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The Grande Dame of the Alps

Oldest cable car in the world

The Predigtstuhlbahn in Bad Reichenhall is also affectionately called the Grand Dame of the Alps. It is the oldest of its type that has been retained in its original state and has been listed as a historic monument. From the very beginning, the Predigtstuhlbahn has been considered the model of a perfect cable car and the embodiment of elegance in cable car design. And that is still the case to a large degree today. Its monumental pylons soaring into the sky and the Mountain Restaurant as well as the top and base stations are stony witnesses of the “New Objectivity” – the brief architectural epoch that replaced the playful Art Nouveau and is seen as a partner to the Bauhaus style.

 

Grande Dame

 

The Predigtstuhlbahn had several sponsors in the glamorous spa town of Bad Reichenhall. After World War I, hyperinflation and the loss of important customer segments, they had made it their aim to close the gap to other competing spa towns by building a cable car to the top of a mountain. In 1926 and 1927, Alois Seethaler from the Axelmannstein Hotel and Director Josef Niedermeier, responsible for spa tourism in the town, invited several specialists to Bad Reichenhall, including Alois Zuegg, the brilliant inventor of modern cable car technology. The Predigtstuhlbahn is still benefiting from his vast experience today because Zuegg was never satisfied and kept looking for improvements. His stated claim was to realise the best and most efficient concept because “in view of the demanding spa public of Bad Reichenhall there must be no lack of elegance and comfort.”

 

Predigtstuhlbahn Silvester1928

 

In the 1920s, engineer Alois Zuegg and manufacturer Adolf Bleichert, then heading the world’s largest cable car production, perfected cable car engineering through several innovations combined in the “Bleichert-Zuegg System”. In building the Predigtstuhlbahn, they produced a masterpiece, aided by the fact that they succeeded in bringing on board Wilhelm Kahrs, director of the Hochtief construction company, as the architect for the buildings. Incidentally, almost simultaneously Kahrs built the Ammerbrücke Echelsbach, which was the Melan arch bridge with the widest span in the world at the time. The planning for the characteristic monumental pylons was performed by the engineering office of Otto Streck and Alfred Zenns, which collaborated on the Echelsbach Bridge as well.

 

The Predigtstuhlbahn started operation on 1 July 1928, and the mood was euphoric. For Bad Reichenhall, the cable car was the epitome of the economic recovery. The world press praised its speed, lack of noise and safety. These attributes are still valid today. The Predigtstuhl became the meeting place of the upper echelons of society.


Two years after completion of the Predigtstuhlbahn, Adolf Bleichert applied the same principles to construct the cable car up to the 720 metre high Montserrat Benedictine monastery near Barcelona. 1931 saw the opening of the Port Vell Aerial Tramway in Barcelona – also an almost identical copy of the Predigtstuhlbahn. Both cable cars are still in operation.


Interested in history?

Recommended reading: “Drahtseile zum Himmel” (Steel cables to the sky)

The Bad Reichenhall local history curator and town archivist Dr Johannes Lang summarised the history of the Predigtstuhlbahn conscientiously and entertainingly in his book “Drahtseile zum Himmel”. The book is available at the ticket counter of the Predigtstuhlbahn.

Wintersaision from December 3th 2022 til January 31th 2023

Winter operation daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last descent).
Friday evening with a 4-course menu reservation until 8.30 p.m.

Monday / Tuesday closed (from December 5th to the end of March), except for booked events and during the Bavarian holidays.

We always drive our guests according to the current legal requirements.

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