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The first [[Alpine skiing|ski races]] were held in the early 1920s with the British downhill championship held in 1921; the following year a ski race was held between [[Oxford]] and [[Cambridge]].<ref>Beattie, p. 199</ref> These events were the first to have downhill races as opposed to Nordic races, which were held in other Swiss resorts. In Wengen, skiers requested use of the train system for access to the slopes; for some years trains were the earliest ski-lifts in the area.<ref>Hudson, p. 19</ref> Arnold Lunn used the natural terrain of the mountains for the courses; the downhill event followed the slopes above Wengen and was called the "straight down": skiers went straight down the mountain. Also during this period, Lunn invented, and introduced in Wengen, the first [[Slalom skiing|slalom]] race, in which skiers followed the terrain through the trees, replaced with ski gates in later years. These events are considered the birth of modern [[ski racing]] and Alpine [[skiing]].<ref>Allen, p. 99</ref>
From August 1944 to the end of [[World War II]], Wengen served as a sort of open-air internment camp for allied prisoners, mostly US bomber crews. Since the only practical way in or out of Wengen was via the cog railway, it was difficult for internees to escape.<ref name="WWII">
==Churches==
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== Recreation ==
[[File:Karl Schranz, Lauberhorn 1966.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Karl Schranz]] winning in 1966]]
[[File:Lauterbrunnental2.jpg|thumb|200px|View from Wengen<br />of [[Jungfrau]] and [[Lauterbrunnental]]]]
Wengen hosts the internationally well-known [[Lauberhorn ski races]], and it is on the route of the [[Jungfrau Marathon]].
The classic ski races have been held in Wengen since 1930, and traditionally consist of a [[Downhill (ski competition)|downhill]], a [[Slalom skiing|slalom]], and a [[Alpine skiing combined|combined]] event. In addition to being one of the technically most challenging downhill races, the Lauberhorn is the longest race in the [[International Ski Federation|FIS]] [[FIS Alpine Ski World Cup|World Cup]] circuit and arguably the most scenic. The top racers complete the {{convert|4.455|km|2|abbr=on}} run in about 2½ minutes and the top speeds reached at ''Haneggschuss'' are the highest on the circuit, approaching {{convert|160|km/h|-1|abbr=on}} a half-minute prior to the finish.
[[File:Detail of the watercolour 'Wengen chalet', 1884 by Helga von Cramm (1840-circa 1901).jpg|thumbnail|200px|A [[Watercolor painting|watercolour]] (dated 1894)<br />by Helga von Cramm (1840-c. 1920)]]
== Culture ==
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