The Zugspitzebahn was the first wire ropeway to open the summit of the

Zugspitze The Zugspitze (), at above sea level, is the highest peak of the Wetterstein Mountains as well as the highest mountain in Germany. It lies south of the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and the Austria–Germany border runs over its western su ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

's highest mountain on the border of Austria. Designed and built by Adolf

Bleichert Bleichert, short for Adolf Bleichert & Co., was a German engineering firm founded in 1874 by Adolf Bleichert. The company dominated the aerial wire ropeway industry during the first half of the 20th century, and its portfolio included cranes, el ...

& Co. of Leipzig, Germany, the system was a record-holder for the highest altitude.

History

Dr. Hermann Stern, deputy mayor of

Reutte Reutte (; Swabian: ) is a market town in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is the administrative center of the Reutte district (''Districts of Austria''). Reutte is located on the Lech, and has a population of 6704 (as of 2018). Neighbouring muni ...

, saw a cable car up to the

as an opportunity to promote the economy and tourism in the

Reutte District The is an administrative district () in Tyrol, Austria. It borders Bavaria (Germany) in the north, the districts Imst and Landeck in the south, and Bregenz and Bludenz (both in Vorarlberg) in the west. The district is also referred to as . The d ...

. This cable car turned out to be his main economic project and was completed in 1926. After completion in January 1926, it was on July 5, 1926 that it was opened for public use - making it the first cable car leading to the Zugspitze. The Zugspitzbahn connected the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n town of

Ehrwald Ehrwald is a municipality in the district of Reutte in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Geography Ehrwald lies at the southern base of the Zugspitze (2950 meters above sea level), Germany's highest mountain, but which is shared with Austria. The tow ...

(1225 metres above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

) with the

top station A top station or upper stationFor example, se''Chairlift Blausee (upper station)''at www.outdooractive.com. Retrieved 15 May 2019. is usually the highest station of an aerial lift, a funicular, a T-bar lift or a rack railway. The lowest station is ...

at 2,950 metres above

next to the summit of

. Peter von Bleichert wrote a book on "Bleichert's Wire Ropeways" that contains information on the design, construction, and operation of the original Zugspitzebahn.Peter von Bleichert "Bleichert's Wire Ropeways"
/ref> The modern Tyrolean Zugspitze Cable Car has a top station opposite the one of the German

Eibsee Cable Car The Seilbahn Zugspitze is an aerial tramway running from the Eibsee Lake to the top of Zugspitze in Bavaria, Germany. It holds the world record for the longest freespan in a cable car at as well as the tallest lattice steel aerial tramway supp ...

system. It has a length of 3600 metres and an elevation gain of 1725 metres. The Tyrolean Zugspitze Cable Car runs over three

aerial lift pylon An aerial lift pylon is a pylon construction bearing the cables of an aerial lift such as an aerial tramway or gondola lift. Large pylons of aerial tramways usually consist of a steel framework construction, smaller pylons of gondola lifts are m ...

s. The double track ropes have a diameter of 62 mm each, and the hauling rope has a diameter of 38 mm. It runs on 2 x 500 kilowatts of power, generated in the valley station. The journey normally takes less than 10 minutes at a speed of 36 km/h. The tramway's two cabins can accommodate 100 persons each and have a transport capacity of 730 persons per hour each way. There is a cable lift from Ehrwald to the base of Zugspitze in Austria where the resort Ehrwald Alm houses skiers, and a ski run down to Ehrwald starts. The resort has a dramatic view of the face of Zugspitze. In 2016 the Tyrolean Zugspitze Wire Ropeway is celebrating its 90th anniversary, after it was inaugurated on 5 July 1926 as the first so called Austrian Zugspitze Wire Ropeway, which was built by the German company Adolf

& Co. from Leipzig. Many special events accompany this jubilee year, including a special exhibition in the mountain museum at the summit station, where the history of this magnificent and technologically outstanding passenger ropeway, as well as its changes and modernization in recent decades are represented.

Literature

* Wunder der Technik – Tiroler Zugspitzbahn. Die Geschichte der ersten Seilbahn Tirols. Herausgegeben von der Zillertaler Gletscherbahn GmbH&Co KG, Innsbruck 2006 * Peter von Bleichert: ''Bleichert's Wire Ropeways. Chapter: Zugspitze, Austria/Germany.'' Kindle Digital Press, 2013

References

External links

zugspitzbahn.at/zugspitzbahn/de

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