The Weissenstein () is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

of the Jura, located north of

Solothurn Solothurn ( ; ; ; ; ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissenstein Jura mountains. The town is ...

in the Swiss

canton of Solothurn The canton of Solothurn or canton of Soleure (; ; ; ) is a Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Switzerland. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital is Solothurn. History The village of ''Salodurum'' was founded in the time of t ...

. The culminating point of the chain is distinguished by the name . It is the easternmost summit above 1,300 metres in the Jura Mountains. Until the end of 2009, there was a

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers. They are the primary on-hill tran ...

from Oberdorf to the spa

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

on the summit near the Weissenstein Pass. It was replaced by a

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 ...

at the end of 2014. The

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

of the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

line Solothurn–

Moutier Moutier () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in Switzerland. Currently, the town belongs to the Jura bernois (administrative district), Jura bernois administrative district of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Ber ...

from Oberdorf to

Gänsbrunnen Gänsbrunnen is a former municipality in the district of Thal in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. The French name for Gänsbrunnen is ''Saint-Joseph''. On 1 January 2021 the former municipalities of Gänsbrunnen and Welschenrohr merged to ...

on the other side was opened in 1908. The gondola lift crosses the railway track in front of the tunnel portal at Oberdorf, which is the only setting of this kind in Switzerland. The

pass road Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places *Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland *Pass, Poland, a village in Poland *El Paso, Texas, a city which translates to "The Pass" * Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see Li ...

leading from the village of Oberdorf across the Weissenstein Pass () to Gänsbrunnen is one of the steepest in Switzerland (22%).

References

External links

Seilbahn Weissenstein
the gondola lift operator, in German.
Weissenstein on Hikr
Mountains of Switzerland Mountains of the canton of Solothurn Mountains of the Jura One-thousanders of Switzerland {{Switzerland-mountain-stub