Hammetschwand lift

Hammetschwand lift
Basic data
Place:	Lucerne
Canton:	Lucerne
Country:	Switzerland
Altitude :	961  m
Coordinates: 47 ° 0 '3.7 "  N , 8 ° 23' 45.9"  E ; CH1903:  six hundred seventy-two thousand eight hundred and seventeen  /  205996
Use:	Observation tower
Accessibility:	Observation tower open to the public
Owner :	Hammetschwand Elevator AG
Tower data
Construction time :	1905
Construction costs : 500,000 CHF Client : Wüest & Co. AG, Zurich Building material : steel
Total height :	152.81  m
Position map
Hammetschwand lift

The Hammetschwand lift is the highest open-air lift in Europe and is located in Switzerland . On the Bürgenstock, it connects the exposed rock path at a lofty height with the Hammetschwand viewpoint ( 1114.4  m above sea level ). The lift itself is located in the canton of Lucerne in the Bürgenstock exclave , while the Bürgenstock plateau belongs to the canton of Nidwalden . Another special feature of this elevator is that it is operated with a federal license for regular and commercial passenger transport.

history

The noble health resort Bürgenstock, in the best panoramic position at 874  m above sea level. M. am Vierwaldstättersee ( 433.6  m above sea level ), has been a popular holiday destination for the wealthy since 1872. Between 1897 and 1902, the hotelier and railway pioneer Franz Josef Bucher-Durrer had an attractive promenade cut into the cliffs of the northern flank of the Bürgenstock, which slopes steeply to Lake Lucerne. From the Känzeli , where the Felsenweg ends, an open external lift to the Hammetschwand was built between 1903 and 1905 as a further attraction. The 153 meter high Hammetschwand lift was built by Löhle & Cie. from Kloten . When it was commissioned in 1905, the travel time was just under three minutes, the lift reached a speed of around one meter per second, although the journey was extremely unsteady due to voltage fluctuations. The eight-person cabin (600 kg maximum load) was made of wood and covered with zinc sheet.

The first profound restructuring took place in 1936 by the limited partnership Schindler & Cie. , Which was then based in Lucerne . , together with the technical staff of the owner hotel responsible for the lift. Schindler supplied a new, twelve-person light metal cabin for the lift. In addition, the tower, guide rails and drive were strengthened to increase the travel speed to 2.7 meters per second. The aim of the latter measure was to outstrip the 2.3 m / s fast elevator in the Berlin bell tower and thus retain the title of “Europe's fastest elevator”.

The system was renovated again in 1959/1960, the tower was reinforced again, the corrosion protection renewed and a modern lift drive with a gently controlled acceleration process was installed. With these measures, the speed could also be increased to a remarkable four meters per second. Another partial renovation was carried out in 1981.

After 85 years of operation and around 4 million passengers, the authorities demanded a general overhaul of the facility in 1990 or, if not, cease operation. Since the general refurbishment exceeded the lift owner's financial means, Schindler Elevators was contacted again in search of a solution. Since it was also in Schindler's interest to keep the distinctive lift system operational, it was agreed to found a new, joint operating company that would also undertake the general renovation. In July 1990, Hammetschwand Lift AG , based in Ennetbürgen , was entered in the commercial register of the canton of Nidwalden and the renovation of the facility was taken in hand. As part of the work, the valley station located in a rock cavern was expanded for the first time. The new, three-sided glazed panorama cabin from Schindler can again accommodate twelve people (900 kg maximum load) and was specially made as a weatherproof version due to the open lattice tower.

After the renovation work was completed, the Hammetschwand lift was reopened at the beginning of the summer season in April 1992. With the new system with a glazed cabin, the speed has been reduced to 3.15 meters per second so that the view from the cabin and the journey itself become more central. A barely noticeable new comfort feature is also the load-dependent cabin readjustment used for long rope lengths at a standstill; the lift has been wheelchair accessible since the renovation.

• Play media file

  Ride the Lift (2004)

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  Upper approach

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  Elevator viewed from the Felsenweg

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  Elevator entrance above

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  Lift entrance downstairs

investment

The filigree, metal lattice tower has a base area of ​​2 × 2 meters, is 119 meters high including the top and is placed on a 45 meter high rock shaft. The lift access, the engine room and the first 14 meters of this shaft are located completely inside the mountain, while the following 31 meters of the rock shaft towards the front offer a view of Lake Lucerne. The valley station is on Felsenweg at 961.6  m above sea level. M. , the mountain station on the Hammetschwand at 1114.4  m above sea level. M. , in between the lift overcomes the difference in altitude of 152.8 meters (operating length), while the height of the entire system from the valley station to the top of the tower is 164.1 meters.

The whole journey takes about 50 seconds and then you have an unrestricted view of Lake Lucerne, the pre-Alps and part of the Alps that dominate here from the Hammetschwand . At dusk, 16 lamps attached to the lattice tower are switched on, which means that the system is visible at night when the view is clear.

Licensed elevator

Since the transport of passengers is not free of charge, the elevator is classified as a public means of transport within the meaning of the Federal Passenger Transport Act. This classification was confirmed by an order dated November 11, 2009 and the license was extended until the end of 2034. There is only one other elevator in Switzerland that operates with a federal license, namely the Mattelift in the city of Bern. The fare (2020) for a single journey is CHF 15.00 and for a return journey CHF 18.00.

Trivia

A video with aerial photos of the Hammetschwand lift attracted a lot of attention on social media in 2018 and was viewed 670,000 times in the first three weeks.

Web links

Commons : Hammetschwandlift  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Hammetschwand lift information from the Bürgenstock Hotel & Resort
• View in an advertising brochure from 1908

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: TU directory of the Federal Office of Transport, license PBKA 3216
2. ↑ see the web link to the Hammetschwand lift on the Bürgenstock Hotels & Resort website
3. ↑ Hammetschwand lift video delights the masses. In: Luzerner Zeitung , July 19, 2018

and display information about the image

360 ° panorama from the Hammetschwand lift