1901: Opening of the ice rink at Heumarkt

The Vienna Ice Skating Club (WEV) is the oldest surviving sports club in Austria. Founded in 1867, it quickly developed into a social, cultural and athletic hotspot in the imperial capital and residence city of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. The “Vienna Figure Skating School” created a new style of figure skating at the WEV that continues to influence the aesthetic of the sport up to the present day. Due to the construction of the Vienna metropolitan railway, the skating rink moved from its original location in the area of today’s Wien-Mitte railway station to the Heumarkt in the 3rd district where, in 1901, the new rink was opened and remains to this day. At the peak of its development, in the winter of 1929/30, the club had about 10,000 members. In the winter of 1945, the WEV founded the Vienna Ice Revue, which for the next 25 years was an integral part of the Austrian cultural and entertainment landscape.

Until the 1970s the figure skaters of the WEV, such as Herma Szabó, Austria’s first female Olympic winner (1924), Felix Kaspar, Ingrid Wendl, Emmerich Danzer or Trixi Schuba, were among the world’s best in their profession. The club also celebrated many national and international successes in ice dance, speed skating and ice hockey.

Today, located between the Konzerthaus and the InterContinental Hotel, the WEV operates one of the world’s largest inner-city open-air ice skating rinks with an area of 6,000 m².