At the beginning of the 1890s, a new ice rink and a pavilion were planned on the so-called Sturmwiese between Gartengasse (wul. Sadova) and the southern side of the Botanical Garden (Romstorfer, p. 19). According to an article by Prof. Carl Romstorfer from 1890, the ice rink and pavilion in Chernivtsi were modelled on a Viennese ice rink. The team of architects included the well-known architect E. Kolbenheier (Romstorfer, p. 20). However, the project did not come to fruition. Nevertheless, the Sturmwiese was used as an ice rink in winter.
At the end of 1896, the Chernivtsi Skating Club built a wooden pavilion at the Rennerteich, popularly known as the Levinteich. The pavilion was designed by Professor Schwerdtner and built by civil engineer Salter. The rink was opened in November 1896. Visitors had access to cloakrooms, a café, viewing platforms, a ticket office and a pavilion for musicians. The newly built pavilion was heated and had electricity (Czernowitzer Eislaufverein. In: Bukowina Post. No. 365, 2 April 1896, p. 4).
The Chernivtsi Ice Skating Club had been organising evening skating under electric lights since 1896. A membership card could be bought for 5 forints, a single skating session cost 40 kreuzers on normal days and 80 kreuzers on days with musical accompaniment. (Chernivtsi Skating Club. In: Bukowina Post. No. 466, 29 November 1896, p. 6).
There was also an annual competition to find the best skater - the Ice King. These events were very popular with the public and were accompanied by concerts. Costumed evenings during the carnival season were also very popular (The Ice King. In: Bukowiner Post. No. 491, 28 January 1897, p. 5).
At the end of the 1890s, a new ice rink was built to compete with the old one, located behind the Police Headquarters (between Spleny Street and Transylvanian Street, today between Popovyča Street and Holovna Street). Between the end of the 19th century and the First World War, several ice rinks were built in the city: in Neue-Welt-Gasse 42 at the Luther Pond, in the courtyard of the German House, in the 1920s also next to the Jewish House on the Theatre Square, on the tennis courts of Chernivtsi University and on the sports field of the Polish sports club "Sokil" (Wagner, p. 158).
Text: Kateryna Valjavsjka
Quellen:
- Carl Romstorfer: Der Eissport in Czernowitz. In: Im Buchenland. Nr. 2, 1890.
- Rudolf Wagner: Czernowitz. In: Vom Moldauwappen zum Doppeladler. Ausgewählte Beiträge zur Geschichte der Bukowina, Bd. II. Augsburg 1993
