''Schweizer Seilbahninventar'' (also , , literally ''Swiss Inventory of Cableways'') was published in 2011 by the

Federal Office of Culture The Federal Office of Culture (FOC) is an administrative unit of the Federal Department of Home Affairs, based in Bern, Switzerland. The agency has two extensive areas of responsibility: promoting Swiss culture and preserving the country’s c ...

. Of about 3000

cableways Cable transport is a broad class of transport modes that have Wire rope, cables. They transport passengers and goods, often in vehicles called Aerial lift, cable cars. The cable may be driven or passive, and items may be moved by pulling, slidin ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, the

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also ...

inventory assesses 67 as of national importance and 44 as of regional importance in terms of the Swiss Federal Act on the nature and cultural heritage. It also includes 18 noteworthy more recent systems. Installations are included for their cultural or technological significance. The inventory covers aerial cableways (

aerial tramway An aerial tramway, aerial tram, sky tram, cable car or aerial cablecar, aerial cableway, ropeway, téléphérique (French), or Seilbahn (German) is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary cables for support, with a third movin ...

gondola lift A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate suppo ...

s, chair lifts,

material ropeway A material ropeway, ropeway conveyor (or aerial tramway in the US) is a subtype of gondola lift, from which containers for goods rather than passenger cars are suspended. Description Material ropeways are typically found around large mining co ...

s),

funicular A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep grade (slope), slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to ...

s and

ski lift A ski lift is a mechanism for transporting skiers up a hill. Ski lifts are typically a Lift ticket, paid service at ski resorts. The first ski lift was built in 1908 by German Robert Winterhalder in Schollach/Eisenbach, Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, ...

s. Classifications applied are those of Swiss authorities. It does not cover

inclined elevator An inclined elevator or inclined lift is a form of cable railway that hauls rail cars up a steep gradient. Introduction An inclined elevator consists of one or two inclined tracks on a slope with a single car on each carrying payload. In ...

s, mobile lifts and installations part of residential, military or industrial building complexes.

Project

Mandated by the Federal Office of Culture, the inventory was prepared by Karin Zaugg, Michael Gerber, Peter Bannwart, Thomas Batschelet, Erwin Bloch, Stefan Kraus, Brigitte Müller and Rudolf Saum. They were advised by a commission from the following agencies and organisations: *

Federal Office of Transport The Federal Office of Transport, FOT is a federal authority of the Swiss Confederation. It deals with public transport in Switzerland, i.e. railways, cableways, trolleybuses, buses and ships. It is also responsible for various aspects of freig ...

BAV/OFT: Urs Wohlwend * EKD/CFMH: Bernhard Furrer * Verband Seilbahnen Schweiz/Remontées Mécaniques Suisses SBS: Anna Amacher Hoppler and Fulvio Sartori * Interkantonales Konkordat für Seilbahnen und Skilifte/Concordat intercantonal sur les téléphériques et les téléskis IKSS/CITT: Reto Canale * Society for Art History in Switzerland GSK/SHAS: Nina Mekacher At the Federal Office of Culture, Oliver Martin was in charge of the project and Reto Müller of the publication The project started in January 2008 and most onsite inspections took place in 2009. The inventory was completed in 2010 and aimed to reflect the state at end of 2010. From the initial list of 2934 installations, 175 were evaluated in detail and 129 included in the published list. All installations existed in 2010, but may not have been operational in years or have been dismantled since.

Entries

Each entry includes: *two identifiers: **an alphanumeric or numeric identifier. **a 5-digit identifier. *location *the initials of the evaluators for the entry: on-site visit and inventorisation *general description of the cableway *summary evaluation *detailed evaluation: concept, technology, architecture, authenticity, history, location, local infrastructure *appendices: **technical data **years of components **other inventories/heritage registries **images Each section of a cableway is generally included separately.

Funiculars

Of the 129 cableways, 28 are funiculars.

Funiculars of national importance

Twelve funiculars are considered of national importance, these are: Operating in 2022: *

Giessbachbahn The Giessbach Funicular () is a historic funicular in the Swiss canton of Bern and municipality of Brienz. It links a landing stage on Lake Brienz, served by shipping services on the lake, to the Grand Hotel Giessbach and Giessbach Falls above ...

* Handegg – Gelmersee * Interlaken – Heimwehfluh * Reichenbachfallbahn * Neuveville – St-Pierre (Fribourg) * Kehrsiten – Bürgenstock * Stans – Kälti * Locarno – Madonna del Sasso * Les Avants – Sonloup Others: * Lugano Angioli, closed * Harissenbucht (Stansstad) – Fürigen, closed * Le Châtelard VS – Les Montuires, closed in 2022

Funiculars of regional importance

13 of regional importance consists of: * Kriens – Sonnenberg * Lugano Paradiso – M. San Salvatore * Treib – Seelisberg * Niesenbahn (2 sections) * Monté Bré (2 sections) The sections are included separately. Also the following not built for commercial transport of persons: * Handegg – Handeggfluh * Piotta – Ritom * Urweid – Chapf * Lochezen * Schiebuwaldji * Bootstransportbahn Rupperswil-Auenstein

Recent funiculars

3 recent funiculars were included: * Université de Neuchâtel - Gare CFF, Fun'Ambule * Sierre - Montana-Crans * Airside-Center - Dock-E (Skymetro)

Editions

The inventory is published online. The public version only lists the installations of importance (129). A summary booklet was published in print and as pdf. The German original was partially translated into French and Italian and prefaced by Jean-Frédéric Jauslin of the Federal Office of Culture. The online version includes a history of cableways in Switzerland by Karin Zaugg, ''Seilbahnen in der Schweiz. Hintergrund''. The website was conceived to be editable. As of April 2023, year on "impressum" is 2011.

Use

The inventory is meant to guide the federal and cantonal agencies (notably

and the IKSS/CITT office) when delivering concessions for the infrastructure. A review published in 2018 found that a large part of the installations had ceased operation or continued operation was endangered. A detailed overview for aerial cableways was included. The canton of Nidwalden took it in account when elaborating its 2019 strategy on cableways.

Notes

;Locations in work, editions: Impressum
(in German)
Impressum
(in French)
Colophon
(in Italian) Erläuterungen
(in German)
Explications
(in French)
Informazioni
(in Italian)

References

{{authority control Heritage registers in Switzerland * * Industrial history History of transport in Switzerland 2011 documents