Austrian military circles and the origins of skiing and its development in Galicja (1891–1914) The goal of this article is an attempt to verify the so far opinions on the role of the army in the history of Polish skiing and to define the relations between military and civil skiing practised by Poles in Galicja in the years 1891–1914, i.e. from the moment of introducing regular training in the Imperial and Royal Army until the break-out of World War I. On the basis of carried out research it has been stated that the regular use of skies in the R.I. Army was just about simultaneous to the first skiing experiences of Poles. Although the army based in Galicja could not count on the support of the local civilian skiing circles, as it was in the case of the Alpine regions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the number of trained soldier-skiers was significantly higher than the number of civilians enjoying skiing in Galicja at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Without doubt the experience in this field of the 1st, 10th and 11th Corps of the R.I. Army had influence on popularizing skiing among the Polish population. Newspaper reports about the achievements of soldiers and officers of the R.I. Army, direct observation of their training in skiing and finally the possibility of trying first steps in skiing during military service or under the guidance of R.I. Army officers during open courses for civilians brought about great interest in skiing among many Poles. Thus this became a stimulus for later independent development of the discipline. The first brochures issued for the needs of the army as well as Polish skiing books / manuals, the authors of which took inspiration from the experience of military skiing, were of great importance at that time. There is no doubt that military skiing was not strictly separated from civilian one and as shown above, had influence on the formation and development of Polish skiing in Galicja.