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ItalianoUpdated 23.06.2022
Brixlegg is home to Europe's first giant concrete park. A documentary now looks back at the creation of the skate park. A beautiful piece of local skate history.
The skatepark in Brixlegg was one of the first giant concrete parks in Europe, which was to set new standards. The concrete landscape of over 4,000m² today consists of classic bowl and street elements. One highlight is the iconic feature that resembles a concrete baby cradle that you can ride upside down, which also gave the park its name: "The Cradle".
The skate park is located near Rattenberg, Austria's smallest town, on Brixlegg soil. The location is anything but in the middle of "the big city". It is all the more astonishing how such a skate park came to Brixlegg, to the countryside.
At the beginning of the 2000s, many communities had plans for skate parks. But in Brixlegg, something big was to be created. So they contacted the legendary Dreamland crew from Oregon directly, who until then the people in charge had only known from "Thrasher" magazine. In Oregon, the request by email from Brixlegg was initially thought to be a joke.
"Best park in entire planet
The Dreamland crew came anyway to build their first park outside the USA. The motto was: "building not just the best park in Europe, but the best park in the entire planet". And they came pretty close to achieving this goal. International contests like the "Etnies Bowlmasters" have further strengthened the park's reputation and made it a destination for many skateboarders.
To mark the 20th anniversary, a documentary "The Cradle. 20 Years of Skateboard History" by Conkreative Film Production, which will be shown at the Leokino on 24 June. It traces the development of the skatepark and is a beautiful piece of local skate history of committed young people who had to convince mayors and doubting councillors to provide land and funding for a project that eventually became a success story. More information at: www.skatethecradle.com