The Fichtelberg Cable Car (german: Fichtelberg Schwebebahn) is a German

cable car Cable car most commonly refers to the following cable transportation systems: * Aerial lift, such as aerial tramways and gondola lifts, in which the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable ** Aerial tramway ** Chairlift ** Gondola lift *** Bi ...

in the Ore Mountains in

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

that runs from the town of

Oberwiesenthal Oberwiesenthal (; officially Kurort Oberwiesenthal) is a town and a ski resort in the district of Erzgebirgskreis in Saxony in Germany. It is situated in the Ore Mountains, on the border with the Czech Republic, 19 km south of Annaberg-Buchh ...

to the

Fichtelberg The Fichtelberg () is a mountain with two main peaks in the middle of the Ore Mountains in the east German state of Saxony, near the Czech border. At above sea level, the Fichtelberg is the highest mountain in Saxony, the second highest in the ...

mountain top. It is the oldest cable car in

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 ...

,''Fichtelberg Schwebebahn''
at europeforvisitors.com, Imboden, Durant and Cheryl. Accessed on 27 Dec 09. leading from the

valley station The valley station is the lower terminal of an aerial lift, cable car, gondola lift, chairlift, rack railway or ski lift. The valley station is the counterpart of a top station. Cable cars may be boarded at both stations. The valley station is al ...

at an altitude of 905 metres above sea level to 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 1,208 metres above sea level, having a length of 1,175 metres and a maximum upward gradient of 50 per cent. The Fichtelberg Cable Car is equipped with two carrying and two hauling cables. Operations began in December 1924. The Fichtelberg Cable Car temporarily ceased operation in 1948 due to lack of maintenance during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After a major overhaul, it reopened in 1956. Another major renovation took place in 1984, when one of the support towers were removed and the others where relocated.

References

Sources

* Mario Schatz: ''Seilbahnen der DDR''. transpress VEB Verlag für Verkehrswesen, Berlin 1987, .

External links

Official website (German)

Cable cars in Germany Transport in the Ore Mountains Oberwiesenthal 1924 establishments in Germany {{Germany-rail-transport-stub