Vikersundbakken

Historie

Vikersundbakken or Vikersund Hill is a ski flying hill at Vikersund in Modum, Norway. It is one of the largest in the world. Nine world records have been set on the hill, with the current of 253.5 meters being set by Stefan Kraft. The complex also consists of a large hill, a normal hill and several training hills.The hill opened in 1936 as a large hill. It was rebuilt to become a ski flying hill in 1964 and has later been converted in 1989, 1999 and 2010. The large hill was built in 1988. The hill was the first to receive floodlights in 2006. It has hosted the FIS Ski Flying World Championships four times, in 1977, 1990, 2000, 2012.Historythumb In 1894, Vikersund SK was established and started with ski jumping. Until the 1930s, they used six different ski jumping hills around the area. By then, the club had fostered sufficiently good jumpers that it was proposed to build a proper hill. A committee was established on 19 March 1935 and led by Gustav N. Hovde. At first they found a suitable location north of Heggen. However, they failed to reach an agreement with the land owner. Instead, Hovde proposed using the steep hill close to Heggen Church. After purchasing the land, construction started later in 1935. The original hill was designed by Thunold Hansen. Construction cost 6,290 Norwegian krone (NOK), of which NOK 1000 was borrowed and the rest of financed through private donations.