In 1927, the international sports world turned its attention to Vienna. That year, the Vienna Skating Club (WEV) expanded its ice rink at Heumarkt to 10,000 square meters.
This created what was then the world’s largest artificial ice rink in the 3rd district. The club itself was founded as early as 1867 and had been using the municipal grounds at Heumarkt since 1901. The first artificial ice rink followed shortly thereafter in 1912.
From the World Stage to a Viennese Institution
The sports complex underwent several phases of expansion before reaching its historic peak in the late 1920s. As early as 1924, the site had grown to 6,000 square meters, before making the final leap to 10,000 square meters. When we look out over the site today during a site visit, you can still sense its historic origins among the wooden boards.
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The enormous space requirements of the past have since given way to urban development and architectural adaptations. Nevertheless, the WEV remains a central fixture for the winter months in the city center. The current area once again covers those 6,000 square meters that shaped the cityscape in the Landstraße district as early as 1924.
A Season Opener Steeped in Tradition
Exactly 99 years after that major record-breaking expansion, the Vienna Skating Club kicked off the new 2026–27 season on November 3, 2026. To celebrate the occasion, free ice skating was offered to all visitors at the facility starting at 3:00 p.m. Anyone who laces up their skates here glides across one of Europe’s oldest continuously used winter sports venues. It is one of the few historic sports facilities that has managed to hold its ground in exactly the same location—in a densely built-up urban area—for over a century.
