Ski pioneer and ski instructor with revolutionary technique
The legendary ski pioneer Hannes Schneider (1890-1955) was born in Stuben. From 1907, at the age of just 17, he was the first ski instructor on the Arlberg and revolutionized the technique of skiing with the "Arlberg School". In 1920, he founded Austria's first ski school on the Arlberg. He carried the name of his home town of Stuben and the skiing paradise of the Arlberg out into the world as a skiing legend and actor.
The Arlberg skier survived the First World War on the front in the Dolomites and soon caused a sensation as a legendary ski instructor in the film world and on the slopes. In ski films such as "Der weiße Rausch" and documentaries such as "Das Wunder des Schneeschuhs" and "Die weiße Kunst", Hannes Schneider demonstrated his skills with great speed and acrobatic commitment. In these films, director Arnold Franck propagated the new skiing technique, the Arlberg style, which was largely developed by Hannes Schneider. Hannes Schneider from Stuben had won almost all international ski races at the time.
As one of the best skiers of the time, he even taught his Arlberg technique in Japan. Hannes Schneider emigrated to the States with his family shortly before the Second World War, founded his own ski resort in North Conway in the USA and died in the States. He left a great gift to posterity: skiing with ease and the joy of movement, speed and agility was bequeathed to friends of the white sport by the "fastest skier in Europe" at the time. Since then, generations of his colleagues have upheld the "white art". Anyone who works as a ski instructor on the Arlberg can feel ennobled, as the perfection of skiing is honored here like hardly anywhere else.
The winter sports resort of Stuben erected a monument to its great son in 2012. Hannes Schneider was immortalized in a bronze sculpture by artist Udo Rabensteiner.
Ski films with Hannes Schneider
Between 1920 and 1933, numerous films were made with some spectacular scenes showing the skiing legend Hannes Schneider in action. Some of the films were used to demonstrate the technique of the "Arlberg School."
