The German Figure Skating Championships () are an annual figure skating competition organized by the German Ice Skating Union () to crown the national champions of Germany. The first official German Championships were held in 1891 in Munich. Pair skating was added in 1907, an event for women in 1911, and ice dance in 1937. Between 1949 and 1990, East Germany held separate championships from West Germany; the West German Championships are considered the official German Championships.
Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance at the senior and junior levels, although not every discipline is held every year due to a lack of participants. Werner Rittberger, the man credited with inventing the loop jump, holds the record for winning the most German Championship titles in men's singles (with eleven), while Ellen Brockhöft and Nicole Schott are tied for winning the most titles in women's singles (with seven each). Aljona Savchenko holds the record in pair skating (with ten), although these were not all won with the same partner. Three teams are tied for winning the most titles in ice dance (with six each): Angelika Buck and Erich Buck; Kati Winkler and René Lohse; and Nelli Zhiganshina and Alexander Gazsi.
History While unofficial German figure skating championships were held from 1887 to 1889 in Hamburg, the first official championship event was held in Munich in 1891. A. Schmitson won this inaugural event. Until 1914, skaters from Austria-Hungary frequently competed at the German Championships. Georg Zachariades, who won the 1892 and 1893 championships, was from Vienna, as was Gustav Hügel, who won the championships in 1894. The first national competition in pair skating was held in 1907 in Altona, for women in Olomouc in 1911, and for ice dance in Hamburg in 1937. Competition was frequently interrupted early on, especially from 1915 to 1919 due to World War I.
In March 1938, after the Anschluss – the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich – Austria became part of the German Empire and the citizens of Austria became de facto German citizens. They were, therefore, eligible to compete in the German Figure Skating Championships. Edi Rada won the men's championship in 1943; Marta Musilek won the women's championships in 1942, 1943, and 1944; Herta and Emil Ratzenhofer won the pairs championship in 1944; and Jutta Stöhr and Fritz Hackl won the ice dance championship in 1944.
Following the collapse of the Third Reich in 1945 and its defeat in World War II, Germany was divided into two separate countries: the Federal Republic of Germany (), also known as West Germany, and the German Democratic Republic (), also known as East Germany. The East German Figure Skating Championships () were held annually from 1949 to 1990. From 1947 to 1990, separate figure skating championships were held in West Germany; those results are considered the historical results of the German Figure Skating Championships.
The dissolution of East Germany occurred on 3 October 1990, leading to its reintegration into the Federal Republic of Germany to form present-day Germany. Following the reunification of Germany, East German skaters began competing at the German Championships, and many former East German skaters became champions of the newly reunified Germany, including Mirko Eichhorn, Alexander König, René Lohse, Axel Rauschenbach, Peggy Schwarz, Ingo Steuer, Kati Winkler, and Ronny Winkler.
The 2021 German Championships were originally scheduled to be held in Hamburg, but were moved to Dortmund due to lockdown restrictions in Hamburg. The competition was held under strict COVID-19 safety protocols, with the skaters isolated from the public during competition. The number of competitors was also smaller than usual, since some of Germany's top skaters, including Nicole Schott, Kristina Isaev, and Jennifer Janse van Rensburg and Benjamin Steffan, who all trained in Oberstdorf, were unable to travel to Dortmund due to quarantine regulations. Additionally, the Berlin Ice Sports Association withdrew all Berlin-based skaters, including Paul Fentz, three days before the event began, citing health concerns. While all senior-level events and junior-level pair skating and ice dance events went ahead as planned, the junior-level single skating events and all novice-level events, which had originally been postponed, were ultimately cancelled.
Senior medalists
Men’s singles +Senior men's event medalists Year Location Gold Silver Bronze 1891 Munich A. Schmitson Carl Kaiser No other competitors 1892 Frankfurt Georg Zachariades Oscar Uhlig 1893 Hamburg Fritz Ahrendt Franz Zilly 1894 Opava Gustav Hügel Georg Zachariades Alfred Klement 1895 Bonn Gilbert Fuchs Gustav Hügel No other competitors 1896 Darmstadt No other competitors 1897 Berlin Karl Zenger Alfred Klement Kurt Dannenberg No competitions held 1900 Berlin Wilhelm Zenger Fritz Otto No other competitors 1901 Opava Emil Schindler Fritz Otto 1902 No competition held 1903 Leipzig Ludwig Niedermeyer Eugen Dreyer No other competitors 1904 Braunschweig Heinrich Burger H. Hofmann Ernst Lassahn 1905 Bonn Karl Zenger Heinrich Burger Martin Gordan 1906 Munich Heinrich Burger Karl Zenger 1907 Altona Eugen Dreyer No other competitors 1908 No competition held 1909 Munich Gilbert Fuchs Erich Gutleben Georg Velisch 1910 No competition held 1911 Hanover Werner Rittberger Alfons Zintl No other competitors 1912 Berlin Artur Vieregg Otto Möwius 1913 Alfons Zintl Hugo Metzner 1914 Opava Hugo Metzner Willy Kaldenbach 1915–19 No competitions due to World War I 1920 Berlin Werner Rittberger Paul Franke Artur Vieregg 1921 1922 Riessersee Artur Vieregg Paul Franke 1923 Paul Franke Artur Vieregg 1924 Berlin 1925 Titisee 1926 Berlin 1927 Paul Franke Werner Rittberger Herbert Haertel 1928 Füssen Werner Rittberger Paul Franke 1929 Opole Paul Franke Ernst Baier No other competitors 1930 Wrocław Leopold Maier-Labergo Herbert Haertel 1931 Schierke Theo Laß Otto Vierlinger 1932 Riessersee Ernst Baier Herbert Haertel 1933 Opole Ernst Baier Benno Wellmann Karl Beuttel 1934 Braunlage Herbert Haertel Theo Laß 1935 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Günther Lorenz 1936 Günther Lorenz Herbert Haertel 1937 Hamburg Horst Faber 1938 Cologne 1939 Berlin Horst Faber Edi Rada Ulrich Kuhn 1940 Vienna Hellmut May 1941 Essen 1942 Berlin Erich Zeller Ulrich Kuhn 1943 Vienna Edi Rada Horst Faber Erich Zeller 1944 Düsseldorf Horst Faber Edi Rada 1945–46 No competitions due to World War II 1947 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Horst Faber No other competitors 1948 Krefeld Ulrich Kuhn Freimut Stein 1949 Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1950 Krefeld Hermann Braun 1951 Hamburg Freimut Stein No other competitors 1952 Düsseldorf Freimut Stein Klaus Loichinger 1953 Krefeld Kurt Weilert 1954 West Berlin Werner Kronemann 1955 Tilo Gutzeit Manfred Schnelldorfer Werner Kronemann 1956 Cologne Manfred Schnelldorfer Tilo Gutzeit Hans-Jürgen Bäumler 1957 West Berlin Hans-Jürgen Bäumler Günter Tyroler 1958 Munich Tilo Gutzeit Hans-Jürgen Bäumler 1959 West Berlin 1960 Essen Sepp Schönmetzler 1961 Oberstdorf Sepp Schönmetzler Fritz Kessler 1962 Frankfurt Sepp Schönmetzler Fritz Kessler Peter Krick 1963 West Berlin Manfred Schnelldorfer Sepp Schönmetzler Hugo Dümmler 1964 Oberstdorf Hugo Dümmler Jürgen Eberwein 1965 Cologne Sepp Schönmetzler Peter Krick Bodo Bockenauer 1966 Füssen Peter Krick Bodo Bockenauer Reinhard Ketterer 1967 West Berlin Ralph Borghard Jürgen Eberwein 1968 Essen Jürgen Eberwein Klaus Grimmelt 1969 Cologne Reinhard Ketterer Klaus Grimmelt Erich Sutor 1970 Oberstdorf Klaus Grimmelt Reinhard Ketterer Edgar Schneider 1971 West Berlin Erich Reifschneider Harald Kuhn 1972 Bad Nauheim Harald Kuhn Klaus Thiele 1973 Krefeld Erich Reifschneider Harald Kuhn 1974 Augsburg Klaus Thiele Gerd-Walter Gräbner 1975 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Gerd-Walter Gräbner Klaus Thiele 1976 Bremerhaven Gerd-Walter Gräbner Thomas Nieder Kurt Kürzinger 1977 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Kurt Kürzinger Gerd-Walter Gräbner 1978 Dortmund Rudi Cerne Gerd-Walter Gräbner Thomas Nieder 1979 Herne Norbert Schramm Thomas Nieder Heiko Fischer 1980 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Rudi Cerne Norbert Schramm 1981 Unna Norbert Schramm Rudi Cerne 1982 Mannheim Heiko Fischer Norbert Schramm 1983 Oberstdorf Norbert Schramm Rudi Cerne 1984 Unna Norbert Schramm Heiko Fischer 1985 Bremerhaven Heiko Fischer Richard Zander Thomas Wieser 1986 Mannheim Joachim Edel 1987 West Berlin Richard Zander Thomas Wieser Oliver Dechert 1988 Unna Heiko Fischer Richard Zander Daniel Weiss 1989 West Berlin Richard Zander Daniel Weiss Oliver Dechert 1990 Oberstdorf Daniel Weiss Richard Zander 1991 Berlin Mirko Eichhorn Ronny Winkler 1992 Unna Mirko Eichhorn Ronny Winkler Daniel Weiss 1993 Mannheim Ronny Winkler Patrick-Rene Reinhardt Gizo Bliadze 1994 Herne Mirko Eichhorn Patrick-Rene Reinhardt 1995 Oberstdorf Andrejs Vlaščenko Ronny Winkler Mirko Eichhorn 1996 Berlin Michael Hopfes 1997 Oberstdorf Michael Hopfes Jens ter Laak 1998 Berlin Sven Meyer Andrejs Vlaščenko Michael Hopfes 1999 Oberstdorf Andrejs Vlaščenko Stefan Lindemann 2000 Berlin Stefan Lindemann Michael Hopfes Silvio Smalun 2001 Oberstdorf Silvio Smalun Andrejs Vlaščenko Michael Hörrmann 2002 Berlin Stefan Lindemann Silvio Smalun 2003 Oberstdorf Silvio Smalun Stefan Lindemann Andrejs Vlaščenko 2004 Berlin Stefan Lindemann Andrejs Vlaščenko Silvio Smalun 2005 Oberstdorf Silvio Smalun Martin Liebers 2006 Berlin 2007 Oberstdorf Philipp Tischendorf 2008 Dresden Clemens Brummer Peter Liebers 2009 Oberstdorf Peter Liebers Clemens Brummer Philipp Tischendorf 2010 Mannheim Stefan Lindemann Peter Liebers Daniel Dotzauer 2011 Oberstdorf Peter Liebers Denis Wieczorek Christopher Berneck 2012 Paul Fentz Martin Rappe 2013 Hamburg Franz Streubel Paul Fentz 2014 Berlin 2015 Stuttgart Franz Streubel Paul Fentz Christopher Berneck 2016 Essen Niko Ulanovsky 2017 Berlin Peter Liebers Franz Streubel 2018 Frankfurt Paul Fentz Peter Liebers Catalin Dimitrescu 2019 Stuttgart Thomas Stoll 2020 Oberstdorf Jonathan Hess Thomas Stoll 2021 Dortmund Denis Gurdzhi Louis Weissert Fabian Piontek 2022 Neuss Paul Fentz Kai Jagoda Nikita Starostin 2023 Oberstdorf Nikita Starostin Lotfi Sereir 2024 Berlin Kai Jagoda Nikita Starostin Denis Gurdzhi 2025 Oberstdorf Nikita Starostin Luca Fünfer Kai Jagoda 2026 Genrikh Gartung Nikita Starostin
Women's singles