first in

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken (county), Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and village ...

and later in

Skien Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsj ...

. He was then hired in a weapons store in Kristiania. He started his own sports store in the city in 1891, but was employed in another store between 1896 and 1915. He also ran a ski factory named Ull. He became famous all over the skiing world for his "Huitfeldt

s", pioneered in 1894 with significant improvements in 1897 and 1904. His bindings and skis were used by ski jumpers,

cross-country ski Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

ers and

alpine ski ''Alpine Ski'' (アルパイン・スキ一) is an Alpine skiing arcade game, released by Taito in 1981. The player controls a skier, who can move left, right, or increase forward speed. The aim is to maneuver a skier through a downhill ski course ...

ers alike. Huitfeldt released several books about skiing, hunting and angling, and was an avid skier. He was a member of

SK Ull SK may refer to: Businesses and organizations * SK Foods, an American agribusiness company * SK Hand Tools, an American tool manufacturer * Sangguniang Kabataan, Philippines youth councils * SK Group, South Korean conglomerate * Scandinavian Airli ...

from its founding year, served as its first deputy chairman (from 1883 to 1885) and its third chairman (from 1887 to 1891). He especially promoted the Telemark style of skiing, but was also involved in

ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...

. From 1886 to 1893 he was employed as a secretary in the

Association for the Promotion of Skiing The Association for the Promotion of Skiing ( no, Foreningen til Ski-idrettens Fremme, or Skiforeningen) is a large association in Norway promoting Nordic skiing and other outdoor recreational activities. Skiforeningen was founded in 1883 and has ...

. Together with Hans Krag he was responsible for discontinuing the

Husebyrennet Husebyrennet was a ski jumping competition which was held in Ullern, Oslo, Norway. These yearly competitions, held from 1879 to 1891, were a precursor to the Holmenkollen event. Starting in January 1892, this competition relocated to the Holm ...

and creating the hill

Holmenkollbakken Holmenkollbakken is a large ski jumping hill located at Holmenkollen in Oslo, Norway. It has a hill size of HS134, a construction point of K-120, and a capacity for 70,000 spectators. Holmenkollen has hosted the Holmenkollen Ski Festival since 18 ...

which arranged the

Holmenkollen Ski Festival The Holmenkollen Ski Festival ( no, Holmenkollen skifestival or ) is a traditional annual Nordic skiing event in Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway. The full official name of the event is Holmenkollen FIS World Cup Nordic. History It takes place in March ...

from 1892. He died in April 1938 in Oslo. A monument to him was unveiled near

Tryvannstårnet Tryvannstårnet is a 118-metre (387 feet) tall broadcasting tower near Oslo, located 529 metres (1,736 feet) above mean sea level on the summit of Tryvannshøyden hill overlooking lake Tryvann. Tryvannstårnet was built in 1962 and has an observ ...

in 1946.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huitfeldt, Fritz 1861 births 1938 deaths Norwegian sports executives and administrators SK Ull members Norwegian non-fiction writers