Garmisch-Partenkirchen, has grown into a large town with ten thousand inhabitants and provides the best ski facilities in Germany. The typical Baravian resort, located one hour drive south of Munich, could be a sister-city to Chamonix. It has held every major winter sports event in the past. In 1936, the small towns of Garmisch and Partenkirchen were unified by the government to run the fourth Winter Olympics - the first to include Alpine competitions (gold medals were only given to the winners of the combined that year). After World War II, it became part of the Arlberg-Kandahar series run by Arnold Lunn, the founder of modern ski racing in the 1920's. The first World Cup races were held on the demanding Kreuzeck downhill course in 1970 and the FIS World Championships took place there in 1978. On January 1st each year, the famous jumping event of the International "Four Jumps" tournament is one of the highlights of Nordic skiing.
From Karl Schranz in 1970 to Andreas Schifferer and Hermann Maier in 1998, almost all the great champions of the history of the World Cup battled the fast and treacherous downhill course and came out victorious. Its steep, icy track has also seen dramatic crashes especially in the difficult turns on the lower section.