The Königssee bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track is a venue in Germany for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton, located in Schönau am Königssee, Bavaria, near Königssee (German for "King's Lake") and the border with Austria. Completed in 1968, it is the first permanent, artificially refrigerated bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in the world. In July 2021, the track was severely damaged by the floods that affected the European continent, and is currently under reconstruction.

History In 1967, Königssee hosted the European luge championships on a naturally refrigerated track.FIL European Luge Championships men's singles results since 1914 Later that year, it was decided to construct a permanent, reinforced concrete structure that was artificially refrigerated. The track, initially for luge, was completed in 1968."Bobsleigh and Olympism", Olympic Review. December 1984. p. 1011. The first international competition took place the following year with the FIL World Luge Championships."Luge and Olympism", December 1983. p. 853.

On 3–4 December 1977, the track hosted the first Luge World Cup event won by Paul Hildgartner (Italy - men's singles), Andrea Fendt (West Germany - women's singles), and Italy's Peter Gschnitzer and Karl Brunner (men's doubles). (30 January 2008 article; accessed 2 December 2009).

Bobsleigh was added to the track in the 1970s in time for the track to host their sports' championship event in 1979, the first time any track would host both bobsleigh and luge in the same year in a non-Winter Olympic year (the track in Igls, Austria, was the first to do this at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck).1976 Winter Olympics official report , pp. 206–208 on the Igls track. , and Bobsleigh two-man world championship medalists since 1931 FIL World Luge Championships men's single results since 1955

Skeleton competitions began in the late 1970s, hosting the world championships in 1990.FIBT men's skeleton world championships men's skeleton results since 1989 The track was part of Salzburg, Austria's unsuccessful bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics in 2007.Salzburg2014 Book 8 on bid featuring Königssee bobsleigh, luge, and track bid, pp. 51–54. (dealinked) In October 2008, it was announced that the track would undergo a renovation project from 2010 to 2016.List of proposed sports facilities to be used for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Munich, including Königssee. . Accessed 17 October 2009. Costing € 21.7 million to do, the track is being done in part of Munich's bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics. Renovation includes extending the finish line and a new building near turn 16 and is scheduled to be complete by 2012. The starting area of the track will be started in 2014 and will finish in 2016. (31 December 2009 FIL article; accessed 8 January 2010). On 28 February 2009, it was announced the track would host the 2011 FIBT World Championships after the original winner, Cortina d'Ampezzo, withdrew due to issues with the city and the track. (28 February 2009 accessed 28 February 2009.) The 29th and last Luge World Cup at the track prior to renovation took place on 2–3 January 2010. Bobsleigh and Skeleton had their last World Cup prior to renovation the following weekend. (7 January 2010 FIBT article; accessed 8 January 2010).

Track renovation was done during the rest of 2010. At the end of March 2010, the Turbodrom Kreisel turn caught fire following some welding work and was badly damaged. Renovation of the refrigeration plant was carried out in December 2010 with ammonia being pumped in on the 18th. Olympic champion Felix Loch made the first run on the luge part of the track on the 23rd in time for the World Cup event on 5–6 January 2011. The renovation was also done for the 2011 FIBT World Championships that took place in late February. (3 January 2011 article; accessed 4 January 2011).

In 2021, the track was severely damaged by the flooding across Europe. According to BSD (German Bobsleigh and Luge Association) President Thomas Schwab, it would take until October 2022 before the track will return to competition status. There was no ammonia refrigeration leak though to the piping being shut off to the end of the season.Article on damage to the Koeningssee track, fil-luge.org. 18 July 2021. Accessed 19 July 2021.

On April 22, 2024, work began on the reconstruction of the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track with the dismantling of the men's luge start as well as the damaged track segments down to curve 5. The construction phase of the bedload dosing barrier, ammonia and long-distance lines will start in October 2024 and repair work on the Bobstart building in early 2025., berchtesgadener-anzeiger.de. 23 April 2024. Accessed 24 April 2024.

The artificial track at Königssee was scheduled to reopen in November 2025, with FIL and IBSF World Cups being hosted again starting with the 2025/2026 season. In addition, on June 15, 2024, at the congress in Lake Placid, the FIL awarded the 2028 Luge World Championships to the track at Königssee., fil-luge.org. 15 June 2024. Accessed 24 September 2024.

On July 11, 2025, the German Bobsleigh and Luge Association (BSD) announced that the artificial ice track at Königssee would not be available for competitions in the 2025/26 season due to defects in the refrigerant pipeline and would not resume operations until November 2026., ibsf.org. 14 July 2025. Accessed 09 September 2025. The FIL and IBSF World Cup events planned for the 2025/26 season, as well as the Skeleton Junior World Championships, had to be rescheduled as a result.

Statistics

+ Physical statistics SportKönigssee track data . Accessed 19 February 2012. Length Turns GradeLuge - men's singles1610.35%Skeleton129.20%Bobsleigh129.30%Luge - women's singles129.20%Luge - men's doubles129.20% The track has a vertical drop of from the bobsleigh start; the elevation at the base is above sea level.

+Turns Turn number Name Reason named1WatzmannkurveNamed after the famous landmark mountain.2GrünsteinkurveNamed after the adjoining mountain to the west.3BrückenkurveGerman for "Bridge curve".5TeufelsmühleGerman for "Devil's mill".6, 7, 8, 9Schlangengrube/ S-KombinationGerman for "Snake pit"/ S-combination in (Four turns in quick succession without a straight (labyrinth))10.JenerkurveNamed after the mountain to the east.11.Turbodrom320-degree Kreisel (circular) curve.12.KehlsteinkurveNamed after the well known mountain housing the "Eagles's Nest".13.Josef Fendt KurveOriginally Echowand and later Seekurve (Lake curve), renamed in November 2020 for Fendt, who served as International Luge Federation president from February 1994 to November 2020. Fendt won World Championships on this track both in 1970 and 1974.14.EchowandGerman for "Echo wall".15, 16ZielkurveGerman for "Finish curve".

Turn 4 has no name listed in the track diagram., eisarena-königssee.de. 2014. Accessed 09 September 2025.

+Track records (all from Königssee track records. Accessed 20 December 2008. unless noted) Sport Record Nation Athlete(s) Date Time(sec.) Bobsleigh - two-manFIBT Bobsleigh World Cup Königgssee 10 January 2009 bobsleigh two-man results . Accessed 10 January 2009. Start   Beat Hefti & Thomas Lamparter10 Jan 20094.80 Bobsleigh - two-man (9 January 2010 article; accessed 9 January 2010). Track André Lange & Kevin Kuske9 Jan 201049.00 Bobsleigh - two-womanBobsleigh - two-woman results (9 January 2010 article; accessed 9 January 2010). Start Kaillie Humphries & Heather Moyse9 Jan 20105.25 Bobsleigh - two-woman (9 January 2010 article; accessed 9 January 2010). Track Cathleen Martini & Romy Logsch9 Jan 201050.37 Bobsleigh - four-man Start Oskars Melbārdis, Helvijs Lūsis,Arvis Vilkaste, & Jānis Strenga15 Jan 20124.77 Bobsleigh - four-man Track André Lange, Kevin Kuske,René Hoppe, & Alexander Metzger3 Feb 200848.38 Luge - men's singlesFIL Luge World Cup Königssee 3 January 2010 men's singles results. Accessed 3 January 2010. Start (tie) - David Möller & Jan Eichhorn6 Jan 20083.229 Luge - men's singles Track Albert Demtschenko3 Jan 201047.049 Luge - women's singlesFIL Luge World Cup Königssee 2 January 2010 women's singles results. Accessed 2 January 2010. Start Silke Kraushaar8 Jan 20052.962 Luge - women's singles Track Tatjana Hüfner5 Jan 200847.262 Luge - men's doublesFIL Luge World Cup Königssee 2 January 2010 doubles results. Accessed 2 January 2010. Start Tobias Wendl & Tobias Arlt2 Jan 20102.847 Luge - men's doubles Track Patric Leitner & Alexander Resch5 Jan 200846.921 Skeleton - men Start Aleksandr Tretyakov2 Feb 20084.56 Skeleton - menFIBT Skeleton World Cup Königssee World Cup 9 January 2009 men's skeleton results . Accessed 10 January 2009. Track Frank Rommel9 Jan 200947.44 Skeleton - women Start Lindsay Alcock28 Feb 20044.96 Skeleton - women (8 January 2010 FIBT article; accessed 8 January 2010). Track Mellisa Hollingsworth8 Jan 201048.78

Championships hosted FIBT World Championships: 1979, 1986, 1990 (men's skeleton), 2004 (all bobsleigh and skeleton events), 2011, 2017 FIL European Luge Championships: 1967 (As a natural track.), 1972, 1973, 1977, 1988, 1994, 2017 FIL World Luge Championships: 1969, 1970, 1974, 1979, 1999, 2016, 2021

References

External links BSD profile FIBT track profile - Click on video link for track. To left is where bobsleigh intersects with men's single luge part of track, then followed right after with luge - women's singles, luge - women's doubles, and skeleton parts of the track. FIL-Luge.org track profile Official website Youtube.com profile of American luger Brian Martin from the men's singles luge start house.