While unofficial German figure skating championships were held from 1887 to 1889 in
Hamburg, the first official championship event was held in
Munich in 1891.
A. Schmitson won this inaugural event. Until 1914, skaters from
Austria-Hungary frequently competed at the German Championships.
Georg Zachariades, who won the 1892 and 1893 championships, was from
Vienna, as was
Gustav Hügel, who won the championships in 1894. The first national competition in
pair skating was held in 1907 in
Altona, for women in
Olomouc in 1911, and for
ice dance in Hamburg in 1937. Competition was frequently interrupted early on, especially from 1915 to 1919 due to
World War I. They were, therefore, eligible to compete in the German Figure Skating Championships.
Edi Rada won the men's championship in 1943;
Marta Musilek won the women's championships in 1942, 1943, and 1944;
Herta and
Emil Ratzenhofer won the pairs championship in 1944; and Jutta Stöhr and Fritz Hackl won the ice dance championship in 1944. The
East German Figure Skating Championships () were held annually from 1949 to 1990. From 1947 to 1990, separate figure skating championships were held in West Germany; those results are considered the historical results of the German Figure Skating Championships. Following the reunification of Germany, East German skaters began competing at the German Championships, and many former East German skaters became champions of the newly reunified Germany, including
Mirko Eichhorn,
Alexander König,
René Lohse,
Axel Rauschenbach,
Peggy Schwarz,
Ingo Steuer,
Kati Winkler, and Ronny Winkler. The number of competitors was also smaller than usual, since some of Germany's top skaters, including
Nicole Schott, Kristina Isaev, and
Jennifer Janse van Rensburg and
Benjamin Steffan, who all trained in
Oberstdorf, were unable to travel to Dortmund due to quarantine regulations. Additionally, the Berlin Ice Sports Association withdrew all Berlin-based skaters, including
Paul Fentz, three days before the event began, citing health concerns. While all senior-level events and junior-level pair skating and ice dance events went ahead as planned, the junior-level
single skating events and all novice-level events, which had originally been postponed, were ultimately cancelled. ==Senior medalists==