Ruhpolding is the municipality with the biggest area of the
Traunstein district
Traunstein is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the southeastern part of Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Mühldorf, Altötting, the Austrian states Upper Austria and Salzburg, the district Berchtesgadener Land, ...
in southeastern
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
, Germany. It is situated in the south of the
Chiemgau region in 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, ...
and next to the Austrian border.
Ruhpolding has a
biathlon
The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not ti ...
track. It hosted the 1979, 1985, 1996 and 2012
Biathlon World Championships
The first Biathlon World Championships (BWCH) was held in 1958, with individual and team contests for men. The number of events has grown significantly over the years. Beginning in 1984, women biathletes had their own World Championships, and fina ...
. It also has a ski jumping hill,
Große Zirmbergschanze, where one World Cup event has taken place, in the
1992–93 season.
The economy is based on tourism and sports. In the year 2007 the
Mountainbike 24h Race World Championships
A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which m ...
took place in the
Chiemgau Arena. Other sports which are possible for tourists and residents are golf,
mountainbiking, shooting, hiking,
fly fishing
Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. The light weight requires casting techniques significantly diff ...
and
skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ...
.
History
The name "Ruhpolding" originates from the
Bavarian word ''Rupoltingin'' and means "the people of the strong famous one". The town is mentioned as ''Ruhpoldingen'' for the first time in 1193.
It was connected to the railway in 1895. Since 1948, Ruhpolding has been a famous spa and tourist resort, especially for winter sports. The accommodation figures were 600,000 overnight stays per year in the mid 1950s, which increased to 1,122,732 overnight stays per year in 1991.
People
*
Ferdinand Max Bredt German Orientalist painter.
*
Andreas Wellinger
Andreas Wellinger (born 28 August 1995) is a German ski jumper. His career-best achievements include winning an individual gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics, individual silver at the 2018 Winter Olympics, mixed team gold at the 2017 Ski Jump ...
, Olympic champion in ski jumping
*
Georg von Hertling, the German Chancellor from 1917 to 1918, died here
*
Vanessa Hinz, German biathlete
*
Wolfgang Pichler, Biathlon Coach
*
Ilse Braun sister of Eva and Gretl Braun.
Mayors
* ?–1893: Anton Pointner
* 1893–1906: Mathias Huber (BBB)
* 1906–1919: Georg Eisenberger (BBB)
* 1919–1933: Bartholomäus Schmucker
* 1933 until the end of war: Anton Kreidl, Josef Wallner, Karl Huber
* 1945 and 1946: Alois Rappl, Valentin Plenk, Fritz Grübl
* 1946–1966: Josef Mayer (CSU)
* 1966–1970: Leonhard Schmucker (CSU)
* 1970–1972: Anton Stengel (UW)
* 1972–1978: Franz Schneider (SPD)
* 1978–1996: Herbert Ohl (CSU)
* 1996–2002: Gerhard Hallweger (SPD)
* 2002–2008: Andreas Hallweger (CSU)
* 2008–2020: Claus Pichler (SPD)
* since 2020: Justus Pfeifer (CSU)
References
External links
Village of Ruhpolding
{{Authority control
Traunstein (district)
Ski areas and resorts in Germany