An uninhabited Alpine valley was the site of one of the most famous engineering marvels ever built in Slovenia. Constructed in 1933, the large ski jump in Planica made sporting history many times. It was there that, in 1936, Sepp Bradl of Austria became the first ski jumper ever to break the legendary 100 meter barrier. A number of world records followed, and the ski jump was in use until the beginning of the 21st century.

It was designed by Stanko Bloudek, a Slovenian engineer born in 1890 to a Slovenian mother and a Czech father. He received the order to build the world’s largest ski jump, later christened “Bloudek’s giant ski jump,” not just because he was an experienced engineer but also because he was one of the managers of Ljubljana’s Ilirija sporting club.

Years earlier, Bloudek founded a soccer club in Ljubljana and was one of the people responsible for popularizing what was then still a brand-new sport. He was also instrumental in bringing sports such as ice hockey, track-and-field, figure skating, and table tennis to the country.

Later, he used his engineering background to design and finance Slovenia’s first large-scale swimming complex, which featured heated water and an Olympic-sized pool. He also built the country’s first ski lift.

But while Bloudek is best remembered for his sports-related accomplishments, he was also a pioneering aviator and aircraft designer. While studying in Prague, he designed two powered aircraft. That enabled him to become the first professional Slovenian aircraft designer, and he spent several years working for various aviation workshops around Central Europe. One of the aircraft he designed even set a world speed record. During World War I, he designed a helicopter prototype that was ahead of its time, but plans to build it were shelved. Bloudek continued to design aircraft after World War I, until a crash that killed his test pilot dampened his enthusiasm.

Bloudek was also a prolific inventor. He designed a locking device that prevented goods stored in train cars from being stolen. He also patented a lighting system that enabled soccer to be played at night.

Bloudek died in 1959, but his legacy is still remembered in Slovenia. His ski jump collapsed in 2001. However, when two new replacement jumps were recently built, they continued to carry his name. The term “Bloudek’s giant ski jump” is now protected as a part of Slovenia’s national heritage, and a prestigious Slovenian award for achievement in sports bears Bloudek’s name.