Schneemann is the official mascot of the

1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (german: XII. Olympische Winterspiele, french: XIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 ( bar, Innschbruck 1976, label= Austro-Bavarian), was a ...

, which were held in Innsbruck,

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 ...

in February 1976. It is also the first official Winter Olympic mascot. The mascot is a Tyrolean

snowman A snowman is an anthropomorphic snow sculpture of a man often built in regions with sufficient snowfall and is a common winter tradition. In many places, typical snowmen consist of three large snowballs of different sizes with some additional ...

called ''Schneemann'' (, "snowman" in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

), created by Walter Pötsch, and represents the ''Games of Simplicity''. The mascot wears a

Tyrolean hat The Tyrolean hat (german: Tirolerhut, it, cappello alpino), also Bavarian hat or Alpine hat, is a type of headwear that originally came from the Tyrol in the Alps, in what is now part of Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. It is an essenti ...

which is a typical hat worn in the region of Innsbruck. The public's opinion of this was somewhat divided, but its financial success was indisputable. Schneemann was also considered a lucky charm. At the 1964 Games in Innsbruck, the lack of snow remained ingrained in the memory, and the organisers feared a similar scenario for 1976. But the 1976 Winter Games had plenty of snow.

References

1976 Winter Olympics Olympic mascots Fictional Austrian people Fictional humanoids Fictional snowmen {{Olympic-stub