Aleksotas funicular
| Aleksotas funicular | |||||||||||||
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 Aleksotas funicular
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| Route length: | 0.133 km | ||||||||||||
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Coordinates: 54 ° 53 ′ 27.9 ″ N , 23 ° 53 ′ 13.1 ″ E The Aleksotas funicular is one of the three funiculars in Lithuania . It was the secondfunicular to be builtin Kaunas after the Žaliakalnis funicular opened in 1931, openedin 1935 and is one of the oldest funiculars in Europe . It is located in the Aleksotas district.
Technical specifications
The inclined elevator has a track on which two cars run in opposite directions. These meet in a turnout in the middle of the route. The route is 132.9 m long and has an incline of 18 °. The wagons are made of wood, each can accommodate 25 passengers with a load capacity of two tons. The system has a safety device by means of which the wagons are braked with an automatic brake if the pull rope breaks. The machinery is housed in the basement of the upper station.
history
In the 1920s, the Aleksotas Airfield , the Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Vytautas Magnus University Kaunas , the J. Damijonaičios Primary School , the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore ( Lithuanian Lietuvių literatūros ir tautosakos institutas ), the observatory of the Ministry of Defense and other institutions newly established. They were further away from the city center. In order to facilitate the connection with the city center, it was decided to build an inclined elevator.
The earthworks began on March 1, 1934. The construction work was carried out by the company “Mūras”, the car was produced by “Amlit”, the electrical system was supplied by AEG , Berlin , and the Swiss company “Theodor Bell & Cie. AG Kriens " . The latter company was considered a cable car specialist. The architects Karolis Reisonas, engineer Napoleonas Dobkevičius, Jonas Andriūnas, Aleksandras Ganfmanas, Aleksandras Mačiūnas were involved in the planning, including the engineer Jurgis Čiurlys.
The funicular opened on December 5, 1935. Interior Minister Julius Čaplikas , Kaunas Mayor Antanas Merkys and his deputy Steponas Rusteika and other officials attended the opening .
The construction costs were around 200,000 litas , half of which was paid for by the land and the other half by foreign companies. In addition to the machine room in the mountain station, common rooms for the machinists and storage rooms were set up. In the interwar period there were 226 trips per day. A trip takes a little longer than a minute.
During the Soviet period, the funicular, like the Žaliakalnio funicular, was operated by the Troleibusai Kaune bus company . The fare was one kopeck . The operator is now UAB Autrolis , a subsidiary of UAB Kauno autobusai , the operating company of Troleibusai Kaune .
The elevator is only operated on working days from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Technical monument
On October 24, 1997, the railway was added to the list of cultural monuments . On October 9, 2003, the Lithuanian government declared the railway a cultural monument.
On October 16, 2004, the Lithuanian Post issued two postage stamps depicting the funiculars in Kaunas. Both stamps had a circulation of 600,000 copies with a face value of 1 and 1.3 litas.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Aleksoto funikulierius atidarytas iškilmingai. Lietuvos aidas , December 5, 1935, p. 2 , accessed May 18, 2014 (Lithuanian).
- ↑ Pradeda veikti Aleksoto funikulierius. Lietuvos aidas , December 5, 1935, p. 7 , accessed May 18, 2014 (Lithuanian).
- ↑ Saulius Tvirbutas. Keltuvai žiemą nesustoja. Kauno diena , January 24, 2008, accessed May 18, 2014 (Lithuanian).
- ↑ Aleksoto funikulieriaus statinių kompleksas. Kultūros paveldo departamentas prie Kultūros ministerijos, accessed May 18, 2014 (Lithuanian).
- ↑ DĖL NEKILNOJAMŲJŲ KULTŪROS VERTYBIŲ PASKELBIMO KULTŪROS PAMINKLAIS. Retrieved May 12, 2014 (Lithuanian).
- ↑ Kauno funikulieriai pavaizduoti pašto ženkluose. In: Kauno diena . Retrieved May 12, 2014 (Lithuanian).
Web links
- Aleksoto funikulierius. Retrieved May 18, 2014 (Lithuanian, film about the funicular).
- Aleksoto funikulierius. Retrieved May 15, 2014 (Lithuanian).