Bergisel Jump (virtually) Revisited

Posted on July 18, 2013 by kcosumano

Edited English-language intro: as the course for which I wrote this post is being offered once again, I have begun to remove references to it out of concern that someone will find this post via keywords and then just cut and paste. I would like for that not to happen.

2011 schrieb ich über einen Besuch bei den archäologischen Grabungen an der Hinterseite des Bergisel. Ich habe diesen Beitrag nun hervorgeholt, um ihn bei meinem Archäologiekurs zu verwenden – um einen Fall über die Bewahrung von Funden zu beschreiben und zu zeigen, ob die Anstrengungen von Erfolg gekrönt waren oder nicht. Die Übung, diesen Beitrag nun in einem anderen Lichte zu schreiben, brachte mich dazu meinen bisherigen Ansichten zum Fundort und den Arbeitsschritten zu überdenken. Der Kulthügel am Bergisel ist eigentlich sowohl eine Rettungsgrabung alsauch ein Vermächtnis. Im Geiste der Teilhabe veröffentliche ich daher diese neue und verbesserte Version des damaligen Beitrags.

(Photo from kone.com )

Bergisel is known today as the site of one of the “Four Hills” ski jumps (and a very nice one at that). You may have seen the ski jumping competitions held here on television. The area is also used for concerts, New Year’s Eve fireworks displays, World Cup soccer match broadcasts on large screens, the annual “Air&Style” Freestyle Snowboard Festival, and is the location of the new Tirol Panorama Museum. There is also a pretty trail along the Sill Gorge, on the back side of the hill. It has, therefor, somewhat heavy human traffic at certain times during the year.  Bergisel was also known to be a significant archaeological site since the 1840s, when a small military museum was built on a lower slope —the partial collection of a large treasure find is housed in the Tirol State Museum Ferdinandeum, the other part having been “carried off by the wagonful and sold by weight to bellmakers”.

Der Bergisel ist heutzutage bekannt als eine (besonders schöne) Station der Vierschanzentournee. Vielen wird der Bergisel von Fernsehübertragungen der Schisprungveranstaltungen bekannt sein. Das Gelände wird auch für Konzerte, Neujahrsfeuerwerke, Fußballübertragungen auf Großleinwand und dem jährlichen Air&Style Snowboard Festival genutzt. Zudem ist es der Standort des neuen Tirol Panoramas. Es gibt auch einen reizenden Steig durch die Sillschlucht, an der Rückseite des Bergisel. Der Platz ist somit im Jahreslauf zeitweise von Besuchern stark frequentiert.

Der Bergisel ist als herausragendes archäologisches Fundgebiet seit den 1840ér Jahren bekannt, da man damals ein kleines Militärmuseum am unteren Hangteil errichtete. Ein Teil der damaligen funde sind im Tiroler Landesmuseum ausgestellt, während eine anderer Teile als „Wagenladung weggeschafft und nach Gewicht an Glockengießer verkauft wurde“.

Top image is a screenshot from Bing Maps. Bottom image is from “Ur- and Frühgeschichte von Innsbruck” (“Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology of Innsbruck”) catalog accompanying the 2007 exhibit at the Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum, Innsbruck. In German.

When the old jump was built for the 1964 Winter Olympic Games, a large swath of earth had been removed, and a great deal of archaeological evidence unfortunately went with it. This jump was demolished in 2001 to make room for a better, modern one planned by the well-known architect Zaha Hadid, and in between local archaeologists from the University of Innsbruck were able to come in for a limited time and do excavations.
These excavations have uncovered a site for burnt offerings near the highest point of the hill, just a few meters east of the ski jump tower. Animal bones were found which had been burnt at a temperature of over 600°C. These artifacts have been dates to ranging from 650 BCE to 15 BCE, when the Romans arrived, and would have been taken to the Ferdinandeum.

Als die alte Schisprungschanze für die olympischen Spiele 1964 gebaute wurde, wurde eine mächtige Erdschicht und zugleich eine große Menge archäologischer Beweisstücke entfernt. Diese Schanze wurde 2001 abgetragen und durch einen besserer und modernere von der bekannte Architektin Zaha Hadid geplante ersetzt. Ein begrenzte Zeit konnten Archäologen der UNI Innsbruck Ausgrabungen durchführen.

Bei diesen Ausgrabungen wurden verbrannte Opfergaben nahe der Spitze des Berges, wenige Meter östliche des Schanzenturms entdeckt. Bei 600°C verbrannte Tierknochen wurden gefunden. Diese Fundstücke wurden Zeitraum zwischen 600 und 15 v.Chr., vor Ankunft der Römer, datiert und ins Ferdinandeum gebracht.

The features, that is, the larger artifacts, were then back-filled with earth and left alone. There was absolutely NO information found (in 2012) at the site itself, which is on the outside of the fenced-in ski jump area, so one can’t just take the incline to visit it. There are barely trails — animal paths really — up the very steep grades on the back end of the hill. There are no signs forbidding access but it is difficult to get up there. ( I only made it up —and down — by grabbing onto tree roots and watching very carefully where I stepped. Dead leaves, pine needles and pine cones added a certain hair-raising slipperiness to the adventure. )

Die Bodenmerkmale, also die größeren Fundstücke, wurden dann wieder mit Erde verfüllt und sich selbst überlassen. Es wurde absolut kein Hinweis auf den Fundort außerhalb des umzäunten Geländes der Sprungschanze hinterlassen, sodass man nicht die Möglichkeit hat, den Ort mit der Standseilbahn zu besuchen. Es gibt kaum Pfade den steilen abhängen der Hinterseite des Berges hinauf; die vorhandenen sind tatsächlich Trittspuren von Tieren. Es gibt keine Schilder, die den Zutritt verwehren, aber es ist auch nicht leicht dorthin zu kommen. (Ich selbst kam nur rauf –und runter – in dem ich mich an Baumwurzeln hochhantelte und genau achtete wohin ich trat. Alte Blätter, Nadeln und Tschurtschen (Föhrenzapfen) erweitern das Abenteuer um haarsträubenden Rutschigkeit)

Photograph by the author.

The altar mound as seen today, on the highest point of the hill. The fence around the sport area runs right through the mound, which seems a little unfortunate. I do not know the impact of the fence on the re-buried site but hope that it is minimal.
My take on this site is that despite the great loss of artifacts from earlier landscaping and construction, archaeologists have done their best to secure it and keep it removed from human disturbance as best they can. They had been extremely pressed for time before construction on the new tower began. Today nearly all visitors experience the Bergisel at the lower end, where the Panorama Museum is located, or take the incline ride to the cafe inside the ski jump tower (or walk up on the concrete steps) and have no interest in wandering over to the unidentified excavation site. This makes the conservation efforts a success. A prognosis is more difficult, as I do not know what plans the property owners have for the area. As long as it remains as it is, the site is secure.[submitted summer 2013]

Der Kulthügel, wie man ihn heute sieht, liegt am höchsten Punkt des Berges. Der Zaun der Sportarena läuft direkt durch den Hügel, was etwas unglücklich erscheint. Ich weiß nicht, welche Auswirkungen das Zaunfundament auf die darunter vergrabene Fundstätte hat, hoffe aber, dass diese gering bleiben. Meinen Meinung über diesen Fundort ist, dass die Archäologen trotz der großen Verluste an Fundstücken durch frühere Geländeveränderungen und Bauarbeiten ihr Bestes getan haben, um das verbleibenden zu sicheren und vor menschlichem Zugriff zu bewahren. Sie handelten während des Baues der Sprungschanze unter großem Zeitdruck .

Heute erleben die Besucher den Bergisel vor allem am unteren Ende, wo das Panorama-Museum steht, oder fahren mit der Standseilbahn zum Cafe im Schanzenturm (oder gehen über die Stufen der Tribünen), haben jedoch kein Interesse über die unbekannte Ausgrabungsstätte zu wandern. Die sicherungsmaßnahmen der Archäologen sind somit erfolgreich. Eine Prognose ist hingegen schwierig, da ich die Pläne der Grundstückseigentümer nicht kenne. Solange es so bleibt ist der Fundort sicher.

Additional source link: http://www.uibk.ac.at/urgeschichte/projekte_forschung/archiv/archivprojekte-tomedi/03_02.html (in German)

Pagans In Tirol: Schalenstein

Posted on October 24, 2011 by kcosumano

My best blogposts lately have been inspired (stolen) from others’ efforts, and this one will be no exception. Earlier this month fellow blogger Paschberg went exploring on the newer trails carved out by the mountainbikers, and came across a rock cliff with cup markings carved into the top. This would be the second set found, after the boulder near Tantegert. Naturally, I needed to go find this for myself, and so, equipped with a marked google earth map graciously sent to me, I set out to find the Schalenstein.

After wandering around the general area (there are all sorts of named and unnamed tracks criss-crossing around over there), I circled back and came across this rock face, part of a longer ridge that cuts through the woods.

And sure enough, at the top was a flat, square-shaped boulder, with three cup markings bored into the surface. I was delighted to find it, and at the same time wanted to kick myself for passing so close to this area regularly for nearly two years, and never looking around over this way. This Schalenstein was practically in front of my nose, or better said, over my head.

Behind the rock is a kind of partly enclosed ledge, big enough to sit on. That’s where I noticed the bolt anchors — there are several of them driven into the rock at different heights. Clearly, this cliff is being used for rock climbing practice.

And at the so-called “witch’s cottage”, just a minute or two down the path, it became a little clearer that the climbing practice has some connection to whoever uses the cottage now. Note the climbing holds decorating the wall, and the photograph next to the door.

I walked further uphill along the ridge to inspect more boulders, but they are all covered with thick moss and tree roots. There’s just no telling what’s underneath them. The Schalenstein was the only rock that was somewhat free of moss — which leads me to believe that it’s being somehow, anonymously, maintained.
I once asked an archaeology-minded friend about the cup markings in the rocks here, and she responded with cynicism. There are fakes, there’s no proving their antiquity. She has a point, and the rocks don’t seem to be of interest to anyone official (Not that I can see. Maybe I’m wrong about that.) But they are there. The sacrificial altar sites at Goldbichl and Bergisel are not all that far away, nor is the possibly-Pagan “Judenstein”. It is said there are other marked stones in the area, hidden away in the woods, waiting to be visited.

Pagans In Bavaria: Viereckschanzen in Holzhausen

Posted on September 29, 2011 by kcosumano

Along with the Sunderburg and the pre-Christian grave mounds hidden here and there, the area immediately north of the Ammersee also contains two fairly well-preserved Celtic Viereckschanzen, rectangular earthen enclosures, called Holzhausen 1 and 2. Their function is disputed among archaeologists as to whether they held sacred groves or were built for more practical purposes as forerunners to medieval city walls. They were certainly large enough for whole clans to live in them, being roughly 100 meters long and 75 meters wide, which would make for an unusually wide football field.

Holzhausen 1 has an entrance gate, or at least a higher break in the wall where a gate would have been built. A nearby sign suggests how one would have looked.

A path now leads along the top of the wall, bringing the visitor all the way around and back to the gate.

Inside the wall is meadow, and, interestingly, a small copse of young trees about right in the middle. Much older trees had stood here but had been cut down. We didn’t count the rings in their stumps but there were many. Possibly someone is maintaining their own sacred grove.

At Holzhausen 2, the forest has taken over. The ground inside the wall has filled in over time so that the earthwork is now more of a plateau. Here is the edge, from above on the wall.

Here again, just about in the middle of the Schanze, an unusual circle of plant life. I’m going to assume that fires were made here in the recent past, and the wood ash left the earth especially fertile for this plant. I’m not very romantic about the past — I tend to think people had way too much to do trying to stay alive and healthy and keep what they had, than to put all this work into a little sacred circle. But hey, that’s me. It’s clearly someone’s sacred circle now, and it’s nice to know that these someones are caring for this speck of land.

By each Schanze is a small sign explaining the site, and nothing more. Better that way — it’s not easy to find, not easy to reach (we took our mountain bikes), and less liable to be wrecked. Holzhausen is just south of Fürstenfeldbruck, near Schöngeising, 40 kilometers west of Munich.

>Mountain Blogging: Achensee

Posted on June 30, 2010 by kcosumano

>A day trip to the Achensee, a gorgeous lake in Tirol. It’s long and deep (133 meters) but the southern end is shallow and pale, a milky blue-green from the minerals (I think) in the sediment. The water is very clean, but milky to the point where you can’t see your feet when you stand knee-deep in it.
Beyond that point across the water, the lake turns northward, narrows and deepens significantly. There are several diving access points further north, and other villages. There is no road access to the west shore, but there are trails, and ferry service operates from May through October.
Seems it was perfect weather for paragliding, as there were dozens of them in the air, swooping around over the mountains, catching the currents. One landed practically at my feet as I approached the lake.
The Achenseebahn, a steep cog rail line which runs from Jenbach to the southernmost boat landing on the lake, was built in 1889 and still uses steam trains, unlike the chic and modern electrified Hungerburgbahn. I’ve ridden it once, it’s kind of fun, but it costs an arm and a leg (€22 one way!) I walked both ways (a good hour each way on the mountain biker’s forest road Via Bavarica Tyrolensis — don’t hog the road, give the bikers room to get past you, it’s their trail.)
The villages around the Achensee are all about tourism now, and although they’ve kept it relatively tasteful, the area lacks the wild alpine feeling of other mountain lake regions. Here a bit of kitch near the walking path.

>Bergisel

Posted on February 8, 2010 by kcosumano

>This is the old ski jump on Bergisel, functional and boring, which was built for the 1964 Winter Olympics. Oddly, I was unable to find a photo of it online anywhere — this is a screen grab of video, posted on Youtube. I remember when it was demolished one Sunday at exactly noon. From my terrace a few kilometers away, I watched the tower silently implode, and the boom arrived a second or two later.
The other day we revisited the new one. Its design and the cafe at the top make it a popular sight for tourists, but I have also been up there with locals, for an afternoon birthday gathering for example. The views on all sides are spectacular and so it’s worth doing at least once.

Hey, I can see my house from here. (Really.)
The old guidebooks will tell you that when you stand above the ski jump and look down, you see the cemetery directly beyond the landing strip. It’s true, that’s the Wiltener Friedhof down there. One can’t make it out in this photo but they had just turned the lights on — that row of colored tubes along the right side of the inrun. The effect is of slowing changing color through the evening.

>Erik Schinegger

Posted on February 1, 2010 by kcosumano

UPDATE 16 June 2011: for info about the new film.

When I posted about Gretel Bergmann and Dora Ratjen, I came across another name from closer to home — Erika Schinegger, who was a shining star in the women’s downhill ski races in the mid 60s. Last night ORF aired a 2005 documentary film about Schninegger — Erik(A) — and the events of 1967, when the Austrian Olympic hopefuls submitted to medical testing by the IOC and it came out that Schinegger was, chromosomally speaking, male.
While Ratjen withdrew from society and never spoke to any reporters about his experiences, Schinegger is congenial and loquacious, as well as a very attractive man. Looking at old photos now, one clearly sees (in restrospect, of course) a young man’s face and body. But many of those interviewed said that they were surprised by the test results. They had assumed that Erika Schinegger was simply a healthy, somewhat homely country girl, with muscles from all that farm work.
Schninegger underwent corrective surgery and changed his name from Erika to Erik, and actually competed successfully on the men’s downhill team for a short time — until the Austrian Ski Federation made him resign, due, they told him, to “unrest in the media” and among his teammates. Schinegger returned to live in the village in Carinthia where he grew up, opened a ski school for children, and eventually married (and fathered a daughter.) If he had any bitterness in him, it was not apparent in the film.

The filmmaker interviewed a dozen or so people; family members, childhood friends, teammates, as well as extensive interviews with Schinegger himself, and pulls a neat trick by juxtaposing archival footage with that of modern teenagers at athletic training exercises. The effect is that you as the viewer begin to look at the girls with a clinical eye, noting the things that make them “feminine” — or not. You begin to both notice and question the “obvious” differences between the genders.
Update: I keep coming back to Caster Semenya and what the media circus last year has done to her life. Schinegger had two big things going for him – one was the time and place, and home being a place where he could go about having a normal life, once the locals adjusted (which they did), the other was that by his own accounts, while he grew up identifying as a girl from not knowing anything else, he tended toward boyish things — he tells of annual Christmas meltdowns as a child, when getting another doll instead of the long-desired tractor (the dolls all got their heads broken eventually!) and evidently was able to settle into being a guy relatively easily. The way he described it, it seemed like a natural progression for him. The contortions that Caster’s family/publicity agent/whoever is putting her through to enforce the idea that she’s a “real woman” can’t be good for her.

>Filmschau: About Gretel Bergmann and Dora Ratjen

Posted on December 16, 2009 by kcosumano

>I just saw a new German film the other day, “Berlin 36”. While the film itself was only so-so as far as how it was made (although acted and shot very well), the true story on which it’s based is actually more interesting that the cinematic version.
Gretel Bergmann was a young promising German track and field athlete when the Nazis came to power. Being Jewish, she was expelled from her athletic club in 1933, but was able to move to the UK and participate in the British Championships, winning in the high jump.
As the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics approached, Germany made some attempts at making themselves appear tolerant, and one such attempt was to blackmail Gretel (with threats made to the family) into coming back to join the German team as their Token Jew. She returned and trained, and even tied the German record at a regional meet right before the games. However, her score was deleted from the books and she failed to qualify for the Olympic team due to “underperformance”.
Now, this is where the story gets (even more) interesting: her replacement on the team, a young woman with whom she’d trained, was Dora Ratjen, who was actually male. Although the story is often portrayed as a Nazi scheme of putting a guy in a dress and sending him out to beat Gretel, the truth is more complicated and, as always, more tragic. Ratjen had been raised a girl but apparently was intersex of some form or another*, and her male characteristics began to show in puberty. She placed fourth at the Berlin Olympics and won the 1938 European Championships. However, in 1938 she was riding in a train when someone reported having seen a man in a dress to the police.
Ratjen came through the ordeal in the clear, but she gave up her athletic career and in 1939 was able to get reclassified as a male, and changed his name to Heinrich. (I cannot imagine this would have been easy to do in Nazi Germany, with their obsession with identity cards and all that. But he managed it.) He returned to Bremen, took over the family bar and never spoke to anyone ever again publicly about his past.
He died in 2008. Gretel Bergmann is 95 and living in New York.

* If you look up “intersexuality” on Wikipedia you can learn of the many different ways the human x and y chromosomes can get out of wack. It’s amazing that so many of us turn out normal.

>Death Of A Tormann

Posted on November 11, 2009 by kcosumano

>Robert Enke, goalie for Hannover 96 and for the German national team, took his life Monday evening by throwing himself in front of a train. He was 32.

Enke, it was revealed, had suffered from depression for years. He had first sought help in 2003, then in 2006 his 2-year-old daughter Lara died from a heart condition. Those who knew him well thought that he was doing OK. But as he sank further into despair and anxiety, he kept his suffering hidden, even from his wife.

Germany’s football players and fans are in shock, and grieving. The national team’s upcoming game with Chile has been cancelled, a memorial gathering in Hannover drew 35,000 fans.

Memorial services will be held in Hannover on Sunday, and in Jena, Enke’s hometown.

>Glacier First-Aid in Bavaria

Posted on June 3, 2009 by kcosumano

>Part of the Schneeferner Glacier on the Zugspitz, Germany’s highest mountain, is getting a big white sunshade put over it for the summer months, to keep it from melting away entirely. The reason for this measure is not purely ecological, but also to help keep the ski slopes up there in business by saving a core section of the ice.
The tarps, 6000 square meters (nearly 65,000 square feet) in total, can be seen in a few photographs at this site (in German.) The Schneeferner has been shrinking considerably in the last 40 years; it is feared that the glacier may disappear by 2030.

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German to English translation, ATA-certified

Category Archives: sport