The Funicular de Santiago is a

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

railway on a slope of the

San Cristóbal Hill Cerro San Cristóbal (Tupahue, San Cristóbal Hill) is a hill in northern Santiago, Chile. It rises 850 m AMSL and about 300 m above the rest of Santiago; the peak is the third highest point in the city, after Cerro Manquehue and Cerro Renca. Cer ...

, in the city of

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

. It forms part of the tourist attractions of the Santiago Metropolitan Park.

History

The idea of a funicular originated when the Cerro San Cristóbal began to be taken for public use in the 1910s, project that was finally commissioned to the Italian engineer Ernesto Bosso in 1922. The foundation stone of the funicular was laid on 24 November 1923, and its construction was completed and inaugurated on by the then

President of Chile The president of Chile ( es, Presidente de Chile), officially known as the President of the Republic of Chile ( es, Presidente de la República de Chile), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is r ...

Arturo Alessandri Arturo Fortunato Alessandri Palma (; December 20, 1868 – August 24, 1950) was a Chilean political figure and reformer who served thrice as president of Chile, first from 1920 to 1924, then from March to October 1925, and finally from 1932 to ...

. The station located at the feet of the hill was designed by architect Luciano Kulczewski, while the strength of steel wire ropes was tested by engineer

Jorge Alessandri Jorge Eduardo Alessandri Rodríguez (; 19 May 1896 – 31 August 1986) was the 27th President of Chile from 1958 to 1964, and was the candidate of the Chilean right in the crucial presidential election of 1970, which he lost to Salvador All ...

, who later went on to become president of Chile (1958–1964). Between July 11 and August 11, 1949 the service was suspended for repairs and maintenance. From 10 to 13 and from 17 to 20 July 1950, the funicular was closed to undergo repair works. In those years full fares ranged between $3.6 and $7.4, and the student fare was $2. In 1968, the original wooden car roofs were replaced with canvas tops supported by metal frames.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

traveled in the funicular of Santiago during his only visit to Chile in 1987. The funicular was declared as a National Monument of Chile on November 16, 2000. In January 1998, the only serious accident occurred, when a car ascending to the Cumbre station —which carried six park employees— crashed against the hill due to a late brake activation. An employee lost his left arm and the front of the car involved was destroyed. The funicular is long and consists of three stations: "Pío Nono" (at the base of the hill), "

Zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...

" and "Cumbre", where the Santuario a la Virgen is located and where there is a connection with the

Santiago Cable Car The Santiago Cable Car ( es, Teleférico de Santiago) is an aerial tramway of a tourist nature, located at the Metropolitan Park of San Cristóbal Hill, in Santiago, Chile. History First era (1980-2009) The construction of the cable car began i ...

Gallery

File:Acceso Funicular Parque Metropolitano de Santiago.JPG, Main entrance File:Funicular del Cerro San Cristóbal desde el mirador del Cerro Santa Lucía.jpg, Seen from the Santa Lucía Hill File:Placa Funicular Santiago.JPG, Plaque File:Funicular de Santiago.jpg, Funicular cars File:J25 310 Seilbahnmaschinenhaus mit Teesalon.jpg, Engine room at the Cumbre station.

References

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