The Stanserhorn is a mountain in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, located in the canton of
Nidwalden
Nidwalden, also Nidwald (german: Kanton Nidwalden, ; rm, Chantun Sutsilvania; french: Canton de Nidwald; it, Canton Nidvaldo) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven municipalities and the seat of the ...
near to the border with
Obwalden
Obwalden, also Obwald (german: Kanton Obwalden, rm, Chantun Sursilvania; french: Canton d'Obwald; it, Canton Obvaldo), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of seven municipalities and the seat of the govern ...
, with the peak at above sea level.
It is a popular tourist destination, which can be reached from the adjacent town of
Stans
Stans () is the capital of the canton of Nidwalden (Nidwald) in Switzerland.
The official language of Stans is German (spoken there in the variety of Swiss Standard German), but the main language is the local variant of Alemannic Swiss German. ...
by a funicular railway and cable car, or via walking routes from Stans or
Dallenwil
Dallenwil is a municipality in the canton of Nidwalden in Switzerland.
History
Dallenwil is first mentioned about 1199-1210 as ''Tellewilare'' or ''Telliwilare''. In 1850 it was known as ''Thalwyl'' and it wasn't until 1913 that it became Dall ...
.
History
The first public transport route to the peak was started in 1891 and completed in 1893, a three section
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 en ...
railway. The builders were the business partners
Franz Josef Bucher-Durrer and
Josef Durrer-Gasser.
The first section started from Stans town, through the low pastures above the town and over three level crossings, to an intermediate station at Kälti (also sometimes spelt Chälti). The second section continued through forest to another intermediate station at Bluematt (also sometimes spelt Blumatt), then the third section crossed the high pastures and the exposed slope leading up to the summit station and hotel. This third section included a long tunnel and a number of avalanche protection walls; the final section of it was carried on a stone embankment. Each section was electrically powered (making it one of the world's first electrically powered mountain railways), with the complete trip to the summit taking 45minutes.
The railway ran a tourist service until 1970, when on the night of the 2/3October the funicular cable was struck by lightning. This started a fire which destroyed the summit hotel and the driving engine for the third section in its basement.
As a result of this, and also the imminent expiry of the concession, the second funicular section stopped operating in 1974. Part of the driving engine of this section can be seen today outside the summit buildings, while parts of two cars can still be seen at the former Bluematt station.
A new cable car
was built to replace the two upper funicular sections, which started operation in May1975. The first funicular section continued in operation, as it does to this day.
In 2001 a revolving restaurant was built at the summit station, and in 2003 an outside observation deck was added.
In 2010 construction work started on a new cable car to replace the 1975 installation. This was to be a new design, the world's first
"CabriO" double deck open top cable car, built by
Garaventa
Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group is an international manufacturer of ropeways and people movers for ski areas, urban transport, amusement parks, and material handling systems. As of 2019, the group have produced over 15,000 installations in 96 countri ...
. Carrying 60 passengers per cabin with room for 30 on the open deck, passengers are able to observe the mountain scenery as well as the cable and engineering installations during the six-minute journey. While this new cable car was being built, the first funicular section and its original wooden cars were renovated. The final run of the former cable car was on 23 October 2011;
the renovated funicular and new "CabriO" were opened on 29 June 2012.
Visiting
![Spezialbillett](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Spezialbillett.jpg)
The funicular railway and cable car normally run daily from mid-April to mid-November.
The journey to the top starts in Stans town at the original 1893 bottom station (elevation), close to
Stans railway station
Stans is a Switzerland, Swiss railway station in the Stans, municipality of Stans in the canton of Nidwalden. It is on the Luzern–Stans–Engelberg railway line, Luzern–Stans–Engelberg line, owned by the Zentralbahn railway company.
Servic ...
on the
Luzern-Engelberg line. The journey, on the original wooden funicular wagons, takes 9minutes to the Kälti intermediate station (altitude). From here the "CabriO" cable car takes 6minutes to the summit station (altitude). The cable car closely follows the route of the original second and third stage funiculars, and the remains of the track and the Bluematt station can still be seen.
The summit buildings include a self-service restaurant, three meeting/dining rooms, a souvenir shop, and a sun terrace and observation deck.
From the summit buildings, a round trip walk is available around the summit (30minutes), or to the peak at altitude. From the peak, on a clear day, as well as the mountains around there are views as far as
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
and the
Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...
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 ...
. Ten lakes in total are visible: the
Zugersee
__NOTOC__
Lake Zug (german: Zugersee) is a lake in Central Switzerland, situated between Lake Lucerne and Lake Zurich. It stretches for 14 km between Arth and the Cham, Switzerland, Cham-Zug bay. The Lorze as the main feeder river empties its ...
,
Wichelsee
Wichelsee is a lake in Obwalden, Switzerland. Its surface area is . The reservoir is located in the municipalities of Alpnach and Sarnen. It formed after the Sarner Aa
The Sarner Aa is a long river in the Swiss canton of Obwalden. It drains th ...
,
Vierwaldstättersee
__NOTOC__
Lake Lucerne (german: Vierwaldstättersee, literally "Lake of the four forested settlements" (in English usually translated as ''forest cantons''), french: lac des Quatre-Cantons, it, lago dei Quattro Cantoni) is a lake in central S ...
,
Sempachersee
__NOTOC__
Lake Sempach (German: ''Sempachersee'') is a lake in the canton of Lucerne, Switzerland. Its area is about and its maximum depth is .
A island named ''Gamma Insel'' is located east of Sursee.
In the 17th century the lake counted wit ...
,
Sarnersee
Lake Sarnen (German: ''Sarnersee'') is a lake in the Swiss canton of Obwalden. The lake is on the Sarner Aa, which flows out of the Lake Lungern, through the Lake Sarnen, and into Lake Lucerne. The municipalities of Sarnen and Sachseln are located ...
,
Hallwilersee
__NOTOC__
Lake Hallwil (German: ''Hallwilersee'') is a lake largely in the Canton of Aargau, Switzerland, located at . It is the largest lake in Aargau and lies mostly in the districts of Lenzburg and Kulm on the southern edge of the canton. The ...
,
Gerzensee
Gerzensee is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
The town is named after its lake: Gerzensee.
History
Gerzensee is first mentioned in 1228 as ''Gercentse''.
The oldest trac ...
,
Bannalpsee
__NOTOC__
Bannalpsee is a reservoir in the Wolfenschiessen, municipality of Wolfenschiessen in the Switzerland, Swiss canton of Nidwalden.
The reservoir's surface area is . The construction of the reservoir was decided in 1934 and completed in 19 ...
,
Baldeggersee
__NOTOC__
Lake Baldegg (german: Baldeggersee) is a lake in the Canton of Lucerne, Switzerland. Its area is about 5.2 km2 and its maximum depth is 69 m.
See also
*List of lakes of Switzerland
This article contains a sortable table listin ...
and
Alpnachersee
__NOTOC__
Lake Lucerne (german: Vierwaldstättersee, literally "Lake of the four forested settlements" (in English usually translated as ''forest cantons''), french: lac des Quatre-Cantons, it, lago dei Quattro Cantoni) is a lake in central S ...
.
A variety of hiking trail routes are available down to Bluematt-Kälti-Stans, Ahornhütte-Büren, Wiesenberg-Dallenwil, or
Wirzweli-
Wolfenschiessen
Wolfenschiessen is a village and municipality in the canton of Nidwalden in Switzerland. Besides the village of Wolfenschiessen itself, the municipality includes the settlements of Altzellen, Büren ob dem Bach, Dörfli, and Oberrickenbach, toge ...
. The routes to/from the summit are closed in winter or in bad weather.
Gallery
File:Stanserhorn Aussicht.jpg, View from Stanserhorn
File:Stanserhorn - 01-D.jpg
File:Stanserhorn - 02-D.jpg
File:Blick von Stanserhorn über den Wolken 5.JPG
File:Cabriobahn.jpg, The ''CabriO'' cable car
File:Stanserhorn Seilbahn Cabriogondel 2.JPG, arriving at mountain station.
File:Stanserhorn Standseilbahn Talfahrt Ausweichung.JPG, lower section funicular tracks
File:Switzerland; and the adjacent portions of Italy, Savoy and Tyrol; handbook for travellers (1913) (14597228197).jpg
File:Stanserhorn beyond Alpancher See.jpg, Seen behind Lake Lucerne
__NOTOC__
Lake Lucerne (german: Vierwaldstättersee, literally "Lake of the four forested settlements" (in English usually translated as ''forest cantons''), french: lac des Quatre-Cantons, it, lago dei Quattro Cantoni) is a lake in central ...
See also
*
References
External links
Official Home pagePictures StanserhornStanserhorn-Bahn
{{Authority control
Mountains of the Alps
Mountains of Nidwalden
Tourist attractions in Switzerland
Buildings and structures with revolving restaurants
Funicular railways in Switzerland
Cable cars in Switzerland
Tourist attractions in Nidwalden
One-thousanders of Switzerland
Mountains of Switzerland