Schladming () is a small former mining town in the northwest of the Austrian state of

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

that is now a popular tourist destination. It has become a large winter-sports resort and has held various skiing competitions, including most notably the

FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1982 The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1982 were held in Schladming, Austria, between 28 January and 7 February 1982. These were the 27th World Championships; the men's races were held at Planai and the women's at Haus im Ennstal. :de:Alpine Ski ...

and the

FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2013 The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2013 were the 42nd FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, held 4–17 February in Austria at Planai in Schladming, Styria. A record number of athletes and countries took part in this championships. Schladmi ...

. The shopping area has many cafes and restaurants, and a variety of shops that cater to tourists.

Population

Recreation

Winter sports

The local peak for winter sports is the

Planai Planai is a ski area in central Austria, the main mountain in the Schladming area in Styria. It is one of four adjoining mountains, which includes Hauser Kaibling, Hochwurzen and Reiteralm (Styria), Reiteralm, connected under the name Schladminger ...

. A ten-seater cable car with a middle station takes tourists up the mountain. The Planai consists of many red and black slopes for competitive skiers, and many blue slopes for beginners, but generally the Planai is an intermediate to expert mountain. The Hochwurzen is the other mountain in Schladming. It has three main red runs off the four-man chair lift and a sledge run. This mountain is better suited to more experienced boarders and skiers. Also, There is a new 8 man cable car to the top. Schladming is also in close proximity to the

Reiteralm Reiteralm may refer to: * Reiter Alm, part of Berchtesgaden Alps on the German–Austrian border in Bavaria, Germany, and Salzburg, Austria * Reiteralm (Styria), ski region in Styria, Austria {{Geodis ...

ski resort, where the 2019 Ski Cross Junior World Championships and 2019 Ski Cross Europa Cup finals were held.

Non-winter months

The surrounding mountains are popular with climbers and hikers and country lovers. In the summer, downhill

toboggan A toboggan is a simple sled used in snowy winter recreation. It is also a traditional form of cargo transport used by the Innu, Cree and Ojibwe of North America, sometimes part of a dog train. It is used on snow to carry one or more people (o ...

runs and an outdoor swimming complex are open. The

UCI UCI most commonly refers to: * University of California, Irvine, a public university in Irvine, California, United States * Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling UCI may also refer to: * Uganda Cancer In ...

Mountainbike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling (''mountain biking''). Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in r ...

Worldcup has taken place in Schladming since 2004. In 2010, the Mountainbike Worldcup in Schladming was relocated to

Leogang Leogang is a municipality in the district of Zell am See (district), Zell am See (Pinzgau region), in the state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg in Austria. It is a famous winter sports and summer mountain hiking resort. Population Sights :Mining ...

due to construction work taking place for the Ski World Championships in 2013.

History

The first official mention of the settlement on the site of today's Schladming dates back to 1180. First name of the town was Slaebnich which is of Slavic origin (Slovenian; Slabnik, Slapnik). In the early and high Middle Ages, the place, like the whole of Styria, belonged to the settlement of the Alpine Slavs and was part of the Slavic principality of

Carantania Carantania, also known as Carentania (, , in Old Slavic '), was a Slavic principality that emerged in the second half of the 7th century, in the territory of present-day southern Austria and north-eastern Slovenia. Since the middle of the ...

. During the period of German colonization, the place gradually acquired a Germanic character, although many Slavic elements were preserved in culture and language.

Politics

The municipal council (''Gemeinderat'') consists of 25 members. Since the 2025 local elections, it is made up of the following parties: * List Schladming - Hermann Trinker (LISTE): 11 seats *

Austrian People's Party The Austrian People's Party ( , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since January 2025, the party has been led by Christian Stocker (as an acting leader). It is currently the second-largest p ...

(ÖVP): 7 seats *

Freedom Party of Austria The Freedom Party of Austria (, FPÖ) is a political party in Austria, variously described as far-right, right-wing populist, national-conservative, and Eurosceptic. It has been led by Herbert Kickl since 2021. It is the largest of five part ...

(FPÖ): 5 seats * NEOS - The New Austria and Liberal Forum (NEOS): 1 seat *

Social Democratic Party of Austria The Social Democratic Party of Austria ( , SPÖ) is a social democratic political party in Austria. Founded in 1889 as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (, SDAPÖ) and later known as the Socialist Party of Austria () from 1945 unt ...

(SPÖ): 1 seat The mayor, Hermann Trinker, was first elected by the municipal council in 2020.

Transport

A bus service runs up and down the Planai and surrounding mountains throughout the year. Many ski lifts are on the mountains, some catering especially for small runs…

Sports and events

Since 1973, the Planai has been a regular location for

Alpine Ski World Cup The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France ...

races. Since 1997, the race has been called a "Nightrace" because it takes place at night. In

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, Schladming hosted the Alpine World Ski Championships. In March 2017, Schladming was one of the host towns of the

2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games The 2017 Special Olympic World Winter Games () officially called 11th Special Olympics World Winter Games were a multi-sports event that was held in Austria from March 14 through March 25, 2017. Overview It was announced in 2012 that the host ci ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, together with nearby Ramsau am Dachstein and

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

Twin cities

Felletin Felletin (; ) is a commune in the Creuse department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in central France. Historically, the term Aubusson tapestry often covers the similar products made in the nearby town of Felletin, 8 kilometres away, whose pr ...

, France since 1960 *

Wetzlar Wetzlar () is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany. It is the twelfth largest city in Hesse with currently 55,371 inhabitants at the beginning of 2019 (including second homes). As an important cultural, industrial and commercial center, the un ...

, Germany since 1974 * Furano, Japan since 1977

References

External links

Schladming

Mountainbike Worldcup in Schladming

Pictures of Schladming

Everything about Schladming in one place

Mountainbike guiding
{{Authority control Ski areas and resorts in Austria Schladming Tauern Cities and towns in Liezen District