Königssee bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track
The Königssee bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track is a venue in Germany for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton, located in Schönau am Königsee, Bavaria, near Königssee and the border with Austria. Completed in 1968, it is the first permanent, artificially refrigerated bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in the world.
History
In 1967, Königssee hosted the European luge championships on a naturally refrigerated track. 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. The first international competition took place the following year with the FIL World Luge ChampionshipsOn 3–4 December 1977, the track hosted the first Luge World Cup event won by Paul Hildgartner, Andrea Fendt, and Italy's Peter Gschnitzer and Karl Brunner. 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.
Skeleton competitions began in the late 1970s, hosting the world championships in 1990. The track was part of Salzburg, Austria's unsuccessful bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics in 2007. In October 2008, it was announced that the track would undergo a renovation project from 2010 to 2016. 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 on 2014 and will finish on 2016. On 28 February 2009, it was announced the track would host the 2011 FIBT World Championships after the original winner, Cortina d'Ampezzo, withdrew to issues with the city and the track. 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.
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.
Statistics
| Sport | Length | Turns | Grade |
| Luge - men's singles | 16 | 10.35% | |
| Skeleton | 12 | 9.20% | |
| Bobsleigh | 13 | 9.30% | |
| Luge - women's singles | 12 | 9.20% | |
| Luge - men's doubles | 12 | 9.20% |
The track has a vertical drop of from the bobsleigh start; the elevation at the base is above sea level.
| Turn number | Name | Reason named |
| 2, 3 | Eiskapelle | German for "Ice chapel" |
| 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 | Schlangengrube/ S-Kombination | German for "Snake pit"/ S-combination in |
| 13. | Turbodrom | 320-degree Kreisel curve. |
| 16. | Echowand | German for "Echo wall". |
| 17, 18 | Zielhaus | German for "Finish house". |
Turns 1, 4, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 15 have no names listed in the track diagram.
| Sport | Record | Nation | Athlete | Date | Time |
| Bobsleigh - two-man | Start | Beat Hefti & Thomas Lamparter | 10 Jan 2009 | 4.80 | |
| Bobsleigh - two-man | Track | André Lange & Kevin Kuske | 9 Jan 2010 | 49.00 | |
| Bobsleigh - two-woman | Start | Kaillie Humphries & Heather Moyse | 9 Jan 2010 | 5.25 | |
| Bobsleigh - two-woman | Track | Cathleen Martini & Romy Logsch | 9 Jan 2010 | 50.37 | |
| Bobsleigh - four-man | Start | Oskars Melbārdis, Helvijs Lūsis, Arvis Vilkaste, & Jānis Strenga | 15 Jan 2012 | 4.77 | |
| Bobsleigh - four-man | Track | André Lange, Kevin Kuske, René Hoppe, & Alexander Metzger | 3 Feb 2008 | 48.38 | |
| Luge - men's singles | Start | - David Möller & Jan Eichhorn | 6 Jan 2008 | 3.229 | |
| Luge - men's singles | Track | Albert Demtschenko | 3 Jan 2010 | 47.049 | |
| Luge - women's singles | Start | Silke Kraushaar | 8 Jan 2005 | 2.962 | |
| Luge - women's singles | Track | Tatjana Hüfner | 5 Jan 2008 | 47.262 | |
| Luge - men's doubles | Start | Tobias Wendl & Tobias Arlt | 2 Jan 2010 | 2.847 | |
| Luge - men's doubles | Track | Patric Leitner & Alexander Resch | 5 Jan 2008 | 46.921 | |
| Skeleton - men | Start | Aleksandr Tretyakov | 2 Feb 2008 | 4.56 | |
| Skeleton - men | Track | Frank Rommel | 9 Jan 2009 | 47.44 | |
| Skeleton - women | Start | Lindsay Alcock | 28 Feb 2004 | 4.96 | |
| Skeleton - women | Track | Mellisa Hollingsworth | 8 Jan 2010 | 48.78 |