1927: Schneepalast (Ski Hall)

Nowadays, huge ski halls are operated worldwide in order to offer sport enthusiasts the pleasures of winter sports irrespective of the weather. Little known, however, is that the first commercial indoor winter sports facility was built in Vienna in 1927. The railway station hall of the Nordwestbahnhof in Brigittenau, which had been vacant since the termination of passenger traffic in 1924, was adapted into the so-called Schneepalast ("snow palace") . To enthuse the urban population for alpine and Nordic winter sport, 150 tonnes of artificial snow were piled up in the building, and two slopes, one toboggan run and one ski jumping hill were installed. The project’s initiator was Dagfinn Carlsen, a Vienna-based Norwegian ski jumper and ski instructor. The opening of the ski hall on November 26, 1927 was overshadowed by the attempted assassination of Vienna Mayor Karl Seitz, who was shot following the inaugural festivities in front of the Schneepalast.

For economic reasons, the ski facility was already forced to close its doors in May 1928. The Schneepalast is not only exemplary of the popularisation of skiing in Austria in the 1920s, but also for the innovative spirit which defined the interwar period. The station hall then remained unused for several years.

In 1938, the travelling anti-Semitic propaganda exhibition “Der Ewige Jude” was shown in the Nordwestbahnhalle. Between August and October 350,000 Austrians saw the exhibit, and the visit was compulsory for Viennese pupils.