Market and Town

Yet during the Roman Empire, some small communities existed in the Schladming area, a fact that has been acknowledged by the discovery of ancient Roman Acqueducts and the Roman road (Hochstraße). Later on, Slavic peoples settled in the Enns valley, naming their community Slapnica. Translated into German, this means “a place where water flows by fast”.

The oldest mentions of the name Schladming in the 12^th century refer to the so called ‘Schladming mountain’ (Rohrmoos).

However, the mining activity in the Tauern valleys was crucial for founding the place. Besides the ore smelting and mining administration, its defensive purpose right at the border to the Archbishopric of Salzburg – which was disputed at the end of the 13^th century – played an important role in Schladming’s history.  This fact significantly contributed to Schladming receiving town privileges at the beginning of the 14^th century. In 1304, Schladming was awarded the market right. Its first mention in a document as a town dates back to 1322. The exact year in which the town privileges were given to Schladming has not been passed on.

The claim for more rights and the heavy taxation in connection with a reformist ideology resulted in a peasant and miner revolt in 1525.  In the course of this revolt, Schladming’s town privileges were withdrawn and the place was burnt down entirely. However, being a mining town Schladming was of such significant commercial relevance, that it was reconstructed and re-awarded the market rights in 1530. Commerce became prosperous again. The town privileges however, were only awarded again in 1925.

Mining, that made Schladming wealthy, became less lucrative during the following years. Schladming’s growth stagnated. Nobles were the first ones to appreciate Schladming and surroundings as recreation and holiday place. The construction of a railway through the Enns valley in 1875 however, brought more and more summer visitors and later on, also winter guests to Schladming. It became obvious to invest into the development of this emerging economic sector.

Schladming’s more recent sports history is not only more versatile and active; its economic and cultural impact gave it the name “Styrian ski capital”.

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