Kitzbühel is one of Europe’s best-known winter sports resorts, situated between the mountains "Hahnenkamm" adjacent to the southwest and to the northeast. The Hahnenkamm hosts the annual World Cup ski races, including the circuit's most notable single event, the downhill race on the notable "Streif" slope. Introduced in 1937, the northeast-facing "Streif" is among the world's toughest downhill courses, if not the most, and is infamous for an abundance of spectacular crashes. In 1959 the Austrian Alpine Ski Championships took place from 27 February to 1 March.