Beskidenverein, Beskiden-Verein, Beskiden Verein was a German tourist association founded in 1893. It was the first organization operating in the Beskids region, which at that time belonged to Austria-Hungary and currently belongs to Poland; the was founded in 1873 but initially limited its activities to the Tatra Mountains and the Beskid ranges located in present-day Ukraine, while the Czech was active in the Beskids currently belonging to the Czech Republic.
Beskidenverein conducted extensive activities to promote mass tourism and was a pioneer of Beskid tourism in many fields. It operated officially until 1945.
Beginnings and activities until 1918
The second half of the 19th century marked the creation of the first tourist and mountain organizations across Europe. In Austrian Silesia, the first branches of the German () were established – a section in Opava (1882), followed by one in Vitkovice (now a district of Ostrava – 1884). In 1884, the Czech Pohorská jednota "Radhošť" was founded in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm. Already then, there were voices calling for the creation of a German tourist organization operating solely in the Beskids – active proponents of this were , a politician and lawyer, and teacher , both from Moravian Ostrava. Their dreams came true on 28 February 1893 – Beskidenverein was founded in Frýdek-Místek. It was modeled after the Austrian (and later all-German) organization Austrian Alpine Club. The headquarters were initially planned for Frýdek-Místek but were eventually established in Moravian Ostrava and later moved to Cieszyn. Karl Richter became the first chairman. At the turn of the century, the most active members were high school professors from Moravian Ostrava (), Cieszyn (Alois Steiner), and Bielsko ().
Beskidenverein was organized into independent sections, covering the entire area of interest. Its members were Germans living in large numbers in the Austrian Silesia of the time and in northern Moravia. The goal was to develop the areas from Lysá hora in the west to Babia Góra in the east of the Beskids for tourist purposes: to facilitate the practical realization of goals (...) through trail marking and road improvement, through the construction and operation of mountain support points – facilitating movement in the Beskids and increasing the desire for hiking (quote from Beskidenverein's statute from 1893).
The main sources of funding (besides membership fees) included financial support from German landowners, the German bourgeoisie, and industrialists. The association was also materially and politically supported by the Cieszyn princes from the Habsburg line – Archduke Albrecht, and after his death in 1895, Archduke Friedrich.
Among the tourists visiting the Silesian Beskids at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, numbering tens of thousands annually, about 90% were Germans, with the remaining mainly being Czechs. The number of Poles hiking the mountain trails was estimated to be only 1%. Beskidenverein was an organization of Germans, and most of its activities were conducted through the prism of the interests of this national group. For this reason, conflicts arose with similar Czech and Polish organizations, which intensified during the interwar period, under changed political and economic conditions.
Organizational division before World War I In 1909, the association already had 13 sections – the strongest in Bielsko (and – Sektion Bielitz-Biala, also Beskiden Bielitz-Biala Verein), Cieszyn, and Vítkovice. The territorial division looked as follows: Austrian Silesia – Bielsko, Cieszyn, Frýdek-Místek, Bílovec (since 1901), Bohumín (since 1909); Moravia – Moravian Ostrava, , Vítkovice, Frýdlant nad Ostravicí, Nový Jičín; German Upper Silesia: Racibórz (since 1897), Katowice (since 1898), Bytom (since 1906), and Mysłowice (since 1907). World War I did not slow down the development of Beskidenverein – in 1915, the number of sections increased to 18; additional sections came from Germany – Pszczyna, Rybnik, Chorzów, and even a distant section from Wrocław.
The most active was the Bielsko section – already in the year of its establishment, it had 432 members (in 1909 – 1210) and marked trails to , , and . At the turn of the century, it was led by Paul Niepen and Robert Meinhardt.
The general meetings of Beskidenverein were held each time in the headquarters of a different section, which participated in the deliberations through their delegates.
Number of Beskidenverein members from 1893 to 1909
1893 – 1534 1895 – 1814 1900 – 2835 1905 – 3238 1909 – 4618
In 1915, the number of association members exceeded 5,000. The majority of them (about 40%) came from the German Empire, slightly fewer from Austrian Silesia, and about 25% from Moravia.
Trail blazing activities in the Beskids The association marked and established hiking trails. In the year of Beskidenverein's establishment, it marked the first trails in the Beskids – around Klimczok, , and Błatnia. However, it is not known in what form and which routes were marked; the first detailed description of trails concerns the areas around Babia Góra. In August 1894, Wilhelm Schlesinger (a member of the Bielsko Beskidenverein), Lajos Klein (a postmaster from Oravská Polhora), and two other activists marked the trail (from the Słona woda spa in Oravská Polhora) – Polana Hucisko–Gajówka Hviezdoslava–Głodna Woda–Diablak. The color of the trail was red. On 11 June 1895, after obtaining permission from the Directorate of Żywiec Estates (the area belonged to Archduke Charles Stephen of Austria), Schlesinger, along with a team, marked the first precisely described trail in the Polish Beskids on the route Zawoja–––Dejakowe Szczawiny–Stary Groń–Widły. The first Polish trail appeared in this area (and also in the entire Western Beskids) only in 1906. The signposts displayed only in the German language; they directed, among others, to Brana (), Branasattel (), and Teufelspitze (Diablak).
By 1908, Beskidenverein had already established 300 km of trails, and the marking system – a colored strip between two white ones (established in 1897 and formally approved in 1899) – was later adopted in many countries, and it was also used by the Polish Tatra Association.
Publishing activities Beskidenverein was a pioneer in many fields in the Beskids, and its publishing activity was extremely important. It published numerous maps, the first mountain guides, jubilee books, reports, and periodicals (including Mitteilungen des Beskidenvereines, from 1904 to 1915, first in Bielsko, then in Cieszyn; the bulletin was published 6 times a year, initially with a circulation of 4,000 copies, later increased to 5,200 copies).
The strongest Bielsko section began publishing its own yearbooks (Jahresbericht der Sektion Bielitz-Biala des Beskiden-Vereines) in the year of the organization's and section's founding – 1893. Initially, they were modest, several-page brochures in a reporting form. From 1900 onwards, the name was changed to Jahresbericht der Sektion Bielitz-Biala des Beskiden-Vereines and the volume was increased. Feuilletons and more ambitious texts began to appear. The yearbook was published until 1911, then there was a long break until the interwar period. In 1927, a report was issued for the years 1912–1925, as well as in 1928 for the years 1926–1927. Subsequent issues were irregularly published in the form of a short brochure. The last one was published in 1943 as a report for the previous year. At that time, the section also prepared a jubilee publication on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its activity – as it turned out, this was the last aspect of Beskidenverein's publishing activity.
The Bielsko section also had a significant role in preparing tourist maps and guides. The most important publications include:
Führer durch die Beskiden im Gebiete der Section Bielitz-Biala des Beskiden-Vereines – 1891, by Karl Kolbenheyer, Illustrirter Führer durch die Beskiden und die agrenzenden Landschaften – 1891, by Josef Matzura, Führer durch Bielitz-Biala und Umgebung – 1912, Spezialkarte des schles.-gal. Beskiden – by Wilhelm Schlesinger.
Among other sections, the Frýdek-Místek section was also active in publishing. The most important publication was the guide Führer durch die Beskiden by , reissued several times.
The Bielsko section established a library where it collected a collection of books related to the mountains. In 1903, it contained 55 volumes.
Beskidenverein's mountain huts
Beskidenverein promoted both mountain tourism and skiing, but above all, it built the first true mountain huts in the Beskids (lodging facilities already existed in the mountains before, but they were not typical tourist shelters – they were used by aristocrats and hunting clubs, not tourists). Before World War I, they were opened in the following locations:
(Jaworowy, Gross Jaworowy) – April 1895; it was built by the Cieszyn section. It was the first true mountain hut in the Beskids (Erzherzog–Friedrich–Schutzhaus in honor of Archduke Friedrich of the Cieszyn line of the Habsburgs), very popular among tourists (already eight days after opening, the thousandth guest arrived, and on average, 6,000 people visited the facility within a year); Lysá hora (Lysa–Berg, Kahlberg) – 1895, created by the joint efforts of five sections under the name Erzherzog–Albrecht–Schutzhaus. The patron was Archduke Albrecht, who died that year. In 1908, on the trail leading to the summit, the Ostrauer Hütte was opened as a resting place for less experienced tourists. The facility on the summit was managed by the Main Board of Beskidenverein, while Ostrauer Hütte was managed by the Moravian Ostrava section; (Kamitzerplatte) – 1897. It was the first mountain hut (Schutzhaus auf dem Kamitzerplatte) in the Beskids that currently belong to Poland, still existing after expansion. In 1907, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the shelter's establishment, a wooden cottage in Swiss style was added, intended as an additional shelter. The land under the shelter became the property of the association only in 1940, after a long lease period. It was managed by the Bielsko section. In 1906, next to the hut, a botanical garden (alpine garden) called the Beskidy Garden was established – it covered about 400 m2 and had 350 plants of 120 species. The idea was proposed by Dr. , a Beskidenverein member, museum curator, and naturalist. The garden exists to this day; Bílý Kříž (Weisses Kreuz) in the range of – in 1897, the inn and hut Beskidenheim were leased from a Czech owner; in its place, in 1902, the Vitkovice section opened a new, larger hut Schutzhütte Weisse Kreuz. In 1907, a summer villa called Josefinenheim was made available to tourists, named after the wife of a great friend and donor of Beskidenverein, Friedrich Schuster; – 1898 or 1899; a small mountain hut (Hadaszczok–Hütte) dedicated to the memory of Johann Hadaszczok, the second president of Beskidenverein, who died in 1895 shortly after a mountain hike (he had serious health problems). Managed by the Vitkovice section; (Josefsberg) – 1903, burned twice, in 1907 and 1912, rebuilt twice under the name Erzherzogin Maria Theresia – Schutzhaus auf dem Josefsberg. It exists to this day; Czantoria Wielka (Großer Czantory-Berg) – 1904 as Erzherzogin Isabella – Schutzhaus auf dem Großer Czantory-Berg (the patron was Isabella von Croy-Dülmen, wife of Archduke Friedrich, the then Duke of Cieszyn). Built and managed by the Cieszyn section. It exists to this day;