The Phenomenon of "1947: Catchen am Heumarkt" in Vienna: Post-War Wrestling and Cultural History

This entry details '1947: Catchen am Heumarkt,' a popular entertainment phenomenon in post-war Vienna. It describes the professional wrestling tournaments held during summer months, which combined sport, acrobatics, and comedy to entertain large crowds, becoming a significant attraction in the city.

The 'Heumarkt-Catchen' was a long-lasting entertainment phenomenon that emerged in the immediate post-war period. These were multi-week professional wrestling tournaments hosted during the summer months on the grounds of the Wiener Eislauf-Verein. The matches offered a blend of sport, acrobatics, and comedic elements, primarily aimed at amusing spectators and quickly became a major attraction in Vienna, delighting large audiences. From June to August each year, the international wrestling elite would visit Vienna, creating a festive atmosphere at Heumarkt. Approximately 40 to 60 wrestling evenings were organized each summer, attracting up to 15,000 people daily. By the latter half of the 1960s, organizers faced declining visitor numbers due to new leisure activities available in the urban environment. For several decades, the popular favorite Georg „Schurl“ Blemenschütz managed the tournament and continued to compete until the age of 70. In the 1980s, "Big Otto" Wanz took over the organization of the matches. The last tournament was held at Heumarkt in 1997, marking the disappearance of this legendary spectacle, which had enthralled audiences for five decades with over a thousand wrestlers, from Vienna's sports and entertainment landscape.

This page provides historical context for a past event and does not contain current ticketing information.