Kanzelwandbahn

Kanzelwandbahn
Kanzelwandbahn mountain station
Location:	Riezlern , Austria
Design type:	Bicable ropeway
Construction year:	1955/1989
Mountain:	Pulpit wall
Valley station:	Riezlern, 1087 m
Height difference:	870 m
Mountain station:	Pulpit wall, 1957 m
Route length:	2461 m
Driving time:	8.3 min
Number of gondolas:	80 pcs.
Number of supports:	9 pcs.
Capacity:	6 people / gondola, 1500 people / hour
Manufacturer:	Waagner Biro
Operator:	Kleinwalsertal mountain railway
Website:	www.kanzelwandbahn.de

The Kanzelwandbahn is a cable car built in 1954 in Riezlern , Kleinwalsertal , Vorarlberg in Austria .

history

The Riezlern Tourism Advisory Board first considered building a railway on the 2056  m high pulpit wall as early as 1952. The Kanzelwandbahn AG was founded on March 6, 1954. The sole board member was Walter Fritz and the then mayor of Riezlern, Josef Risch, was chairman of the supervisory board . The company's share capital amounted to DM 650,000. Construction work began in 1954 and the maiden voyage took place on April 2, 1955. Construction costs of DM 3.8 million were incurred. The two-cable gondola bridges an altitude difference of 870 meters. Four people at a time were transported to the summit in red, yellow or blue cabins at a speed of five meters per second, that is 320 people per hour. The free-standing inlet frame of the mountain station is striking. In 1956 a mountain restaurant was built at the mountain station. In the same year the Zwerenlift was opened, which could transport 180 people per hour.

Corporate development

Valley town of Riezlern

In 1973, when the Fellhornbahn was completed, the two ski areas were linked. The Zweren lift was expanded and carried 690 people per hour with double bars. There were also two Bierenwang lifts. In 1976, a further 2.4 million DM were invested in increasing the capacity of the railway from 350 to 480 people per hour. In 1988 it was improved again at a cost of 15 million DM and now transports 1,500 people per hour up the mountain.

Walter Fritz, who was there from the start, moved from the executive board to the supervisory board in 1989. Avalanche barriers , canalization of the mountain restaurant and snow-making systems occupied the management of the railway in the 1990s. 67 so-called electrants , combined systems for the water and electricity supply of the 15 snow guns, were installed along the runway. A sun terrace for 200 people with wind protection was built and the Zwerenal lifts were expanded to create a six-seater chairlift.

In 2008, 6 million euros were spent on the snowmaking system. First, a snow pond with a capacity of 58,000 cubic meters of water was created below the mountain station of the Kanzelwandbahn and 6 kilometers of pipelines were built into the ground. With the system, the slopes of the Fellhorn and Kanzelwand lifts can be completely covered with snow within 70 hours using a system of pipes and snow cannons. 3000 cubic meters of snow can be produced in one hour, which corresponds to around 300 truck loads.

The Kanzelwand, Fellhorn, Walmendingerhorn and Nebelhorn lifts have joined forces to create a network that promotes the Oberstdorf and Kleinwalsertal region under the name Das Höchst. The Bergbahnverbund is owned by the Kleinwalsertaler Bergbahn , whose main shareholders are the Allgäuer Überlandwerk and the Raiffeisen Holding Kleinwalsertal .

Shareholder structure 1954

Shareholders	percent
Riezlern power station	38.4%
Allgäu overland plant	15.4%
Mittelberg community	23.1%
41 small shareholders	23.1%

model

A functional model of the railway was brought out by the Brawa company in H0 scale with the original colorful cabins from 1955.

Web links

Commons : Kanzelwandbahn  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Kanzelwandbahn

Individual evidence

1. ↑ History of the Kanzelwandbahn

Coordinates: 47 ° 21 ′ 20 ″  N , 10 ° 11 ′ 7 ″  E