Oberdorf – Weissenstein chairlift

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Mountain station of the chairlift, 2001

The Oberdorf – Weissenstein chairlift was a chairlift that ran from Oberdorf to the Weissenstein in the Swiss canton of Solothurn . It was built in 1950 using the VR101 system from Von Roll and since the demolition of the chairlift to Lake Oeschinen in autumn 2008, it was the last chairlift of this type in Switzerland. It was considered a technical monument of national importance. Its operation ceased in November 2009, the demolition took place in autumn 2013. The new Oberdorf – Weissenstein gondola lift went into operation in December 2014.

history

Since the beginning of the 20th century, numerous projects for a railway on the Weissenstein have been submitted. In addition to various systems of aerial and funicular railways, the proposals included a cogwheel railway and an elevator that would have led from the Weissenstein tunnel of the Solothurn-Münster railway inside the mountain to the Weissenstein. However, none of this was realized until after World War II . At the end of the 1940s, there were again specific plans that were implemented in 1950 after considering various aerial cableway systems with the construction of a chairlift. In 1994, major renovation work was carried out on the railway.

technology

Chairlift intermediate station, 2009

The chairlift ran from Oberdorf SO train station in two sections via the Nesselboden intermediate station to the Kurhaus Weissenstein . It was a detachable single-cable gondola from the Von Roll VR 101 system. The most noticeable features for passengers were the two-seater armchairs that are perpendicular to the direction of travel and, since the renovation in 1994, the automatic further transport of the armchairs to the next section in the intermediate station (previously the Armchair manually pushed to the other rope). It was 2,369 meters long (1st section 1,622 meters, 2nd section 747 meters) and led from the Oberdorf valley station to 661  m above sea level. M. to the Hotel Kurhaus Weissenstein at 1280 m above sea level. M. The intermediate station was at 1064 m above sea level. M. The whole distance was covered in 16 minutes.

Intermediate station (chairlift) Nesselboden, 2009
Chairlift valley station, 2009

Importance as a monument and demolition

A mast of the chairlift
Remains of the valley station (chairlift) in November 2013

The concession for the chairlift expired at the end of 2009. Extensive renovation work would have been necessary for continued operation of the railway in order to adapt it to the current federal safety regulations. The operator Seilbahn Weissenstein AG was of the opinion that such a renewal would be too expensive and therefore wanted to replace the chairlift with a gondola lift . At the same time she wanted to build more leisure facilities on the Weissenstein. The summer toboggan run and a tubing facility planned in this context could not initially be implemented due to opposition from the Federal Office for Spatial Development .

Since it was announced, the plans of the Seilbahn Weissenstein AG have met with broad opposition. According to a report by the Federal Commission for Nature and Heritage Protection (ENHK) and the Federal Commission for the Preservation of Monuments (EKD) on June 10, 2007, the chairlift should be classified as a monument of national importance under Article 4 of the Nature and Heritage Protection Act , as it is the only one still in operation Two-section chairlift of the Von Roll system with dome technology is of central importance in Swiss technology and tourism history. As early as 2006, the Swiss Homeland Security spoke out against the new building project. In March 2008 the Heimatschutz demanded the withdrawal of the plan, as the documents ignored the importance of the railway as a monument and were therefore incomplete in one decisive point.

In January 2008 the association Pro Stuhli was founded, which campaigned for the preservation of the chairlift and against the additional leisure facilities. On April 4, 2008, he submitted a cantonal referendum “Preservation of the historic chairlift and an intact Weissenstein recreational area”.

The Federal Office of Transport (FOT) recommended that Seilbahn Weissenstein AG, due to the high cost of renovating the old chairlift in 2004, consider building a new one. It assumed that the measures that would be necessary for continued operation would change the chairlift to such an extent that it would be a replica and no longer the historic chairlift, and thus contradicted the ENHK and EKD, who were convinced that the existing railway could be renovated in such a way that its monument value would be preserved.

The Federal Office of Culture announced that it would work to preserve the chairlift.

After the chairlift was shut down in November 2009, the Swiss Homeland Security together with its partners confirmed a takeover offer for the lift in May 2010. If the Seilbahn Weissenstein AG had accepted this offer, it would have been possible to reopen the renovated chairlift as early as 2011, according to the homeland security. However, the owner still decidedly refused to sell it and insisted that she definitely wanted to build a new gondola lift. At the end of January 2012, the Federal Office of Transport granted the concession for a new building and approved the demolition of the chairlift, as it was not possible to preserve the original substance of the historic train, which is worthy of protection, by adapting it to today's safety requirements. The Swiss Homeland Security challenged the decision at the Federal Administrative Court , but unsuccessfully. The Homeland Security then refrained from referring the decision to the Federal Supreme Court . The lift was demolished and replaced by a six-person gondola lift.

After the chairlift operation was discontinued on November 2, 2009, a post bus ran up the Weissenstein from spring to autumn on weekends and public holidays , and from the 2011 season on Wednesdays too. The old system was demolished in autumn 2013, after which the construction of the Oberdorf – Weissenstein cable car began. This was put into operation on December 20, 2014.

Web links

Commons : Oberdorf – Weissenstein chairlift  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kandersteg: The chairlift is history. In: Solothurner Tagblatt. September 8, 2008, p. 32.
  2. ↑ Cable car nostalgia: Oberdorf-Weissenstein chairlift , accessed on June 27, 2008.
  3. ^ Seilbahn Weissenstein AG: The future of the Weissenstein Cable Car ( Memento from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) in the Internet Archive (as of September 28, 2007)
  4. ↑ espace.ch: Plans for a new cable car are available on February 28, 2008, accessed on June 27, 2008.
  5. ↑ a b Heimatschutz wants to take over the chairlift on Weissenstein . In: NZZ Online . May 19, 2010. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  6. ^ Government approves land use planning for Weissenstein . In: bernerzeitung.ch . April 30, 2010. Retrieved June 9, 2016.
  7. ^ Structure plan of the Canton of Solothurn, adaptation of the overall Weissenstein project: preliminary examination report. (PDF; 9.2 MB) Federal Office for Spatial Development, June 16, 2008, p. 6 , accessed on June 9, 2016 .
  8. ↑ Swiss Heritage Protection: Oberdorf-Weissenstein chairlift: A national monument is in danger! , August 25, 2006, accessed June 27, 2008.
  9. ↑ Schweizer Heimatschutz: Plan edition Weissenstein: SHS calls for withdrawal of plan edition , March 10, 2008, accessed on June 27, 2008.
  10. ^ Structure plan of the canton of Solothurn, adaptation of the overall Weissenstein project: preliminary assessment report, p. 5/6
  11. ^ Homeland protection and monument preservation: Review 2007 and Outlook for the years 2008–2011 , March 17, 2008, accessed on June 27, 2008.
  12. ↑ Planning approval is checked by the Federal Administrative Court . Swiss homeland security. February 25, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  13. ^ Weissenstein chairlift: waiver of continuing to the Federal Court . Swiss homeland security. June 5, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  14. ↑ The gondola to the Weissenstein can be built. Grenchner Tagblatt , accessed June 5, 2013 .
  15. ^ Weissenstein cable car replacement . Mario Flury, Postbus company. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  16. ↑ After a long rope pull: Weissenstein gondola lift opened. Solothurner Zeitung, December 20, 2014, accessed December 20, 2014 .

Coordinates: 47 ° 14 '43.6 "  N , 7 ° 30' 25.5"  E ; CH1903:  605184  /  232728