The men's singles European championship first took place in Hamburg in 1891, while the ladies' singles and pair skating European championships started in Vienna in 1930.
The skating association of Germany and Austria, joined in one club "Deutscher und Österrreichischer Eislaufverband," organised the first European Championships in figure skating as well as in speed skating in Hamburg, German Empire in 1891 even before the International Skating Union (ISU) was founded.