For a long time now, during the winter, thousands of people head to Zakopane for their winter ski holiday in Poland.  The history of skiing in Zakopane begins in 1918, after the first world war.

Zakopane became a notable ski resort after the 1st world war in 1918 when Poland became independent once again. In 1936, a cablecar to the top of the Kasprowy Wierch mountain was built.

Professional skiing in Zakopane

During the history of skiing Zakopane has hosted a number of world class skiing event in the past. In 1923, 1939 and 1962 Zakopane hosted the Nordic World Ski Championships. The World Championships was started in 1925 for men and opened for women’s participation in 1954. In 1939 Zakopane hosted the Alpine World Ski Championships on the famous Kasprowy Wierch mountain just south of Zakopane. This was the first world championship that took place outside of the Alps. It was also the last competition to take place before the 2nd world war. There was a break of 9 years during the war before the 1948 winter olympics. Sadly, Zakopane have made 3 unsuccessful bids to host the winter olympics since 2006.

Every January for 1 weekend, Zakopane hosts one round of the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup. Ski Jumping is one of Poland’s most popular sports with thousands of spectators at each event.

Some highly successful Polish Ski jumpers include Adam Małysz and Kamil Stoch

Modern Zakopane

Modern skiing in ZakopaneWinter in Zakopane

The current population of Zakopane is around 28000. Despite being a small town, there is over 2.5 million visitors a year.

Currently due to space and ownership restrictions, most of the ski areas in Zakopane are unable to expand. Because of this, ski areas such as Bialka Tatrzanska have now become the best ski areas to visit. Bialka is expanding quickly and is now the largest ski area close to Zakopane.

 

Have you experienced the wonders of skiing in Zakopane yet?

Contact Addventure Tours now for a low cost, fully tailored ski holiday package to Zakopane.

info@addventuretours.co.uk