Innsbruck 1976The Torch

Route Design and Details

The flame was taken by car from Olympia to Athens and then flown to Vienna.

The torch relay route split in two at Vienna, one heading north and the other heading for the southern part of the country. Three days before the Opening Ceremony, the two routes joined at Innsbruck. The flame was kept in the Maximilian Saal of the Goldenen Dachl, as in 1964, until the Opening Ceremony on 4 February.

To allow as many people as possible to see the flame, it was transported for some 1,500 kilometres on the roof of a car fitted with a glass dome specially designed for this purpose.

Map of the Route

Facts and Figures

Start date: 30 January 1976, Olympia (Greece)

End date: 4 February 1976, Bergisel Stadium, Innsbruck (Austria)

First torchbearer: Spyros Tzavaras

Last torchbearers: Christl Haas, Olympic participant in alpine skiing (1964, 1968), gold medallist in Innsbruck 1964 and bronze medallist in Grenoble 1968. Josef Feistmantl, Olympic participant in luge (1964, 1968, 1972), gold medallist in Innsbruck 1964.

Number of torchbearers: -

Recruitment of torchbearers: This was organised by the Landessportverbände, the regional sports clubs association, and the Austrian army

Distance: 1,618km over two routes in Austria: 867km for the north route and 751km for the south route

Countries visited: Greece, Austria

Torch Details

Description: The upper part of the torch was hexagonal, with the Olympic symbol in openwork and a metal strip representing a ski jump run. The central part featured the inscription: “XII Olympische Winterspiele 1976”.

Colour: Silver

Length: 74.6cm

Composition: Aluminium alloy and steel

Fuel: -

Designer / Manufacturer: Vereinigte Metallwerke Ranshofen Bernhof / -

Did You Know?

As a reminder that Innsbruck was hosting these Winter Games for the second time, two Olympic cauldrons were set up at the Bergisel Stadium, one for 1964, the other for 1976.

For the first time, a woman, Austrian skier Christl Haas, was chosen to light the cauldron for the Olympic Winter Games. She lit the 1964 cauldron. The 1976 one was lit by luge champion Josef Feistmantl.