The German Figure Skating Championships (German: Deutsche Meisterschaften im Eiskunstlaufen) are an annual figure skating competition organized by the German Ice Skating Union (German: Deutsche Eislauf-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 (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland), also known as West Germany, and the German Democratic Republic (German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik), also known as East Germany. The East German Figure Skating Championships (German: DDR Eiskunstlauf Meisterschaften) 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 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.
For championships where there was an unusually high number of competitors, the skaters were divided into two groups, with each group competing separately from the other.
↑"DDR Eiskunstlauf Meisterschaften"[East German Figure Skating Championships]. Sport-Record.de (in German). Archived from the original on 24 February 2025. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
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123"Isabelle de Navarre Eiskunstlauf-Nr. 1" [Isabelle de Navarre Figure Skating No. 1]. Siegener Zeitung (in German). 13 January 1975. p.4.
12"Gräbner "Wunschmeister" der Herren" [Gräbner "Desired Champion" of the men]. Siegener Zeitung (in German). 20 December 1975. p.2.
123Bird, Dennis L. (March 1977). "European Letter"(PDF). Skating. Vol.54, no.3. p.14. Archived(PDF) from the original on 26 January 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
12"Ice Abroad"(PDF). Skating. Vol.55, no.4. April 1978. p.10. Archived(PDF) from the original on 24 February 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
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12"Brillante Leistung der Eiskunstläufer" [Brilliant performance by the figure skaters]. Siegener Zeitung (in German). 12 January 1981.
12"Neue Meister aber keine Wachablösung" [New champions, but no changing of the guard]. Siegener Zeitung (in German). 18 January 1982.
12"Zwei Eislauf-Favoriten stürzten am Titel vorbei" [Two figure skating favorites fall short of the title]. Siegener Zeitung (in German). 10 January 1983.
12"Geschwister Buck zum 4. Male Meister" [Buck siblings champions for the fourth time]. Siegener Zeitung (in German). 18 January 1971.
↑Bird, Dennis L. (March 1974). "Foreign Ice"(PDF). Skating. Vol.51, no.3. p.49. Archived(PDF) from the original on 26 January 2025. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
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↑"Glockshuber/Danne Deutsche Paarlaufmeister" [Glockshuber/Danne German pair skating champions]. Siegener Zeitung (in German). 7 January 1967.
↑"Lehmann/Wiesinger Paarlaufmeister" [Lehmann/Wiesinger pairs champions]. Siegener Zeitung (in German). 16 January 1971.
↑"Scheibe/Nischwitz Paarlaufmeister" [Scheibe/Nischwitz pairs champions]. Siegener Zeitung (in German). 7 January 1978.
12"Erste Eiskunstlauf-Titel vergeben" [First figure skating titles awarded]. Siegener Zeitung (in German). 10 January 1981.
12"Hage/Zins: Meister für ein Jahr Erst" [Hage/Zins: Champions for one year only]. Siegener Zeitung (in German). 16 January 1982.
↑"Massari/Azzola neue Paarlauf-Meister" [Massari/Azzola new pairs champions]. Siegener Zeitung (in German). 7 January 1983.
12"DEU schöpft Läuferkontingent für EM aus" [Germany exhausts its skater quota for the European Championships]. Siegener Zeitung (in German). 13 January 1986.
12"Becherer-Zwillinge im Eistanz überlegen" [Becherer twins dominant in ice dance]. Siegener Zeitung (in German). 19 December 1987.
↑"Kilins/Bänmler mit schwacher Kur Deutscher Meister" [Kilis/Bäumler German champions with weak free skate]. Siegener Zeitung (in German). 6 January 1964.
↑"Henke/Dönsdorf Deutsche Eistanzmeister" [Henke/Dönsdorf German ice dance champions]. Siegener Zeitung (in German). 11 January 1975.
↑"Henke/Dönsdorf wieder Deutsche Meister" [Henke/Dönsdorf again German champions]. Siegener Zeitung. 19 December 1975.
↑Franz, Renate (21 May 2019). "Werner Rittberger". Portal Rheinische Geschichte (in German). Archived from the original on 20 March 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
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