The Schlossbergbahn, or Schloßbergbahn ( en, Castle Hill Railway), is a

funicular railway 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 ...

in the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n city of

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popula ...

. It connects the city centre with the Schloßberg, a hill and the site of a demolished fortress, with extensive views over the city. The Schlossbergbahn should not be confused with the

Schlossberg lift Schlossberg or Schloßberg (German for ''Castle Mountain''; usually a hill or mountain with a "castle" on it) may refer to: Places * Schlossberg (Bavaria), a part of the municipality of Stephanskirchen in Bavaria, Germany * Schloßberg (Bopfingen), ...

, a vertical lift which links the Schloßberg with the tunnel system beneath the hill, and via that with the city centre.

History

The current Schlossbergbahn was not the first line on the Schloßberg, with records of a line being in use between 1528 and 1595 to move construction materials for the fortifications. After the military left the Schloßberg in 1856, discussions started on ways to make it more accessible, and in 1893 construction started on the current line. In 1894 the line opened, using a

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be ...

to haul the cable and with a Riggenbach rack rail for braking. The haulage system was unusual in that whilst the steam engine was at the upper station, the

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central ...

was at the lower station, with the two linked by steam pipes. The line was converted to electric haulage over the winter of 1899/1900, using current supplied by the Graz tramway system and to a design modeled on the San Salvatore funicular in

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label= Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Lugano has a populat ...

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 ...

. At around the same time, the line was transferred from private ownership to the ownership of the city of Graz. In 1960/1961, the line was modernised and both stations were completely rebuilt. The cars were replaced, with the original cars going to the

Graz Tramway Museum The Tramway Museum Graz is a transport museum in the Austrian city of Graz, specialising in the history of the Graz tramway network. It is located in the former tram depot at the Mariatrost terminus of Graz tram route 1. The museum houses a co ...

and the

Vienna Technical Museum The Vienna Technical Museum (german: Technisches Museum Wien) is located in Vienna (Austria), in the Penzing district, at Mariahilferstraße 212. The decision to establish a technical museum was made in 1908, and construction of the building sta ...

. In 2000, the

was constructed to provide an alternative route between city and summit in time for the city's spell as Cultural Capital of Europe in 2003. In 2004, the Schlossbergbahn was again modernised, with both cars being replaced and both stations reconstructed, at a cost of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

2.5 million. The new cars were designed in cooperation with the

Fachhochschule für Industrial Design A ''Fachhochschule'' (; plural ''Fachhochschulen''), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts ...

, and have glass roofs, to allow passengers to see the view over the city.

Operation

The line is operated by Holding Graz, who also operate the city's tram network. It operates between 09:00 and midnight seven days a week, with extended operation until 02:00 the following day on Thursdays to Saturdays. The line's lower station is served by the ''Schloßbergbahn'' stop, on routes 4 and 5 of the city's tram network. It is some north of the city's Hauptplatz. The line has the following technical parameters:

Photo gallery

References

External links

Schlossbergbahn page from the Holding Graz web site
(in German)
Video of the line from YouTube
{{Funiculars in Austria Funicular railways in Austria Transport in Graz Tourist attractions in Graz Metre gauge railways in Austria

History

Operation

See also

Photo gallery

References

External links