Ranggeln (Austrian Alpine Wrestling)
An Alpine folk wrestling style, barefoot on grass in white linen clothing. The winner presses the opponent onto both shoulder blades, and there are no weight categories.
Quick Facts
AustriaCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
Catalogs & Databases for Ranggeln (Austrian Alpine Wrestling)
About Ranggeln (Austrian Alpine Wrestling)
Ranggeln is a folk wrestling style of the Alpine valleys, at home mainly in Salzburg and Tyrol in Austria, in South Tyrol and in Bavaria. Wrestlers compete barefoot on grass in white linen: a collarless shirt, trousers and a belt. The aim is to press the opponent to the ground with both shoulder blades. The rules forbid painful techniques, joint locks and chokes, and a bout lasts at most six minutes. Traditional ranggeln has no weight categories. Wrestlers are divided into performance classes, and juniors by age. The most famous event is the Hundstoaranggeln on the Hundstein mountain in Pinzgau, held on the Sunday around the feast of Saint James on July 25. The winner earns the title Hogmoar and may keep it until the next edition. In 2024, one hundred and twenty-eight wrestlers from Salzburg, South Tyrol and Bavaria wrestled on the Hundstein. According to the Austrian Commission for UNESCO, the roots of the Hundstoaranggeln reach back to the fourteenth century, and the first written mention is from 1518. The Salzburger Rangglerverband was founded in 1947. In 2010 the Hundstoaranggeln was added to the Austrian list of intangible cultural heritage. Folk tradition names no founder.
History
According to the Austrian Commission for UNESCO, the roots of the Hundstoaranggeln reach back to the fourteenth century, and originally herders and farmhands took part in it. The event used to be called Jakobiranggeln after the feast of Saint James on July 25. The tourist organisation Salzburgerland gives the first written mention as 1518. In 1947 the Salzburger Rangglerverband was founded, which according to UNESCO ICM unified ranggeln into a single form. According to Wikipedia, the title Hogmoar comes from the words Hag, the boundary of a farmstead, and Moar, a steward, that is from the old office of free farmers.
How it differs
The Austrian Commission for UNESCO compares ranggeln to the Swiss Schwingen and states that it belongs to the international federation of Celtic wrestling. Unlike modern wrestling sports, it has no weight categories and divides wrestlers only by performance and age. It is also set apart from Olympic wrestling by being wrestled barefoot on grass.
Technique
The winner presses the opponent to the ground with both shoulder blades. The rules of the Hundstoaranggeln set the holds, grips, clothing, times and size of the wrestling area, and permit only painless techniques. Joint locks and chokes are forbidden. A bout lasts at most six minutes. According to Wikipedia, if no decision falls in it, both wrestlers are eliminated.
Ranks and progression
Ranggeln has no weight categories. Wrestlers are divided into classes by performance, juniors by age. The Hundstoaranggeln has five pupil classes, two classes for juniors and four classes for adults, and according to Salzburg24 there is no women's category there. Only wrestlers from Salzburg in classes one to three can compete for the title Hogmoar on the Hundstein. In 2010 the Austrian Commission for UNESCO added the Hundstoaranggeln to the national list of intangible cultural heritage as a social practice.
Today
During the season the Salzburger Rangglerverband organises the competitions Punkteranggeln, Preisranggeln, Alpencupranggeln, the Alpine countries championship Alpenländermeisterschaft and Länderranggeln. The 2026 season ends with the Alpencup final on October 11 in Mayrhofen and the Länderranggeln on October 25 in St. Martin in Passeier. The Hundstoaranggeln is held on the Sunday around July 25 in any weather, and children wrestle first. In 2024, according to Salzburg24, one hundred and twenty-eight wrestlers from Salzburg, South Tyrol and Bavaria took part.
Did you know
According to Austria-Forum, in the past only unmarried men could compete and only a former holder of the title Hogmoar could referee. The traditional prize was a black grouse feather called Schneidfeder, and referees are still called Schermtax.
Frequently asked questions
How do you win in ranggeln?
Whoever presses the opponent to the ground with both shoulder blades wins. A bout lasts at most six minutes.
What is the Hundstoaranggeln?
The most famous ranggeln tournament, on the Hundstein mountain in Pinzgau, held on the Sunday around July 25. The winner earns the title Hogmoar, and in 2010 the tournament was added to the Austrian list of intangible cultural heritage.
Does ranggeln have weight categories?
No. Wrestlers are divided into performance classes, juniors by age.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.