German Figure Skating Championships

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 Cologne 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 (), also known as West Germany, and the German Democratic Republic (), also known as East Germany. The East German Figure Skating Championships () 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 dissolution of East Germany occurred on 3 October 1990, leading to its reintegration into the Federal Republic of Germany to form present-day Germany. Following the reunification of Germany, East German skaters began competing at the German Championships, and many former East German skaters became champions of the newly reunified Germany, including Mirko Eichhorn, Alexander König, René Lohse, Axel Rauschenbach, Peggy Schwarz, Ingo Steuer, Kati Winkler, and Ronny Winkler.

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.

Senior medalists

Men’s singles